Bandon river has been both friend and foe, but riverside €650k Glencar keeps its toes dry

Detached home is on Bandon's leafy Laurel Walk with gardens down to the river beneath

Glencar River Bandon SFBB

Laurel Walk, Bandon
€650,000
Size	170 sq m (1,820 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	G

 

THE Bandon river has been a flowing friend of the town of Bandon, which sits along its course from source at Nowen Hill by Dunmanway to find the sea at Kinsale, enabling settlement, milling, brewing and distilling, commerce, angling and other myriad pleasures on its 45 mile length.

Glencar and grounds  (bottom centre of pic) are 1.5kms upriver of Bandon town, high above the river: agent Don Brennan guides at €650,000

The Bandon river has also been an irregular foe thanks to river flooding, with some 40 inundations recorded over the past 50 years, in each and every decade, many wreaking havoc in the town’s lower core.

Last year’s completion of a €30m flood relief scheme by the OPW saw Bandon (and other Cork county towns such as Clonakilty, Fermoy and Skibbereen) manage to avoid the devastation which impacted Cork settlements such as Glanmire and Midleton, yet to get similar intervention.

Tudor saloon

This home, Glencar, has seen the rise and fall of the River Bandon’s levels and flood events from its lofty perch on Bandon’s quite exclusive Laurel Walk. But, thanks to its height above the river, and like its serried, south-facing neighbours, has always kept it feet dry.

“Houses rarely come up for sale on the Laurel Walk,” acknowledges estate agent Don Brennan as he brings this attractive 1964-built family home to the open market, part of an executor sale after the passing of its long-time owner; quite typically, at Laurel Walk, homes stay in the same family hands for many, many years.

Glencar's 0.7 acre drops to the riverbank

Likely to be seen as a prize by many living in and around Bandon, the residential loop fringed in long sections by shiny laurels has a small number (two or three dozen) of detached homes of various vintages, from contemporary flat-roofed arrivals to mid 1900s homes. Plus there are some older period originals such as the late 18th century Coolfada House, and the 19th century The Retreat, the latter appearing on some very exclusive rental websites with daily and weekly rates in the thousands of euros bracket.

Glencar is just on the town side of Coolfada House, likely to have been built in part of its former grounds, and while it might not have quite the same amount of grounds, or grandeur as next door, it shares attributes like river frontage at its lower grounds, and a south-facing aspect with expansive views over the river, old flood plains, farm tillage land and housing running west from the town towards Castlebernard and the golf club.

Sherry FitzGerald Brennan Busteed guide the 170 sq m (1,820 sq ft) four bed detached Glencar at €650,000, and while it’s been well kept and much appreciated, it’s now dated (but not quite as old as the its internal decorative timber beams and Tudor-style paneling in some section might suggest.)

It has a G BER, with electric storage heating and open fires: as it hasn’t been lived in for several years, it may qualify for Vacant Home Grants (of up to €50,000) says Mr Brennan, and will also qualify for SEAI grants for energy-saving improvments.

Steep dormer roof

Its steeply-pitched slate roof, coming close to each end’s chimney caps, should be well-angled for PV and solar panels too, either for water heating or energy generating, while the south aspect also should help with solar gain.

Take the plunge

Just how much more is spent on Glencar post-purchase will be up to its next occupants, and all will be keen to put their own stamp on its and its stepped gardens, stone steps and patios, leading down to the Bandon river’s edge. Comparisons? There’s more than a touch of the city’s ‘Sundays Well’ charm when seen from Cork’s Fitzgerald Park to these Laurel Walk homes, with their elevated river setting and full-on sunny vistas.

VERDICT: There’s a good deal of new housing inching its way out Dunmanway road, but chances to buy into leafy Laurel Walk are, indeed, few and far between.