Arklow/€1.8m: Wicklow has it all - - rural peace near Dublin. Sandra O'Connell looks at a stud farm near Arklow.

Citydwellers hankering after country life could, for not much more than the price of a good redbrick in D4, pick up a pristine stud farm on 45 acres in Co Wicklow.

Jackson-Stops is guiding a conservative €1.8 million for Wish Willow Stud, located just two minutes from the N11 to the south of Arklow. The lavish modern house is on the market four years after being designed and built by its current owner.

Though extending to 557 sq m (6,000 sq ft), the mainly open- plan house is cosy and, it would appear, easily managed. Although it has one second-storey room, the house is primarily a bungalow.

Set in a secluded position at the end of an impressive driveway lined with young trees, the outer and inner entrance hallways have limestone flagging and exposed stone walls. The latter recur throughout the house.

The main two-storey high reception hall has exposed timber cross beams and a large open fireplace. Leading off it, via a circular stone staircase, is the upper landing and home office or study which has a reception area.

The study has fitted cherrywood cabinets and shelves throughout. French doors lead from it to a balcony overlooking a central atrium.

The diningroom is a raised area with a French oak floor. Leading off it is the house's main reception room, which is almost 50 sq m (538 sq ft). It too has exposed cross beams and a stone fireplace as well as an integrated conservatory leading off it.

The kitchen is divided into a business end featuring a large range-style cooker (not included in the sale) and a separate bright breakfast area.

Of particular appeal are the white Christians kitchen-style cupboards. Custom-built, these run the full height of the room.

Tucked away off the breakfast area is a sunken reception room including fireplace and quarry- tiled floor.

Three double bedrooms run along a corridor off the main central hall. Each has an en suite shower room and French doors leading to a series of individual patios.

The superb main bedroom suite has its own sittingroom with log-burning stove. It also has its own mini-kitchen area. A short flight of stairs leads to the bedroom proper. A good size, it includes custom-built wardrobes and home entertainment cabinets.

A large dressingroom with floor-to-ceiling wardrobes leads to matching his-and-hers bathrooms, one with sauna.

Outside, the centrepiece of the garden is a small lake with pumped waterfall, sundeck, barbecue and patio area.

Despite its newness, the garden is surprisingly mature and cleverly planted for minimum work. More labour intensive are its thriving vegetable and fruit gardens.

In the stable courtyard, which has a clock tower, there are 20 loose boxes featuring under floor drainage and rubber flooring. The foaling boxes all have CCTV. The yard also includes many of the ancillary buildings and barns and the land is immaculately laid out in post and railed paddocks.