1625 map by Thomas Raven of the area in which Rosevale Farm Cottages is situated

The start of things
The cottages were first opened as holiday accommodation on 4 September 1998. Staff in Bangor’s Tourist Information Centre were delighted to be able to add the cottages to their list of local holiday accommodation. It was the first example of this type of accommodation to become available in the area and provided great potential both for tourists visiting Northern Ireland and for those coming ‘home’ to visit friends and relations.
 

Official opening
The official opening of the cottages was attended by a representative cross section of the local business community, including the then Mayor Mr Marsden FitzSimons and Councillor for the area, Mrs Marion Smyth. Following the buffet lunch, Ann Irwin, proprietor of the venture, welcomed all who attended and thanked the many who had helped her throughout the project.

Ann then introduced Dawson Stelfox MBE, leader of the successful 1993 Irish ascent of Mount Everest and architect specialising in historic building conservation. Before cutting the ribbon to open the cottages, Mr Stelfox congratulated Ann on having preserved the old stone-built buildings and adapted them for a new use. “Traditional rural buildings are disappearing.” he told those attending the opening. “Recent surveys have shown that of those buildings standing at the turn of the century, only 12% survive in anything like their original form. The rural tradition was to make use of natural, local materials. The form of the buildings was simple. But many of them have been demolished in the past twenty years.”

“I am here to join in the celebration of keeping traditional buildings and finding new uses for them. Cottages like these are too small for family homes nowadays but they are suited for country cottage holiday accommodation and can provide all that people look for. This is a celebration that these two buildings at least have been kept, have been restored and have been put to a new use. I hope many people will do this all over the countryside.”

Following the cutting of the ribbon by Mr Stelfox, the cottages were opened for viewing. The general consensus was that the refurbishment had been a great success and that the atmosphere of the traditional buildings had been retained while at the same time providing every comfort and convenience for the visitor.

Ann Irwin was congratulated on her achievement by everyone who viewed the cottages. “We had good fun planning the project. We were determined to get the atmosphere right and spent a lot of time at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, speaking to the experts there, looking at their cottages and taking hundreds of photos. These all came in very useful when it came to telling the architect and builders what we wanted. Traditional building materials and methods were fully utilised in the refurbishment.”
 

Promotion
The cottages were approved by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and awarded a four-star rating. We became members of the Kingdoms of Down regional tourist organisation and of the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau. Advertisements were placed in all Tourist Board advertising publications and in the local press. More recently a website has been created and much business takes place over the Internet. Ann’s earlier experience in successfully promoting and letting out self-catering accommodation in Portballintrae on the Causeway Coast afforded her a ‘running start’ in getting her new business under way.
 

Development
Bookings in the first full year of operation were very encouraging, with a 50% occupancy, proving that the self-catering business was not going to be a summer-only enterprise. Since then bookings have risen to 65% of capacity with much repeat business.

In Spring 2005, to cater for the increased demand, a third cottage, named ‘Primrose cottage’ after David’s Canadian aunt and our lovely grand-daughter, was opened. The official opening was performed by Dr Jonathan Bell of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. Many prominent people in the local tourist industry and local politicians attended, and entertainment included a horse-drawn carriage and traditional musicians.

Then in 2008 we opened our fourth cottage, Hugh's. Again a new-build but in the traditional style, this cottage was originally the home of Ann's Dad, Hugh Crothers. It was then occupied on medium-term leases, sold to our daughter and family, re-purchased, and refurbished to provide an oft-requested larger self-catering facility which has proved exceptionally popular with larger families and groups of friends..

Visitors have come from all over the world – Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland, mainland Europe, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, Kuwait . . . . . . . The majority of visitors come to Northern Ireland as expatriates or to visit friends and relations living here. In many cases it is through friends here that they hear about Rosevale Farm Cottages.
 

Further promotional activities
Despite extensive advertising, many local people still do not know about our self-catering cottages. It is for this reason that we organise occasional open days. We are convinced that once people have seen the cottages, they will recognise the validity of our slogan, covering both self-catering enterprises, ‘not only comfortable and convenient accommodation, but also a unique aesthetic experience’.
 

The future
And what of the future? Well, our immediate objective is to further improve the service we offer our guests. Suggestions for such improvements are encouraged and we do our best to oblige. Also, we have plans to diversify into the area of mini-coach tours to areeas of interest to visitors: St Patrick's Trail and Christian heritage; Ards peninsula; Strangford Lough; Kingdom of Mourne - watch this space!