Tommy Barker finds a Bandon house with history in its blood and wooded grounds with pond, stream and an old bridge.

THIS time of year, the prospect of a big old farmhouse with land and stables is a very attractive proposition indeed, as days are long and montbretia light up the hedgerows.

FOR not much more than the cost of a good family home in Cork’s western suburbs, those families prepared to go further west will get a period home and the trappings of country life.