In the middle of the night, as you lie in your bed in your Bubble Dome at Finn Lough estate, you feel that you need only stretch your arm up, and you could take charge of The Plough, and cut a swathe through the Milky Way. The agriculture of the stars is, suddenly, your dominion.
That’s the feeling you get on a clear, starry night, as you exult in the comfort and the extraordinary concentrated viewscape of the out-of-this-world bubble domes, in west County Fermanagh.
With their clear, plastic ceilings, housing a four-poster bed, a table and a couple of comfortable chairs, the bubble domes are glamping gone lunar, places to stay that are – literally – stellar. There is nothing else quite like the experience of staying in one of the domes and it is worth the trip to Fermanagh and the waiting time to secure one of these coveted escapes, especially if you want to stay at the weekend.
The domes offer an amazing experience not only of the night sky, but also of privacy: the domes are cleverly sited to maximise the night-views, but also the feeling of being completely alone.
The delight of the experience is amplified by excellent, hard-working and professional multinational staff who produce rock-steady, clean cooking at both dinner and breakfast: twice-baked cheese soufflé; ballotine of rabbit with polenta; Rockvale chicken with cauliflower; lemon posset with coconut and almond crumble; a really fine Ulster breakfast with soda farl and fadge, served in the classy, modern dining room.
Note: the domes can get hot during the day, anyone who has experienced a poly tunnel will know the effect. But there is plenty to see on the estate, and other places to sit before the sun sets.
When the staff pick you and your bags up the next morning and drive you to the car park in their golf buggy, you really do feel that you have had an out-of-this-world experience.
