This impressive Victorian mansion is crammed with fascinating objects (seventy per cent of the contents are original). Portraits by John Singer Sargent adorn the walls alongside trophy stags heads and giant stuffed trout, while antique Killarney furniture, with its distinctive inlaid scenes of local beauty spots, graces the grand apartments along with tapestries, Persian rugs, silverware and china specially commissioned for Queen Victoria's visit in 1861. It's 5km south of Killarney, signposted from the N71.
The house, built as a hunting and fishing lodge for the Herbert family in 1843, is set in beautiful gardens that slope down to the Middle Lake. At the gate, jaunting cars wait to run you through deer parks and woodland to Torc Waterfall and Muckross Abbey (about €20 each return; haggle for a discount).
A block behind the main house contains a craft shop and studios where you can see potters, weavers and bookbinders at work; the nearby visitor centre has an excellent cafe.
