The Owners
Your hosts, Russell & Irene. If you want to visit Cradle Mountain and don’t know where to stay; relax here.
Originally from Brisbane, Russell and Irene came to Tasmania for a two-week holiday. Like most mainlanders (what Tasmanians call people from mainland Australia), by the end of their holiday they had fallen in love with Tassie and made a decision to move here. Deciding on where to stay, they chose Cradle Mountain for its stunning beauty and endless activities. Two months later they were the proud owners of Glencoe and began the task of bringing the country farmhouse back to her former glory.
How It All Began
Glencoe Country B&B was born
Russell and Irene purchased Glencoe in December 2016 and decided to do a fair bit of maintenance before reopening. The main changes can be found in the surrounding garden areas, as well as in the name change to Glencoe Country B&B.
Initially, they were only going to have a few farm animals (like one to two), but the herd has grown significantly since then. They found the Highland cattle to be very gentle beasts – happy to interact and accept being hand-fed.
Irene enjoys restoring Glencoe’s gardens to their former glory, and making sure the veggie garden is able to provide that genuine paddock to plate experience at your breakfast table. Irene is guilty of spoiling all the animals at Glencoe, where you will see her ducks, chickens (and cat) roam free around the gardens and grounds.
Glencoe Country Bed & Breakfast
An intimate, comfortable guest house
Russell and Irene strive to give you that “home away from home” by inviting you to share their intimate farmhouse accommodation at the foot of Mount Roland. Nothing is too much effort for them and they take pride in offering their guests all the creature comforts that make for an unforgettable stay.
The Background Story
A shared medical history
Russ started out as a qualified butcher and has worked in kitchens of various 5-star hotels in Queensland.
For the past 20 years, both Russell and Irene have worked in health care. Russell worked with the Queensland Ambulance Service as an Advanced Care Paramedic. Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Russ obtained a position with the Tasmanian Ambulance Service and works while looking after Glencoe.
When they met in Brisbane many, many years ago, Irene was working as an Admin Officer at Safeway/Woolworths. Now a Registered Nurse, she spent most of her career at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital in the ICU department.
She still works as an on-call RN for Medibank Private, which she is able to do from home.
Paddock To Plate
We love to serve you good food
Both Russ and Irene love good quality food and are sourcing great Tasmania produce to serve. They love the concept of paddock to plate and if it doesn’t come from their own garden or animals, they will source local produce.
Glencoe is their first Bed & Breakfast, and when they travelled throughout Australia and internationally, they always tried to accommodate themselves in B&B’s for that friendly, down to earth experience.
Therefore, when you stay at Glencoe, they want to ensure you have a comfortable, relaxing stay with great food.
