To the waters in the wild of Ballingeary

Renovated farmhouse is ideal home for those who want peace and tranquility.

Ballingeary, Mid-Cork €495,000

Sq m 200 (2,200 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 4 plus 2

Bathrooms: 2 plus 2

BER: E2

Best Features: Top of the Lee river setting and frontage

THERE’S quite a lifestyle on offer at this renovated farmhouse, at Illinanuagh West, close to Ballingeary at the uppermost section of the River Lee’s catchment.

The mix includes an attractively styled and furnished three-bed house, with self-contained guest bedroom reached via a second staircase, a separate two-bed guest house in a converted, lofted stone stable building, and a more modern mix of outbuildings (with pony trap), with stables.

Plus, there’s three acres of land, and a couple of hundred metres of frontage to sections of the meandering Lee, a few short miles from its scenic source at Gougane Barra.

It was bought in a very raw state in the early 2000s by a couple based in the UK, and they made its renovation a labour of love, says selling agent Andy Donoghue of Hodnett Forde, based in Clonakilty, and who says it’s great for those into outdoor living, fishing, riding, hunting and gardening.

It features some high quality joinery, and a comfortable-looking centrepiece main living area with double-height chimney breast with wood-burning stove, surrounded by a mezzanine landing, and there’s also specially built bespoke furniture and extensive bookshelving, all with a quality country home feel.

“It’s got everything one requires for a life of peace and tranquillity,” says Mr Donoghue on this typically long build, essentially one room wide and called The Farmhouse, and its land is a mix of landscaped gardens by the cluster of house and guest stable conversion, with some woodland and rough grazing.

Outbuildings include a well-built 500 sq ft workshop, and a 650 sq ft stable block with three boxes, tack and feed rooms, and an adjoining 450 sq ft garage.

VERDICT: A well-realised project close to Ballingeary: what are the chances it will again by bought by UK or European buyers who’ll fall for the tranquillity and easy lifestyle promise?