Fair winds behind sale of West Cork's €1.2m Windswept Cottage?

What's in a name? Buyers more likely to be more blown away by the setting than gales at B1 upgraded waterside home

Windswept? Or Sun-kissed? Well-set and comfortably upgraded bungalow overlooks Castletownshend and  Reen Pier in West Cork. The setting has prompted estate agent Maeve McCarthy to launch it at €1.2m

Castlehaven Harbour, West Cork
€1.2 million
Size	-
Bedrooms	-
Bathrooms	-
BER	-

THIS stunningly-set, upgraded West Cork bungalow clearly wasn’t named with its eventual re-sale in mind — it’s called ‘Windswept’, conjuring images of Atlantic gales whipping around the walls, upending garden furniture, pervasive draughts, and chills.

The water-fringing elevated site has been added to too

A savvy seller might have been better minded to call this one-off, high above the water at Reen harbour, and facing moneyed, honey-spot Castletownshend ‘Sunkissed’ — it’s certainly more evocative as a title, with a warming allure that might well lull some home hunters into viewing and a purchase, perhaps for their own, future, golden years.

Sun-kissed?

Truth is, it’s both windswept and sun-kissed — depending on what the weather throws at it.

Interior of the B1 rated home with stove

And, as it is entirely open to the elements along Ireland’s southwest coast, future residents here will not be in any confusion as to what season they have, or how to dress appropriately when out in the great outdoors, or out on the water, right on their doorstep.

‘Windswept’ is a home that comfortably embraces all that’s thrown at it, and as it comes for sale the good news is that it’s been cosied up and invested in by its current owners, so that now it gets an excellent B1 energy rating, and among the warming-up measures invested in of late are a heat pump for underfloor heating, a stove, triple glazing, and improved insulation.

Walk-in order

Comparing ‘now’ images with those coming up on Google’s Streeview drive-past of this Reen-set and water’s edge property also shows the roof redone now to flat, dark tiles in place of older red clay ones; the 1980s-era Georgian style small paned double glazing switched to more energy efficient and more aesthetically simple dark framed triple glazed units; improved privacy screening from the cul de sac road where it now has two entrances, as well as some wrap-around windbreaks and screens, with a curved stonewall, and glass balusters on the front terrace, framing but not impeding the views.

Terrace

And oh those views, especially when the sky is dramatic, the sea is wild, or the sun is setting over the facing hill at Castlehaven and Castletownshend.

The views west and south from ‘Windswept’ are probably on a par with the better of the views from better-known Glandore a mile or two to the east and over a few other equally beautiful inlets, glimpsing rocks and islands.

Reen is underappreciated....

As Castlehaven harbour offers pretty much good shelter for boats in almost all weather there’s always something of interest passing by on the water, be it pleasure craft, fishing boats, those leaving from Reen pier and the spit to go whale watching, or kayakers going out with the legendary Jim Kennedy of Atlantic Sea Kayaking exploring the coastline east and west, from Muckross and Rabbit Island to the rising haunch of Toe Head and the treacherous Stags Rocks.

Reen is set only a few miles out of Union Hall, where a yet-to-be-aired Netflix series tentatively titled Bodkin (produced by a US company associated with Michelle and Barack Obama) was shot.

Lights, camera action

Glandore is also within a 10- to 15-minute drive, as is Leap, about halfway between Skibbereen and Clonakilty south of the N71, on the Wild Atlantic Way.

If it weren’t essentially a cul de sac, Reen would be far better known and far more trafficked; as is stands, it’s more or less a discrete destination for a handful only, though the presence since covid of a food truck/coffee station in a former horsebox by the sandy spit had added a bit to its appeal for day trippers.

There’s only a handful of homes either side of Reen, the spit, pier (with slipway) and with shingle beaches dotted about, while the successful Australian artist John Kelly lives out at the harbour mouth, with his farmstead land dotted with sculptures including an example of his signature ‘cow up a tree’ pieces which have been exhibited globally.

Actor  Jeremy Irons ( with his dog Smudge) giving a recitation at Reen Farm, West Cork as part of the 2018 Coming Home Event / West Cork Garden Trail Celebration Evening.

OF THE already few Reen residences, ‘Windswept’ is one of an even more elite band, some four or five only on the water side of the cul de sac road out to Bunnaglanna beach, set comfortably high above the water and waves. However, there is direct (steep) access down to the shoreline and a few shingle inlets uncovered by the tides for those who want to so commune with the sea: the property also has its own boat mooring, and slipway access at Reen Pier less than a kilometre away, notes Maeve McCarthy of Skibbereen-based Charles P McCarthy auctioneers.

She’s selling ‘Windswept’ for an Irish owner, and says the ground it stands on has been added to for more private outdoor space; it has been upgraded inside and outside, has that impressive B1 BER, considerable privacy, and those money-spinning, eyeball-grabbing views.

As a consequence, she guides at €1.2 million, a sort of price level that wouldn’t have been achieved so rapidly round these parts only a few short years ago. While the covid-times ‘shift’ has now found more of an equilibrium and now noticeable reduced demand for remote workers, it hasn’t stopped the impact on prices being paid for the Wild Atlantic Way’s better waterside listings...especially those with water frontage.

The sculpture 'Cow up a tree', by John Kelly at Emmet Place, Cork city in 2011.Pic: Larry Cummins

For those who can afford it, and who prize views and a location well-above rising sea level/tide levels, ‘Windswept’ will tick lots of boxes.

It’s as suitable for occasional and visiting/vacation use as it is for full-time occupancy, and its simply landscaped grounds (behind two electric access gates) won’t demand huge care. Its acommodation inside is all on the one level, with three bedrooms (none of them very large) two of which have private (updated) bathrooms, while there’s also an excellent, bright extended living area and an up-to-speed kitchen too, with good finishes and décor, currently enhanced with well-chosen art, and coastal charts of the immediate locale.

House-wise, there’s about 1,520 sq ft in all and future owners might be more than happy with it, or seek to extend upwards, or outwards: a neighbour nearer the pier has spent heavily, including on huge stone restraining boulders or gabions and extensions.

Windswept?! Installation at  Castlehaven Harbour by the artist John Kelly.

The only Reen district sale showing on the Price Register anywhere near the €1m price mark is the far larger Blind Harbour House, selling in 2022 for €1.2m (it had made €690,000 in 2015), and while a number of Castletownshend village/area houses (mostly period ones) have topped the €1m barrier, there’s little with the same sort of commanding, elevated and well-aspected position as ‘Windswept.’
VERDICT: This home got its name before it got all gussied up to a B1 energy rating level of comfort, so now occupants are more likely to be blown away by the views than by anything else

Get ready to be blown away in coastal West Cork