House of the week: Hungry Hill Cottage, West Cork, €375,000

Sq m 160 (1,700 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 3

Ber: C2

West Cork’s 17th literary festival gets into character this coming week in Bantry, involving a number of international writers, many of them with West Cork links and roots, continuing and even deepening the area’s long literary tradition.

One of the region’s craggy peaks, the 2,250ft high Hungry Hill, was used as both backdrop and metaphor for the saga of a mining dynasty on the Puxley family of Cornwall and Allihies; it was the title of Daphne du Maurier’s great 1942 novel Hungry Hill, and also in a way inspired the construction of this very charming stone-built West Cork property.

Set against the backdrop of the Cork-Kerry Beara border peak, which attracts climbing enthusiasts from far and near, Hungry Hill Cottage looks out onto sloping wooded countryside and across Bantry Bay to Bere Island.

Selling agent Carmel O’Regan of REA Celtic Properties says that, as locations go, this one is quite spectacular.

Though nominally a cottage, it is a two-storey property with 1,700 sq ft of living space on a site of one-and-three-quarters acres. Hungry Hill Cottage was constructed in the 1990s by a local builder, who identified a growing market for scenically-located holiday homes.

Thirty years on, the owners are a couple from the midlands who have made West Cork their second home.

Since they bought it 10 years ago, they added a two-storey stone-built guest cottage which matches the appearance of the original. They also reconfigured the entrance and added electric steel gates, redecorated the interior and tiled the ground floor room.

The addition of a stove in the living room and a new condenser boiler brought the BER energy rating up to a C3 which is good for a property of this age.

Attractive design features in the cottage include the stonework, as well as the small-paned, French-cottage style windows, which are used to good effect in the sun-room and in a bay window area at the front.

The semi-circular sun-room has views of the mountain, the sea and the gardens and looks as if it might well be the most popular room. Ground floor living is open plan and includes the sun-room, as well as a 25’ long tiled lounge/kitchen/dining area.

The kitchen has painted timber units, the lounge has a stone fireplace with a stove and the living area has a bay window facing out on to Bantry Bay.

To the back of the property, with views of Hungry Hill and the gardens, is the en-suite master bedroom. Other rooms at ground level include a double-height entrance hallway, a guest WC and a utility room.

Upstairs, there are two 14’ by 16’ timber-floored bedrooms with Velux windows, as well as a bathroom. In keeping with the cottage-style design, one bedroom has a Juliette balcony with double doors at one gable end, offering views of Bantry Bay to the south east and Hungry Hill to the north.

The 32’ by 18’ detached guest cottage in the gardens has been completed on the outside, but the interior is a shell without fixtures or fittings.

There is much diversity in the gardens which have a meandering driveway, graveled spaces, lawns and areas of rocky outcrop. There’s also a woodland area where bluebells bloom in the spring.

Located at Rossmacowen on a small road off the Glengarriff-Castletownbere Road, Hungry Hill Cottage is close to here climbers start the ascent to Hungry Hill. It’s approximately 10km from Castletownbere and 8km from Adrigole.

Seeking offers of €375,000, Ms O’Regan says this is exactly the type of property which appeals to foreign buyers.

“We have had interest from the UK and Dublin and we have shown it to a number of viewers looking for a second home to retire to in West Cork.”

Newly added to the books of REA Celtic Properties, Hungry Hill Cottage has also been listed with Dominic Daly Auctioneers.

VERDICT: Perfect for buyers wishing to admire, ascend or be inspired by Hungry Hill.