The lure of coastal living cannot be understated, with its fresh air, the roar and energy of the waves, and the ebb and flow of the tides helping to mark time passing. If you fancy escaping the city for such pleasures, then this periwinkle-blue beach house, Little Orchard, in the townland of Kildermot, outside the seaside resort of Ballymoney on Co Wexford’s coast, could be the place to lay your sunhat.
Ballymoney is about 6km from Gorey and its population doubles in size during the summer months when the holiday homes and caravans are all filled to capacity with second-homers and visitors. But even in low season many of the houses are occupied, creating a community spirit that is absent in some other resorts.
The timber-constructed home in question is thought originally to have been built in the 1960s and has been enlarged and upgraded many times since then. The current owners bought it in the early 2000s and did some work then, but embarked on a far deeper retrofit in 2013, when it was considerably upgraded.
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The works included rewiring and replumbing and it has been insulated to such a degree that it now has a C2 Ber. Damp off-peak weekends will not be part of the experience.
The current owners also gave great consideration to its decor. Now a three-bedroom house, it opens into a small porch that leads through to the large open-plan livingroom cum eat-in kitchen. The main family bathroom is to the right off this room.
Tastefully done, the large open-plan room has a wood-burning stove as the focal point of its dual-aspect living area, while the kitchen units are set in an L-shape with a small breakfast bar punctuating one end.
The kitchen opens out to a raised and paved terrace which steps down to a lawn and mature planting. All told, the property is set on about 0.16 of a hectare (about 0.4 of an acre).
The main bedroom is en suite while the other two bedrooms share the family bathroom.
While the set-up looks to be in the middle of nowhere, it is by no means remote. Set well back from the road with lots of hedging for privacy, it is also within distance of the last orders bell at the Tara Vale, a gastropub, just a few minutes’ walk from the local convenience store and about a 10-minute stroll to the sea at Ballymoney beach.
The 84sq m (904sq ft) property is asking €250,000 through agents Sherry FitzGerald O’Leary Kinsella.
