Visit Killeavy Castle

Sunday, July 17, 2022

If you are looking to experience a world of history, luxury and adventure, make sure to check out the stunning Killeavy Castle Estate. It really is the ideal place to escape, retreat, relax and unwind.

Myself & Mr. Eating Ideas were invited to check out Killeavy Castle and I can safely say, we loved it. The moment we drove up the long driveway to the sight of peacocks strutting around the castle we knew we were in for a great experience and the truly warm welcome from the staff definitely backed that up!

After settling into our spacious room, overlooking the walled garden, we had a pre-dinner dander around the grounds. We had booked for the tasting menu as it had been highly recommended and I’m so glad we did!

The tasting menu is inspired by nature and features the freshest, seasonal ingredients, sourced from Killeavy’s onsite working Farm, Walled Garden and local artisan food producers. This was a really special experience with just the perfect level of theatre! I would highly recommend it!

The menu started with treacle bread served with sea salted butter & treacle. It’s a shame this was so delicious a we ate it all without any thought that we had seven tasty courses to get through!

These courses included:

Cured salmon with citrus scone, dill clotted cream and Kombucha tea
Estate cured beef with Ballylisk cheese & onion bavarois, celeriac and summer truffle
Scallop ceviche with turnip, carrot, apple & oyster
Rhubarb sorbet with fennel & bayleaf
Roast fillet of longhorn beef with vegetable barigoule, button mushrooms, carrot jelly & jus (there was also a baked fillet of cod alternative for this course)
Neary Nógs chocolate with Fivemiletown goats cheese & blackcurrant
Petit fours

Some of the dishes on the tasting menu

After a great night’s sleep and a delicious breakfast, we spent a few hours in the spa totally unwinding. Who doesn’t feel better after some spa time? We then went for a walk around the grounds, exploring the walled garden (theres a lovely tea room there) the farm shop, the woodland walks and feeding the peacocks.

Next up was afternoon tea with an extensive selection of scones, pastries and sandwiches featuring local produce. I love an afternoon tea and this one didn’t disappoint. Delicious food with the castle as a backdrop- what’s not to like?

The afternoon tea included:

Cucumber and mint cream cheese in Brioche
Smoked salmon, apple & red onion in a granary bloomer
Roast beef, carrot & raisin coleslaw in a baguette
Freshly baked fruit scones served with butter, jam & clotted cream
Chocolate & passion fruit meringue tart
Tropical Bavorois with white chocolate
Blueberry & ruby chocolate cheesecake
Rhubarb & granola crumble
Summer berry dome

Killeavy Castle is easily accessible, just 10 minutes outside Newry City and one hour from both Belfast and Dublin Airports. Once you are there though, you will feel completely removed from the real world and able to disconnect from life in the fast lane. I can’t wait to go back.