Georgian style in a magical lakeside setting

CARAGH Lake in Kerry has an almost magical charm [[[[ [[[[—]]]] ]]]] and the spell has sprinkled gold dust on some of the most expensive and exclusive homes in the county.

The area has water, woodland, walks and sporting pursuits, just a handful of larger, older properties and a clutch of modern mansions built in the last 30 years, often owned by continentals who see it as an unspoiled bastion on the edge of Europe.

Coill Beithe is a recent arrival to the stock of exclusive homes in stunning Caragh Lake, and was built of pinkish Keel sandstone in the mid-90s to a Georgian looking design.

A detached house on 14 acres, with tennis court, veg gardens and recently planted hardwoods and ornamental trees to enhance its semi-woodland setting, it has a price guide of €850,000 with joint agents Hamilton Osborne King in Cork and local estate agent Evi Bachem near Killorglin.

It doesn't have water frontage to the lake, but is close to it and has a right of way to the water's edge, with a boat mooring to tempt out even the most cautious of landlubbers.

Coill Beithe manages to squeeze in five first-floor bedrooms, four at the four corners and the fifth over the projecting front baythree are en suites (all sanitary ware is the upmarket brand Villeroy and Boch.)

Downstairs, an annex to the left has a large 26' by 17' lounge, with lofted or pitched cathedral-like ceiling, with exposed rafters and joists to continue the theme, and there's a tall stone built inglenook style fireplace to compete the picture.

Sliding doors open from here to a 25' by 12' Victorian-style conservatory overlooking the grounds to the rear of the house and of the mountains across the lake.

Those rooms are separate to the main ground floor, which also has a large kitchen with oak units and an oil-fired Aga, dining room, large utility, study and library.

Finishes include oak floors, Italian slate tiles, terracotta tiled hall floor and teak joinery, as well as oak robes in one of the bedrooms, and exterior window sills are limestone to contrast with the stone facade.

The property has oil heating, an alarm, double garage with teak doors, and a fuel store.