Ardtara Country House
Upperlands, Co Derry BT46 5SA, 028-7964 4490
£150, single £100
Valerie Ferson runs this ninebedroom Victorian house in the village of Upperlands beside the river Bann. The river offers game and coarse fishing, with salmon, trout and pike attracting fishermen to its banks.
Grange Lodge
Grange Road, Dungannon, County Tyrone BT71 7EJ, 028-8778 4212
£89, single £60
Norah Brown runs cookery courses teaching people how to cook using seasonal produce and past recipes taught include orange and chocolate scones, spring onion and bacon tart and strawberry sponge cake. A non-residential half-day session costs about £75 - with accommodation £199 per person based on two sharing. The 18th-century house has five bedrooms. "All individual, lots of little extras. Grange Lodge is full of character, set in beautiful surroundings, a warm welcome and good food."
Laurel Villa Townhouse
60 Church Street, Magherafelt, Co Derry BT45 6AW, 028-7930 1459
£70, single £40
Seamus Heaney was born three miles from Laurel Villa and Blue Badge guide Eugene Kielt offers tours around the local area related to the Irish poet - these cost from £45 and include visiting places associated with the poet's life and works. Poetry readings from local Ulster writers also held here and the five bedrooms are named after different Ulster poets. Breakfast is a full Irish.
Maddybenny Farm House
Loguestown Road, Portrush, Coleraine, Co Antrim BT52 2PT, 028-7082 3394
£65, single £47
This period farmhouse has four bedrooms, each with an en suite, and there is a BHS approved riding school on site. Stabling for guests' horses is available, as is use of the cross-country facilities - riding lessons are also on offer. There is a snooker room in the house and breakfast includes an Ulster fry with trout, bacon and mushrooms.
Raspberry Hill Health Farm
29 Bonds Glen Road, Killaloo, Co Londonderry BT47 3ST, 028-7139 8000
£230, single £115
Facilities at Raspberry Hill include a hot tub, sauna, steam room and therapeutic spa bath and the treatments available range from facials to self-tanning. Sessions on weight loss, stress relief and fitness are also run. One of the popular treatments is the Raspberry Hill Feet Detox for those returning from a woodland walk. A day at the spa costs £75. Guests can stay in one of seven bedrooms.
