Knockaloe Beg Farm

Knockaloe Beg is a working sheep farm at Patrick, on the western side of the island, run by Fiona and John Anderson. The bed and breakfast occupies a long whitewashed terrace of farm buildings, and from the air the whole place reads as one white line drawn across green fields.

You arrive up a gravel track past the polytunnel and the gate, hills on one side and grazing on the other. Sheep genuinely do come down to the yard. There is room to leave the car, and a charging point for an electric one.

The red room where breakfast happens

Breakfast is laid on a dark polished table in a deep red dining room, with a chandelier overhead, flowers in the middle and old china at every place. Juices, preserves and cereals go out on the sideboard. Next door the lounge runs under exposed beams to a broad stone chimney breast with a wood burner in it, leather sofas pulled round and a red rug on the boards.

Beds beneath the roof timbers

Bedrooms have pine headboards, sloped ceilings and beams, some with a skylight and some with a window straight onto the fields. Doubles, a twin and a family room are all offered, several with extra-long beds. Each has a private bathroom, some with a bath and shower over it and others with a shower cubicle, and bathrobes and slippers are provided.

Out across the land

Picnic benches stand in the grass with the hills behind them, and there is outdoor furniture, an outdoor dining area and an outdoor fireplace. A hilltop tower marks the skyline.

Toward the west coast

Patrick is a scattered parish with no town of its own. The nearest town is Peel, with its castle, its kipper smokery and the sand at Fenella Beach.

Who the farm suits

Families with children who want animals and space, and walkers heading for the coast path.