To the waters, the wild and the west wing of this renovated €495,000 Beara home

Innishfáil is set in majestic landscape near the village of Castletownbere

Innishfáil, Castletownbere

Castletownbere, West Cork
€495,000
Size	203 sq m (2185 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	B2

 IF you accept that home is where the heart is, then the decision by the owner of this handsomely renovated, superbly situated property to sell up, in favour of being close to family, is easy to understand.

Instead of looking out towards the island where her daughter and family have settled, she is heading across the waves to them, to Bere Island, leaving behind the mainland home she bought with her late husband in 2014.

The couple that bought Innishfáil, a two-storey home, in the townland of Filane Middle, in Beara, just under a decade ago, were from the UK. It was the first step on their journey to be closer to family, as their daughter was married, with family, on Bere Island.

They set about renovating Innishfáil, adding a substantial “west wing”, of which the highlight is a downstairs reception room, that faces both west and south, looking out over their fine garden but also over the Beara coastline.

Living room

 It's a bright and airy room with doors with doors to a sheltered, west-facing sun terrace and to the beautifully landscaped front garden, bounded on the eastern side by a splendid natural water feature, a fast-flowing, gurgling stream.

Stream on eastern boundary

It sounds pretty idyllic because it is, set into a rugged and dramatic landscape, with competing views of mountain and coastline, and no clear winner.

Front garden

Making good use of the site’s elevated position is the upstairs study/home office, as generous as the living room beneath it and sharing those same views.

Study/home office

 Downstairs, the kitchen diner looks seaward and opens into the big living room via double doors. There’s a utility/back porch too, and a ground floor bedroom with adjoining washroom – handy in a two-storey home by the sea, whether as a guest room (who wouldn’t want to stayover in Beara?) or for future proofing. There's a second living room downstairs too, which could help avoid arguments about TV channels.

Upstairs, the master bedroom, one of three, is ensuite and there’s a family bathroom and a stira to a a fully-floored attic space.

The guide price for 203 sq m Innishfáil, on almost three quarters of an acre, is €495,000 and Mr Harrington predicts similar interest to that shown in Waterfall Lodge, another gorgeous Beara home not too far down the road, which featured in Property in December, with a guide of €550,000. It's all but sold now for well above that price.

“What we saw in the case of Waterfall Lodge was a lot of international interest, from the US and Europe, and we would expect a range of potential suitors here too,” says Mr Harrington.

“It’s no longer the case that we’d be relying on local families, particularly because of the location, but in saying that we do expect local interest too,” the agent adds.

Village of Castletownbere

Innishfáil, which has a private drive and plenty of parking, is just 3km from the picturesque fishing village of Castletownbere and is on the famous Wild Atlantic Way.

VERDICT: Who wouldn't love a home in rugged and ancient Beara? This one makes the most of the views and condition is turnkey.