. . . if you're a horsey family looking for a home with room to roam. Property Editor Orna Mulcahy visits a Wicklow home perfect for families, parties - or even work, for auction at €2m-plus

The Castle Yard in Glanmore, the Devil's Glen, near Ashford in Co Wicklow is an unusual country house that has been refurbished to an exceptional standard over the last 12 months by its owners who are now moving to the Caribbean.

A sprawling four-bedroom house set around a courtyard garden, on total grounds of 2.5 acres, it has an idyllic location set within the grounds of the Devil's Glen Equestrian Village, 1.75 miles from the village of Ashford. It's guided at €2 million prior to auction on April 27th through Douglas Newman Good, where Brian Dempsey is handling the sale.

It's a hugely appealing home, particularly for those with young children who want to keep a pony or two. Extremely private behind its high electronically-controlled gates, it is also part of a ready made community of horsey folk who keep their own ponies or stable them at the equestrian centre.

The 441 sq m (4,750 sq ft) house is in immaculate condition, having been stylishly and expensively refurbished both inside and out. A superb country-style kitchen is at the heart of the house with a huge central fireplace flanked by two Agas. The two gleaming new ranges and accompanying Sub-Zero fridges give some indication of the level of expenditure throughout the house. Ceilings were raised, new floors laid and bathrooms fitted with top of the range sanitary ware and marble tiling.

Some of the stables were converted into two vast games or party rooms, while the final wing has been left as stabling, offering further potential for development. The two games rooms offer scope either for parties or offices.

It's a long rambling house with a series of lofty interconnecting rooms radiating from the kitchen. On one side is the library - a 30 ft room with a high vaulted ceiling and a tall cut-stone chimneypiece that is repeated throughout the house. French doors lead on one side to the front courtyard, and on the other to a verandah overlooking a linear garden. Beyond the library is the main bedroom suite with a marble-clad en suite bathroom that's as big as many a family's sittingroom. The bedroom is elegant, with French doors to the garden and a wall of fitted wardrobes.

On the other side of the kitchen is a large diningroom, and beyond this again is the drawingroom with its series of arched windows overlooking the courtyard where the owners' children roar around the gravelled paths on quad bikes.

A concealed staircase leads to the upper floor where there is a luxurious guest bedroom suite. A separate staircase leads to two further bedrooms, both with full en suite bathrooms with roll top baths.

The entire yard was once part of Glanmore Castle next door, a turreted castle built in the mid-1800s, which was home to the MP Francis Synge, uncle of playwright John Millington Synge. The castle has since been divided into a number of units and one of these - a large four-bedroom house on two acres - is also on the market, asking €1.75 million through Hassett.

For a virtual tour of The Castle Yard, click on nicemove.ie