For much less than a house in Clondalkin or Tallaght, you can buy a good-sized three or four-bedroom semi on one of the older estates in Celbridge, Co Kildare. Although Celbridge is only 13 miles from O'Connell Street, it has the country village atmosphere of somewhere much further out. A Sunday walk in the grounds of Castletown House is well worth a forty-minute car journey from Dublin. You can still find quiet spots on the banks of the Liffey here and pick bags of blackberries for the freezer.

It's not all perfection of course. The narrow bridge which is the only access to the town's Main Street from the Dublin side is as choked with traffic as Burgh Quay on a Friday evening. Getting to the city in rush hour will take the best part of an hour and a half, taking into account the single-carriageway as far as the motorway, the M50 interchange and inevitable tailbacks on the quays. New estates spreading out on the Maynooth and Clane roads are expanding the town limits and creating an unfortunate suburban look. But that's the fate of villages within commuting distance of the city.

Martin Sheehan commutes by train to his job as a District Court Clerk. He and his wife Sarah moved to Celbridge because there was little money to splash around and houses were cheaper. At first, he travelled by motorbike, so was unaffected by the traffic. He has finally hit on the perfect compromise - a short cycle to Hazelhatch rail station, the train to Heuston and another bike stored at Heuston station for travelling along the quays to work.

For car drivers and househunters, a Draft Plan for Celbridge going on public display in the library in the next few weeks should provide some cheer. Town Mayor Kathleen Walsh says there will be proposals to rezone 80 acres on the outskirts "in a spread around the town to achieve balance." The hump-backed bridge will be widened and access points to the M4 and the west via an inner ring road will ease rush hour congestion on Main Street. New housing developments will include creches and there is to be a public park. A much-needed shopping centre is planned for the south side and an equestrian centre will go on three acres of land south of the town. St Brigid's National School is to relocate from Main Street to a site on the Ardclough Road.

One of the best things about Celbridge is the vast amount of open parkland for walks . Castletown House is now in the charge of Duchas. Restoration work is under way but the house remains open to the public, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. At the other end of Main street is Celbridge Abbey. Once the home of Jonathan Swift's Vanessa, the abbey is now owned and managed by the St John of God Brothers. The Liffey-side walks planned by Vanessa to mark Swift's visits are well-frequented by the people of Celbridge. The Abbey enterprise includes a coffee shop, crafts and a conference centre. Look out for the life-sized wooden animal figures along the river and the ancient stone bridge over the Liffey at Vanessa's Bower.

The community centre in a converted mill near the Abbey is probably the most-used facility in town. It has a well-equipped gym and sports hall, creche and any amount of children's activities.

First-time buyers moving to Celbridge can join classes in yoga, badminton, soccer, karate or salsa dancing. It's a lot cheaper than smart city centre clubs - a work-out at the gym costs £2.50 and annual membership is £160.

Dubliners Yvonne Ryan and Sarah Cuffe moved here about six years ago as first-time buyers. They both have small children and meet regularly at the Community Centre for children's activities and to socialise with other young mothers. With all the facilities for families, they say they would never move back to the city, although there is "very little in the village for teenagers."

Where can you buy affordable houses in Celbridge?

For low budgets, ex-council houses behind the Main Street on St Patrick's Park can be bought for around £100,000. They are older, quite attractive and very close to town. The more settled estates built in the 1980s are another good buy. Three and four-bedroom semis here may not have modern features, but the avenues are leafy, gardens are larger and the prices are much lower.

Try Castletown Estate, where a three-bedroom semi will cost around £130,000, or a four-bedroom detached £165,000. The good thing about here is the ability to move up within the development without having to move schools or make new friends. Other mature estates are Thornhill Meadows, Ballygoran and Willowbrook.

Of the more recent housing schemes, St Raphaels Manor, Oldtown Mill and Wolstan Manor are extremely popular. The back-to-back two-bed townhouses at St Raphael's Manor are the hottest properties in town, say many agents. Overlooking large greens and costing under £100,000 when first launched about two years ago, these are now fetching over £130,000. Gunne Residential notched up £132,000 for one a few weeks ago. Larger family houses at St Raphaels cost from £165,000 to £220,000.

This estate runs through to the Clane Road, where large five-bedroom detached houses at Grattan Court are making £350,000. Nearby is St Wolstan's Community College and the elegant Setanta House Hotel, a popular venue for weddings. A new road to link the Clane Road with the M4 is to be built in the next two years.

Probably the smartest residential road in town is the Ardclough Road. Chelmsford, about 10 years old, is a small development of five-bedroom detached houses which fetch around £300,000. The newest estate in town is Simmonstown Manor, soon to be released for sale. Prices are not yet finalised for the three-bedroom houses and two-bed apartments, says selling agent Richard Brophy of Coonan Estate Agents.

The prettiest houses in Celbridge are also on the Ardclough Road. Temple Mills is a tiny enclave of period riverside cottages, once condemned and now highly sought-after. Coonan Estate Agents recently auctioned one of these for £175,000. Further up the road on the left, Newtown Cottages fetch between £250,000 and £350,000 depending on size and condition.

For anyone wanting to be close to public transport, the houses on Hazelhatch Road near the rail station are a good bet. Older detached houses on mature gardens fetch £280,000 to £300,000. A very seductive four-bed dormer bungalow with a stream running through a very large garden is for sale with Coonan for £360,000.

Hazelhatch Station has good parking facilities, although park-and-drive commuters have been put off by occasional vandalism here. Up from the station, the canal is a picturesque spot, with colourful barges and two canalside pubs which do a roaring trade in the summer. The Dublin side of town is ideal for anyone who has to drive to the city. Detached houses in Ballyoulster sell for about £190,000. Here, you are very close to the boundary of Lucan, yet house prices are around £1,500 cheaper.