£10m-plus for 4,152 acre sporting estate

One of Ireland's largest and most beautiful sporting and agricultural estates, Ballinacor House, near Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, has come on the open market for the first time in 200 years. The 4,152-acre estate, high in the Wicklow mountains, is expected to make over £10 million when it is sold by private treaty through Ganly Walters and Scottish agents Strutt & Parker. Ballinacor is owned by the Earl of Meath, who plans to move to the family seat, Kilruddery, a mansion in Bray on 800 acres, following the death of his father in 1998.

The centrepiece of the Ballinacor estate is a charming Georgian house where Lord Meath, his wife and three children have resided since 1986. It is situated directly under the wooded Caran Top hill. The estate's location, in a glorious valley enclave, makes it one of the most notable sporting estates in Europe.

Although run primarily as a pheasant shoot, the estate also has grouse on the moors, duck shooting, Sika deer-stalking and trout fishing on its own lake. Callum Bain of Ganly Walters says it is acknowledged as "the best pheasant shoot in Ireland", because of the superb coverts and terrain. About half the 4,000-plus acres are in heather and mountain ranges, the highest point no less than 2,400 feet above sea level. Part of the high lands are subject to commonage grazing.

A further 520 acres are in pasture while more than half the 600 acres of woodland are home to stands of ancient oak. Running for three miles through the estate, the Avonbeg River completes the picture of timeless tranquillity. This is especially true of a second valley at the back of the house which was farmed by many families up to the time of the famine, but which is now frequented only by wildlife. In addition to the farming, pheasant shooting is operated as a commercial enterprise, attracting wealthy sportsmen mainly from the United States, Italy and Scandinavia, as well as Britain and Ireland. Around 8,000 pheasant are bred annually on the estate for up to 25 driven shoots.

The privacy and secluded nature of the estate is all the more surprising as it is within an hour's drive of Dublin - 43 miles from the city - in off-peak times. The mile-long avenue from the front gate to the house starts in the tiny village of Greenan with its conventional pub, church and little else. The winding avenue runs through some of the oak woods planted by the Kemmis family in the early 1800s. Rhododendrons and azaleas spill in profusion through the lower regions of the estate providing an ideal habitat for pheasant, woodcock and Sika deer. These areas are a riot of colour in May and June. The autumn leaves are almost equally impressive.

The site for Ballinacor House was carefully chosen. It faces southeast, with stunning views down a green valley flanked by woodlands. It is a large, rambling twostorey house built of Wicklow stone and distinguished by an impressive singlestorey Ionic portico. There is a stoneflagged entrance hall and behind it a handsome two-storey hall with an oval lantern and oval gallery with a wrought iron banister. Ornate plasterwork is evident throughout, while below, there is parquet flooring with an unusual herringbone pattern.

There are four further reception rooms, the most notable being the drawingroom at the front and side of the house and the diningroom at the rear. The drawingroom is a particularly impressive room with a three-bay curved bow and French windows overlooking the formal gardens. Again there is intricate plasterwork including a frieze depicting mythical birds and branches of fruit. The diningroom also has a bay, this time supported by columns and pilasters. The oak-panelled walls underline the formality of the room. On the opposite side of the house there is a large kitchen complete with Aga, old-style cupboards, formica worktops and bench seats.

Upstairs, there are 11 bedrooms and a few other rooms that have not been used for decades. There are also two further reception rooms, one with a coved ceiling and wood-burning stove. The oil-fired central heating system is confined to the ground floor, but virtually all the rooms upstairs have open fires. The main house is linked to a gabled office wing complete with Italianate campanile tower with a clock face on two sides. The clock reputedly dates from the same period as London's Big Ben.

There are two farmyards and four houses on the estate, and three cottages in need of modernisation.