Sweet Cork starter home comes with cottage garden

Built for ex-servicemen, it dates back to the time of the Titanic

The Cottage, Brambleton, Carrigtwohill

Carrigtwohill, Co Cork
€235,000
Size	42 sq m (452 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2:
Bathrooms	1
BER	G

THE charm of the garden that comes with this dinky Carrigtwohill cottage is down to the pedigree of its owner who comes from a well-known family of masterly gardeners in the Cork area. Having advised thousands of householders on how to make the most of their acreage over the years, it comes as no surprise that this garden has been well worked too.

In fact the fine rear garden was one of the attractions when the owner bought the compact property in Brambleton, by Carrigtwohill, in 2006.

Off what’s known as “The Bog Road”, the soil is particularly obliging. “You can throw anything into it, and it will grow,” she says.

Included in that “anything” are apple trees, figs, blueberries, raspberries, logan berries, and red currants. There’s even a Western Australian Netbush and a plum tree, which yielded enough fruit for dozens of jars of jam last year.

“It’s bigger than an estate size garden, about 5m × 18m out the back, with room to extend if you wanted to” she says. There’s lawn out front too, with room to park two cars.

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The gorgeous 42 sq m stone cottage dates back to the time of the Titanic and is one of three built for ex-service men, each on an acre, since carved up for more homes.

The Cottage was “a blank slate” when the owner bought it for €180,000 and she did it up on a budget (€30,000).

“It wasn’t in a bad state. I put in new doors and internal insulation and a new kitchen, bathroom, and hot press. Also central heating and sockets for outside lights.

“I put a stove in and it’s honestly a very cosy house.

“It’s cheap to run because it’s so small. I spent just €350 on oil last year and €100 on eco logs,” she says.

She adds that it’s a terrific starter home, that helped her get on the property ladder, which she is now ascending, to buy something with more room for hens and a puppy.

Selling The Cottage, with a guide price of €235,000, is Adrianna Hegarty of Hegarty Properties. She says the location is “excellent”, within walking distance of Carrigtwohill, where there’s a rail link to Cork City.

VERDICT: A sweet starter home or downsizer, with a great garden pedigree.