Describing what sounds like an impetuous decision, the owner of Greenogue, 18 Woodside Village tells the story of how he and his wife came to buy the detached Howth bungalow on an elevated site on Windgate Road.
It was the late 1990s, and for some time they had had a boat moored in Howth where they and their three small children decamped to every summer from their home in Wicklow, so they were familiar with the northside seaside suburb.
As the children grew, they became keen sailors in Howth, which involved much ferrying back and forth during the year.
On one of those Sunday evening trips, with not much advance thought of moving, stopping at the lights at Sutton Cross and spying Greenogue in the window of an estate agency they phoned on Monday, saw the house on Tuesday, offered the asking price there and then, and went sale agreed, selling up quickly in Wicklow.
The swift thinking proved to be a happy move for the family and they are selling now for the familiar reason in this market – downsizing.
The detached bungalow was built in the 1980s as part of the small development of townhouses and apartments in the grounds of the 19th-century house of that name at Balkill Road.
One of three bungalows on the fringes of the old demesne, Greenogue shares the use of 3.75 acres of communal woods and lush gardens, some parts planted more than 100 years ago.
That’s an unusual feature, but probably not as unusual as the fact that as well as its own neat garden plotted out in the 1980s when the property was built, the house comes with 4.5 acres of its own land, not exactly typical of suburban bungalows.
That came about when the previous owners bought what was a small riding school to the rear of the property. In the current owners’ time here that land has been used to graze horses and as simply a rather grand garden.
It is zoned amenity, so developers noting a bungalow on considerable land in a prime location will be disappointed.
Greenogue with 195sq m (2,098 sq ft) has four bedrooms – two upstairs with the family bathroom and with sea views – and two downstairs, the larger with bathroom en suite.
Off the entrance hall the bedrooms are to the left and the large living room and the kitchen are to the right. The current owners added a large conservatory. The Ber is C2.
The location, says the owner, combines the best of both worlds, privacy and the security of knowing there are neighbours around. There is an annual service charge, currently €1,550, which helps keep the communal demesne gardens in such attractive condition.
Greenogue, 18 Woodside Village, is for sale through REA Grimes, asking €1,495,000.
