Holiday homes - old and new

Roundstone has long been a painters' paradise and the breathtaking view over Gorteen Bay has been captured on many canvases. A new development of seven three-bedroom townhouses is being launched there this weekend by Mulryan Auctioneers, priced from £165,000 to £180,000. Roundstone View is a row of tall three-storey houses, located "up a boreen" from the harbour in the centre of the village. The top prices are for those higher up with good views over the Connemara landscape. Two are already sold and the remaining five will be ready for occupation this summer. The houses open directly on to the laneway and have an open-plan sitting/diningroom and kitchen at ground-floor level. Floors throughout the house are polished timber, apart from the kitchen and bathroom, and the kitchen comes complete with microwave, dishwasher, washer-dryer and cooker.

The main bedroom takes over the entire first floor and has an en suite bathroom with Jacuzzi bath and a gas coal-effect fireplace. A double and a single bedroom and the main bathroom are on the top floor. All the bedrooms have fitted wardrobes.

There are small west-facing yards to the rear of the houses with just enough room for a deck chair. Each house has a car parking space. As Roundstone is not a designated resort area there are no tax incentives for buying here. On the other hand, owners will be assured that the picturesque village will be free from any large-scale expansion in the foreseeable future. According to agent Martin Gohery, summer rents in the village average around £500 per week. The village of Roundstone was designed around the harbour, built for the Fishery Board in 1822. The surrounding area is of significant botanical and archaeological interest. Angling and sailing enthusiasts pack out the local pubs and restaurants in the summer months and there is a regatta for the old workboats of the region during the holiday season.

The village is 48 miles from Galway and about four hours' journey from Dublin by car.