House of the Week: All hands on deck at this dreamy €470k Cork hideaway

Rural Cork home with panoramic views, bow-shaped deck, wildlife sightings and easy beach access lists for €470,000

Willow Hill, Carrigaline, Co Cork. Pictures: Ted Murphy

Willow Hill, Carrigaline/Minane Bridge
€470,000
Size	126sq m (1,350sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	1
BER	D2

There's almost a bow-and-arrow geometry to this one-off home south of Carrigaline, shooting off to the coast — the house is set on an arrow-shaped site at the foot of rural Willow Hill, while one of its clever features is the addition of a bow-shaped deck, done in easy-keep composite materials, with three access points to it for expansive country views.

The curve of composite decking was added to this south-aspected bungalow about 20 years ago by its long-time owners, who bought it in 1983. They previously had added a multi-sided sun room off the kitchen some five years earlier. Together, the two additions made not only the best use of the internal layout but also the nature of the site, sloping down from the main build on its mature, landscaped site.

The elevated decking — almost like a viewing platform over land and out towards sea — has twin sets of double-glazed French doors out to it from the main front living room, as well as from a third matching set by the dining area in front of the kitchen.

“It turned out to be fantastic, just looking out at the fields, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner in total privacy in the sun, or using our outside heater in the winter enjoying a drink looking at the stars. In short, it was a great addition,” say the still appreciative owners.

There’s an outdoor link back to the glass-roofed sunroom, installed around 2000, “and sometimes, even in the winter, we get solar gain on sunny days, which heats up one side of the house”.

Because of the southerly aspect, and the four sets of French doors, “there’s lots of light, and the aspect is ideally suited to solar panels”, say the owners, now vendors, who are over 40 happy years here in situ, with family now reared.

“We’d been humming and hawing over whether to install solar panels, but knew we would move, so we didn’t. However, when the sun rises, the place enjoys its rays all day long until sundown, and they’d be a great further addition for the next owner to enjoy,” the couple advise.

Having bought the brick-faced c 1,350sq ft bungalow, at the foot of Willow Hill on the road out from Carrigaline towards south Cork’s Minane Bridge, in 1983, the duo reckon they’ll move back close to town services. However, they acknowledge the great times they have had here in a location that’s rural yet only minutes to and from beaches, with local schools, organic farms, and a good neighbourhood mix. Buses stopped by their gate to pick up children for national school at Minane Bridge, and for the secondary years in Crosshaven, while “pubs and lovely restaurants all just a very short drive away”, they add.

They are selling now via agents Dean Guiney and Michael Pigott in Carrigaline, with a €470,000 AMV cited for the four-bed home, in excellent overall condition, ready for another family to enjoy the lifestyle on offer, with beaches within back-road walks away, and which yield views across to Cobh and Roches Point at the mouth of Cork Harbour.

From these roads, “on a clear day you can see the gas platforms to the south and the Galtees to the north-east. Dunbogey Head is just minutes away, where sometimes we watch whales with binoculars pass the south coast,” say the departing residents of over 40 years.

Right on their doorstep, the countryside allows “waking up most days to the wild call of buzzards, who are a daily sight from the house due to the proximity of a lovely mixed wood next door”. Five buzzards were seen wheeling about one year at the same time, while another highlight was seeing a small herd of red deer led by a stag. “They first appeared about 10 to 12 years ago, and we saw them every autumn until about four years ago — we live in hope of one more viewing,” say the couple.

More regular are the sounds of cows, close enough at times to be heard pulling the grass as they devour it.

Back inside, the owners/vendors have kept things simple but did insulate the attic and pump cavity walls with beading. They also changed a few rooms, adding a stove etc, and the BER is a D2. Adding solar panels or doing an external wrap would really improve that.

The sharp-angle sloping site (with its own services and extra deep-water well) is just a bit under an acre and, over time, has had its entrance opened up to allow more car access and parking. The gardens include a veg plot, organic and chemical free for at least 25 years, resulting in abundant bird and wildlife, from pheasants to foxes.

Listing mid-summer, agent Mr Pigott endorses the rural setting but also its accessibility to amenities and services in Minane Bridge village as well as to the sea and beaches, and says it’s in excellent order, inside and outside, with mature grounds and views.

VERDICT: All hands on deck.