Narnia at the bottom of the garden? Check out this €380,000 Valley View House in Rathcormac

IF the notion of free-range kids indulging their Narnia fantasies is on your house-hunting radar, a home in Rathcormac with its very own bottom-of-the-garden woodlands may be just what the lumberjack ordered.

There’s plenty for the adults too at this architecturally-designed home in Glenakip, including 2,150 sq ft of living space and a fine outdoor patio/entertainment area with fabulous views over the countryside.

Valley View House is not your typical four-bed family home: It has higher ceilings (vaulted in the hallway), some nice split-level quirks and an eye-catching set of bespoke sliding barn doors separating the kitchen from the living room.

 Two separate lounge areas are created in this room by a feature brick chimney breast where a double-sided stove can throw heat out in both directions.

Selling agent Donal Barry of Sherry FitzGerald O’Donovan says Valley View House was future-proofed when built in 2002.

“It’s an architecturally-designed, timber frame construction, and energy-wise, probably ahead of its time, with the installation of underfloor heating.

“Even though it’s nearly 20 years old, it has a really solid B3 energy rating,” Mr Barry says.

The house was originally designed for a foreign couple, Mr Barry says, but came up for sale in 2015. Mr Barry handled the sale at the time and is back in the frame once more as the family that bought from him six years ago, for €295,000, are re-locating.

He says there’s keen interest in Valley View House, which he is guiding at €380,000.

“It’s a terrific trade-up for anyone looking for more space and something that’s a little bit different. There’s strong enquiries coming from Glanmire, from people living in three-bed semis. A lot of it is to do with quality of living,” he says.

There’s plenty of quality on offer at Valley View House where the owners made the most of their 2.5 acres, dividing it between garden and woodland (roughly 60/40 split, according to Mr Barry) and installing their own colourful, child-friendly walkway around the woodland. The property is bounded by a stream and the family regularly picnicked nearby, in this charmingly Blyton-esque setting.

Back indoors, family living is very much reflected in the layout, with an open plan kitchen/dining area, from where patio doors open out on that enviable rear garden.

The living room is reached via steps down under an archway and a double door leads from the lounge area to the ensuite master bedroom. Two of the four bedrooms are ensuite and one bedroom has a door to the garden.

Location-wise, Valley View House is a five minute drive from Rathcormac village, where a new national school opened in recent years, 10 minutes from secondary schools in Fermoy and 20 minutes from the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

VERDICT: Tailor-made for childhood adventures and quality family living.