Where is the world’s most beautiful place? The Galápagos Islands in South America, Hawaii or perhaps St. Lucia?

Ballyvolane House in Castelyons, according to one expert in a recent Lonely Planet feature.

Orla Kiely, an Irish fashion designer living in London, selected the local country house as her choice of most beautiful place on the planet. A host of experts, drawn from the world of architecture, photography, tourism and art, shared their suggestions with the renowned travel magazine.

Other inclusions included Punchbowl Falls in the United States, Sturt National Park in Australia, the Kalahari Desert in Botswana along with the Tresco Abbey Gardens in Scilly.

Ms Kiely wrote of Ballyvolane House: “County Cork is a green and magical place, and Ballyvolane is one of Ireland’s oldest houses. Built around 1728, it is wonderfully grand – the pillared hall is something quite special. The interior is perfect for unwinding, settling down to play cards or read a book. It’s a place to relax and find serenity, and the gardens and woodland are very peaceful – in spring, the bluebells are spectacular.”

UNEXPECTED SURPRISE

The feature runs in the September Traveller edition of Lonely Planet. Speaking about the inclusion of Ballyvolane House, owner Justin Green said he was both delighted and surprised.

“It’s terrific, it was totally unexpected. Orla Kiely and her family stayed here about two years ago and they were very taken with the place. I had no idea this piece was being written.

“They interviewed celebrity architects and designers, and people in various different fields of industry about what the most beautiful places in the world were, and she chose Ballyvolane House, and we were absolutely delighted needless to say.”

He added: “Sometimes when we live here we don’t exactly see what a beautiful country we live in, so I think it’s nice for people to endorse it from the outside. We do live in a spectacuarly beautiful part of the world and we don’t say it because we live here all the time and we look at the same views, but it’s pretty special and it’s nice when people flag that every now and again.”

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