Join the hunt at Foxbrook

BE careful not to bring any horse-loving children with you when you visit Foxbrook... they won’t let you leave without buying it.

Built five years ago, the property is a relatively unusual mix of elements, all likely to appeal to those suburbanites who want land for horses, by the edge of a city.

But, even if horses are this cohort’s priority (and there’s a saving to be made on average €100 a week livery charges), the house will be worth coming to see too in any case.

The bungalow home is on three acres at Hilltown, on the Cork and Douglas side of Carrigaline, and even the townland is aptly named.

This house is on a hillside with valley-like views into Carrigaline to the south. It has a smartly planted drive leading down to a more level plateau, which is home to this 2,200 sq ft four-bed home of quality and its wrap around decks, getting sun in different areas throughout the day.

Then, the land drops away again from the house, increasingly sharply, down to a wooded glen area, a natural wildlife habitat judging from the rabbits disporting here last weekend.

There’s a paddock just in front of the house and its south-facing deck, all buttercups and daisies at present, and three ponies are grazed here making the most of the late spring/early summer pasture.

The owners, with a background in the air travel business, are making a lifestyle change, downsizing with their children grown up and making the sensible decision to go for quality of life and climate, investing in a South of France property and a smaller Cork pad, and divide their time between both.

Estate agent Dennis Guerin of Frank V Murphy & Co is selling for them, seeking €1.3 million, and predicts the thrust of inquiries will come from families in the suburbs with children looking for space to keep a horse or pony.

Built as a one-off using Fleming Construction’s innovative steel frame methodology and high insulation levels, it ticks this buying profile’s boxes, coming with four stable boxes in a wood-built block with tack room. There’s a compact all weather sand arena, and linked to the main residence via covered walkway is a multi-purpose hobby/workshop/garage/study space. It shares its roof with the main entrance hall, and the simple expedient of a few sections of glazing added would tie it back into the house for more residential usage.

The price guide is €1.3 million for the package with lots of lifestyle extras, and with its three acres of landscaped and themed gardens, is the sort of place that is going to appeal to those who enjoy the outdoors, but need to be close to the city and places of work at the same time. Just a couple of minutes in the car and you are into the greater Douglas maelstrom, or Carrigaline, or the harbour hinterland.

Design is by Mark Stapleton of MJS Architects, who laid out the low-slung house (minimising impact, given the elevate site’s relative visibility from the main road by the Maxol filling stations) to maximise the light and views, both of which are handily in the same direction in the case of Foxbrook.

So, the 16’ by 14’ lounge gets the favourable aspect and it has above spec wiring for sound and TV viewing. There’s a kitchen/breakfast room, 23’ deep by 14’ wide, and both of these rooms have French doors facing one another across a sun-trap patio are, great for midday picnicking. There’s a dining room, or fourth bedroom, plus three other bedrooms, with the master en suite reached through a dressing room space. All of the bedrooms have TV/phone/internet points.

Decor levels are high, the main bathroom is fully tiled, and heating is via oil, and is zoned. The extras include alarm and security lighting, landscaping is in place and will continue to flourish and enhance the setting, and there’s an old Fordson tractor which could be thrown into negotiations and become a bit of deal clincher — doing for dads what the pony potential will do for any offspring.