It’s no tall order for this fine house on a hill to get interested buyers

IT’S not until you drive up that you get the full impact of Abbotswood, in Rochestown, Co Cork. The fact they climb up a hill adds to their impressive standing: these are big houses, even in the smaller types.

The last sale of the biggies here made over €1.3 million through Pierce Cuthbert of Property Choice and this time round, Grace McGlynn of the same firm is selling no 8 Abbotswood Downs.

Built by Fleming Construction, this fine house also has an attic conversion, but you’d hardly know it as the staircase continues up from the first floor in a seamless extension of the living space.

And while the brochure says four bedrooms, in reality, there are another two rooms up top, albeit that they are used as an office and playroom at the moment.

It’s on the ground floor, however, that you get the full measure of this property — a range of interconnecting rooms with enough to fit the most rambunctious family.

The main living room incorporates a formal dining end but there’s lots of scope to change that around. Double doors lead through to the living room, which in turn leads onto a fine, wraparound deck.

It’s in these rooms you get the full effect of the high ceilings — a feature that runs throughout the house and is the reason for the houses strong impact at the kerb.

Here, the entire row faces south-west, giving sunny back gardens and it’s interesting to view the various landscaping interpretation through the estate.

In no 8, the interconnecting living rooms give a view directly through to the gardens, which in this case are showing the benefit of substantial investment.

The former steep incline of ground was removed and replaced with a level lawned area with a water feature, play area and lovely planting. All new owners have to do is sit and watch the garden grow.

But, back to the house. After the sitting and living rooms, both with wide plank oak floorboards, there’s the kitchen: a galley style room with hand-built cherry units leading through to a conservatory/ dining room. This juts out into the garden and even in winter is a sun trap.

Off the kitchen is a fully equipped utility with matching units, while the guest cloakroom is tucked off the main hallway.

Overhead are the four bedrooms and of course, the master bedroom is en suite, and all rooms have built-in wardrobes.

A walk-in job, no 8 is just off Monastery Road in a quiet, leafy location but is minutes from Douglas and the Link.

The guide price is €895,000.