A secluded stay at The Hidden Haven on Derry Duff farm in West Cork had this writer wishing she never had to leave …
Pull up, step out and switch off. The moment the car engine dulls all you hear is the sound of silence. Arriving at The Hidden Haven on Derry Duff farm, near Bantry in West Cork, feels like landing in your own private universe – a very stylish, sustainable, serene one at that.
Husband and wife Steve and Claire Collins have created a very special space here. With a background in famine relief work and many years spent working in Africa, a visit to West Cork in 2003 would spark the next chapter of their lives. While walking through a mountainous area near Bantry, they discovered an abandoned farmhouse – Steve instantly fell in love with the place, made enquiries locally, and six months later he had bought it. The beginnings were humble – with no mains water, electricity, sewage system, not to mention internet or phone lines – yet over the past 20 years they have developed it into not only their family home, but a working certified organic farm with Dexter cattle, pigs, chickens, bees and fresh produce. And now they have created a luxurious escape for people to come and enjoy the farm, to slip away from the day-to-day and forget about the stresses of the modern world. To relax and reset and find out what switching off really means.
“Ever since we arrived at Derry Duff, we had a steady stream of visitors,” says Claire. “Seeing the pleasure that the farm gave to others, we began to think about different ways to share our little corner of the world. We thought we could use our experience in designing, project managing and interior finishing our own home, to build a luxurious and inspiring place for visitors to stay.” The Hidden Haven is a one-bedroom luxury cabin on the Collins’ family land that is available to rent for three-night stays, with private lake, hot tub and every creature comfort you could wish for from a short-term rental.
“The idea was to build a low impact, light-filled, spacious, timber structure that took advantage of the breathtaking views at Derry Duff and gave a sense of seclusion and being immersed in nature,” Claire explains. Claire designed the lodge herself, along with the interior, ensuring to select Irish makers, suppliers and designers where possible. Irish company loghouse.ie created the structure at its factory in Lithuania, and Steve decided to site the cabin into the side of a mountain on their land and designed the landscaping which surrounds it. The structure arrived flat packed and loghouse.ie put it together like Lego, on top of the concrete slab that Steve had built, in time to launch for the summer season in 2022. Since then, they have been booked and busy, with some couples returning for special celebrations each year.
No detail is missed at The Hidden Haven. Inside the cabin you’ll find everything you need for a restful escape. Linen robes by Irish company Amurelle hang in the wardrobe for use during your stay. Organic cotton bedlinen by Irish brand White & Green all but guarantees a perfect night’s sleep. Linen bath towels are by Irish brand Pure Linen. Little touches around the cabin, like the pottery in the kitchen by Dunbeacon Pottery in Durrus, the WASI bath products from Bantry Bay, and the beautiful breakfast basket made by a local maker, Martin Flynn, means guests are truly grounded in the West Cork landscape throughout their stay at The Hidden Haven.
The kitchen is well-stocked, with more than enough equipment and gadgets to see you through your stay. A breakfast basket filled to the brim with local produce is delivered to your door on the first morning of your trip, while a wood-fired barbecue ensures evening meals are a breeze. Visit in summer and you can dine outdoors, enjoy a glass of wine by the firepit as the sun goes down and take a swim in the lake (if you’re brave) before jumping into the hot tub. In winter, curl up by the wood-fired stove and hide away from the elements (stock up on supplies before you arrive so that there’s no need to leave if you don’t want to). It’s a serene space for every season, where time seems to stop still on arrival so all that’s left for you to do is sit back, relax and switch your mind off.
While tranquility was paramount, sustainability was also very important to Claire and Steve when creating the space. The lodge was built using thick Forest Stewardship Certified timber and is highly insulated with earthwool to ensure it requires minimal energy to heat. “The high levels of insulation were achieved by installing a decentralised heat recovery ventilation system, which keeps the air inside fresh without cooling it,” explains Claire. “The system then uses heat energy from extracted air to warm a ceramic coil which then transfers the heat to the fresh air it supplies to the room. The electricity supplier uses 100 per cent green energy and the water comes from our own filtered well, requiring no energy for its purification.”
Eco principles translate to the farm too. With a background in famine aid relief in Africa, where he helped local farmers to diversify their agricultural crops, while developing systems to help treat malnutrition, Steve originally trained as a medical doctor specialising in nutrition. After landing in West Cork 20 years ago and securing this vast plot of mostly rocky land, he was challenged with finding out what crops would grow there. He set about introducing his regenerative approach to farming, letting the animals help him plough and fertilise the land along the way.
Trialling blueberries, he soon found they were very successful – there are now 7,000 blueberry plants on the farm, which he sells wholesale to shops and restaurants each harvest. But putting his nutritional hat on, he went one step further and introduced aronia plants, having discovered the incredible nutritional benefits these berries contain. Aronia, a superfood, contains polyphenols which can help to improve metabolic health, encourage the growth of good gut bacteria and strengthen the immune system – it has the highest polyphenol of any fruit or berry. In 2020, Steve established Aronia Ireland Ltd and began creating and selling the Phyterberry brand of aronia juice, which guests can try during their stay. (Tart and strong, a breakfast shot of this healthful juice is recommended.)
Derry Duff Farm is a family affair, with the couple’s three young kids beginning to find their feet in the business now too. One son recovers and restores bog wood found on the land, producing beautiful works of art, one of which is displayed on the bedroom wall in the cabin. The other has control of the chicken coop’s loot – selling the eggs on to Claire for her to provide as part of visiting guest’s breakfast hampers!
Opening the sliding glass doors in the bedroom and stepping out onto the deck, you feel yourself breathing that little bit deeper. Maybe it’s the cool, sharp Atlantic breeze, or the feeling of space as the hills roll out for miles around you. Or maybe it’s the sense that it feels like you’ve happened upon a secret space that belongs just to you, if only for a night or two. “Around the farm, we often find little relics of inhabitants past – rusty metal kettle lids, old bottles or broken gardening tools – it is always good to be reminded that we are simply the current custodians of this beautiful little corner of the world,” says Claire. However short a stay in this very special place, you’ll leave feeling reenergised, restored and ready to face the world again.
The Hidden Haven is available from €300 per night. Book now at www.derryduff.ie.