I’ve been to the moon and back

I recently headed to the River Club at the beautiful River Lee Hotel to check out their new autumn/winter terrace.

‘To The Moon at The River Club’ is the latest in the ongoing series of immersive terrace installations at The River Lee, with this autumn and winter terrace designed in partnership with Hendrick’s Lunar Gin and trailblazing Cork florists Fox Flowers.

Celebrating humankind’s long fascination with sky travel, the cosmos and aeronautical endeavours, ‘To The Moon at The River Club’ focuses on all aspects of the skies and beyond, from the Greek mythological character Icarus to hot-air balloons, the birth of airline travel and the awe-inspiring moon landing to our continued quest and exploration amongst the stars and planets.

Influenced by the opulent style of the early 20th century and the birth of commercial air travel, the terrace features a rich, jewel-toned colour palette, alongside vintage hot air balloons, model airplanes, antique stargazing tools, moon and star symbols, birdcages and exotic birds in flight.

‘To The Moon at The River Club’ was conceived in partnership with Hendrick’s Lunar Gin, the latest limited release gin in the Cabinet of Curiosity range from Master Distiller Lesley Gracie.

This delectably cosmic gin is based on a collection of 11 botanicals with infusions of rose and cucumber alongside some intriguing additions to create a unique, mellow spiced gin with a subtle citrus finish.

The menu features a list of irresistible and whimsical cocktails based on Hendrick’s Lunar Gin, all designed to reinforce the celestial theme of the Terrace — a ‘Cloud Nine’, a ‘Freefall’, a ‘Moon Mist’ and ‘Birds of a Feather’. €1 from each cocktail sold on the ‘To The Moon at The River Club’ Terrace will go to Blackrock Castle Observatory and Dark Skies Cork.

Blackrock Castle Observatory is currently working with Dark Skies Europe to raise awareness of light pollution and its effect on nocturnal biodiversity and pollinators, bringing this worthwhile initiative to wider attention, as well as helping create a greater understanding of our awe-inspiring skies and the cosmos. So, you can sip your cocktail and support a great cause!

Now in the interest of balance I also went swimming in the sea twice over the weekend and on Sunday morning bright and early I headed off to Garretstown beach to use the Wild Wellness Collectives mobile sauna. It was such a lovely experience and perfect to clear the cobwebs of a weekend. The sauna is set up Friday to Sunday and you can book a thirty/forty five minute session online. It’s really reasonably priced and our group of five paid a tenner each.

The sauna also has a window at the back so you can sit in the lovely heat looking out at the wild sea.