Co Louth: €800,000 The bungalow for sale on nine acres at Funshog, Collon, Co Louth is pleasant and bright with 171sq m (1,839sq ft) of comfortable living space.
Built in 1974, what it lacks in modernity it makes up for, superbly, in the use made of its spectacular location. The sittingroom is positioned so that picture windows to the front and rear frame rolling vistas of radiant lake, gardens and woodland. This design plan, which has the bungalow accommodating the surrounding views, follows through in all of the rooms so that you never, at any point, feel detached from the excitement outside.
A workman's stone-built cottage, facing the road as you enter the grounds, is included in the sale. Lisney, quoting an AMV of €800,000, will put bungalow, cottage and land to auction on September 14th.
Nearby villages include Collon and Ardee. Drogheda is a short drive away and from Dublin, using the M1, the drive takes about 40 minutes.
The L-shaped bungalow has four bedrooms, with the main one en suite, one reception room and kitchen/breakfast/diningroom. A fireplace in the soft-green painted sittingroom has a marble inset while all of the bedrooms have built-in wardrobes. The kitchen/breakfastroom/diningroom has wide, sliding patio doors leading to steps down to the garden and lake.
The 49sq m (527sq ft) cottage has three rooms with high, tongue-and-groove ceilings. The floorboards everywhere are original and each room has a fireplace; that in the kitchen/livingroom even has the original crook from which to hang pots. The cottage needs work but is the sort of place to fire the imagination. Similar cottages in the countryside around are being snapped up for conversion into homes or weekend retreats.
The surrounding nine acres have been cared for with loving enthusiasm - and it shows. The lake, once a reservoir but with rights long relinquished by Louth County Council, has lily pads, rushes, grasses and an enviable amount of wildlife, such as ducks and moor hens. A designated lake walk takes you along the shore and through sheltering tall trees while a perimeter walk is longer and offers the same wooded walking experience.
From a gently sloping, well-fenced paddock at the further end of the property there are even, on a clear day, views of the Mourne Mountains.
