Lissan House

Lissan House Estate open daily, house tours and events advertised on FB. Tickets available at front of the house. Keep an eye on our social media for further updates.

Lissan House, 400 years of history, 260 acres of woodland walks, totally volunteer run so every penny fundraised or donated goes towards keeping this valuable community space here. Lissan House

Opening Times

Grounds

Monday-Sunday 9am to 8pm (Spring/Summer)
Monday-Sunday 9am to 6pm (Autumn/Winter)

Lissan Legends Trail

Open Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, 11am to

4pm.

£4 per person. For group bookings of 10 plus please email [email protected]

Coffee Dock

Pitch available for rent. Email [email protected] for details. House Tours

Open Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, 1pm and 3pm. Adult £7, children £3. For group bookings please email [email protected]

This week's wildlife Wednesday post is a little different! We had the pleasure of a visit from Randal Plunkett recently,...
17/06/2026

This week's wildlife Wednesday post is a little different! We had the pleasure of a visit from Randal Plunkett recently, pictured here with Sharon Loughrin, chair LHT.
Randal, 21st Baron of Dunsaney, has rewilded around 750 acres, half of the 1500 acre estate at Dunsaney Castle, Co Meath. Now Ireland's largest privately owned nature reserve, it is the only Irish Rewilding project recognised by the European Rewilding Network. He has also published a book, "Wild Thing", recounting his journey, from the poisoned chalice of inheriting the family home to his mission to create a more sustainable future.
Lord Dunsaney was impressed with our own "golden place" and with the work we do as volunteers to ensure the Lissan estate continues to be a natural haven for the benefit of the community. We look forward to welcoming him back soon.




Join us this coming Sunday (21st) for our "Sustainability Walk" - 400 years of survival, from the ice house to the bric...
14/06/2026

Join us this coming Sunday (21st) for our "Sustainability Walk" - 400 years of survival, from the ice house to the brick field, the turbine which generated electricity and the walled garden which provided food. A fascinating look at how the estate sustained itself, and a chance to see the yard buildings where many of the estate workers plied their various trades.
Meet at front of house for tour at 2.30pm, donations much appreciated towards our running costs. Sensible footwear for rough ground please, tour will last approx 1 hour 30 min

It was a pleasure to welcome Cookstown Wildlife Trust to the estate this week for a guided walk and talk by Clare of Fea...
12/06/2026

It was a pleasure to welcome Cookstown Wildlife Trust to the estate this week for a guided walk and talk by Clare of Feasting on Weeds. The evening finished off with some delicious nibbles and elderflower cordial made by Clare and served in our restored Steenson's Workshop. Everyone went home with some new found knowledge about the edible and medicinal uses of many common plants.
Wonderful to see the estate and our buildings being used and enjoyed, it makes our work as volunteers worthwhile.



Our Wildlife Wednesday post features one of our best loved insects - though if you don't know any better you probably re...
10/06/2026

Our Wildlife Wednesday post features one of our best loved insects - though if you don't know any better you probably reach for the pesticides when you see any of the first 3 stages in it's life cycle! Pictured here on the estate are the eggs, larva, pupa, emerging adult and the one we all know, the 7 spot ladybird. The larvae, looking like tiny, spiky alligators, can consume 100 aphids ( greenfly, whitefly) a day.
Leave a patch of nettles to encourage nature's pest control. It takes a leap of faith to ditch the pesticides but less chemicals will help not only the tiny insects but the bees and birds that are so under threat.





A big thank you to the 3 large groups who visited Lissan House last week, it was lovely to meet you all and share the st...
08/06/2026

A big thank you to the 3 large groups who visited Lissan House last week, it was lovely to meet you all and share the stories of the Staples family. Contact us if you're looking for a unique tour group experience. Lissan House is not privately owned nor council funded, we are totally volunteer run so every penny donated goes towards our running costs, keeping "this golden place" here for the community.



For this week's Wildlife Wednesday post we're back to the orange tip butterfly again! A small patch of garlic mustard pl...
03/06/2026

For this week's Wildlife Wednesday post we're back to the orange tip butterfly again! A small patch of garlic mustard plant near the carpark is currently host to a large number of orange tip caterpillars, in picture 2 you'll see one beside an unhatched egg. The caterpillars are carnivorous so once that wee boy hatches he probably won't survive for long!
Also on this one plant, a lovely ladybird and some cuckoo spit, the frothy protection for nymphs of the tiny common froghopper.
Look at what we lose when we mow or spray our native wildflowers. Let's all rethink our attitude to "weeds" and favour these over showy, non native "wildflower" seed mixes, designed to please humans but of little benefit to our wildlife.





It's Volunteer Week, and, inspired by this fabulous old photograph of estate workers around 1890, we thought we'd have a...
02/06/2026

It's Volunteer Week, and, inspired by this fabulous old photograph of estate workers around 1890, we thought we'd have a bit of craic!
It took a small village of people to keep the estate going then and today it's no different - Lissan House is totally volunteer run, from directors to tour guides, those who clean, bake, mow, build.... it's an endless list and not a penny is paid in wages.
Get in touch if you'd like to join the volunteer team, visit our website to make a donation, or set up a monthly £5 direct debit to help us meet our running and insurance costs, keeping the house and estate here for everyone to enjoy.




Who knew? Today is National Go Barefoot Day! No need to tell our Ponsy, "the barefoot baronet", he was doing it for year...
01/06/2026

Who knew? Today is National Go Barefoot Day! No need to tell our Ponsy, "the barefoot baronet", he was doing it for years! Hazel's grandfather, the renowned artist Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, believed that leather soles would block the beneficial natural electricity from the earth. He would often walk barefoot on the tramlines for an extra boost of electricity!



This week's wildlife Wednesday story - we noticed this wee beauty for the first time this weekend, growing in the stone ...
27/05/2026

This week's wildlife Wednesday story - we noticed this wee beauty for the first time this weekend, growing in the stone wall near the great barn. Identified as Erinus Alpinus, but with the lovely common name, Fairy Foxglove. How could you not love that!
Native to the rocky mountains of central and southern Europe, it is not very common in Ireland, and we were delighted to discover it.


Thanks to the visitors to the estate this morning who alerted us to this - a disposable barbeque from a May day family d...
26/05/2026

Thanks to the visitors to the estate this morning who alerted us to this - a disposable barbeque from a May day family day out, irresponsibly left behind to smoulder on a wooden picnic table after everyone has enjoyed relaxing on the lawn! A potential fire risk, and more work for us repairing or fundraising to replace.
Thankfully most of our visitors treat the estate with respect, but we will be reviewing our guidelines and updating where necessary 😞

Address

Drumgrass Road
Cookstown
BT809SW

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 8pm
Sunday 9am - 8pm

Website

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