Live the good life in Wicklow countryside

A Gothic-style lodge near Ashford in Co Wicklow with a gate-lodge, river walk and large stableyard has an AMV of €3 million. Anne Dempsey reports

Hidden away in the countryside between Ashford and Glenealy in Co Wicklow, Glenealy Lodge, a pink Gothic-style house on 20 acres of grounds, will appeal to city dwellers keen to escape to the good life.

The Victorian lodge comes with a gate-lodge and stableyard and has a totally private setting off the Glenealy Road three miles from Ashford.

It carries an advised minimum value (AMV) of €3 million prior to auction through Daphne Kaye & Associates on May 2nd. The price reflects the fact that parts of the house need some modernisation.

Built in 1850 and formerly a shooting lodge, the estate was owned for a century by the De Butt family. When the present owners moved in 25 years ago, they embarked on a considerable refurbishment within and without.

There is now 478sq m (5,150sq ft) of generously proportioned accommodation which has been laid out conveniently with the more formal rooms accessed only as needed.

Many original period features - plasterwork, fireplaces, staircase and interior doors - are in excellent condition.

Reached by a 300-yard tree-lined avenue, the south-facing exterior is painted pale pink with the front door wreathed in flowering creeper.

Holding centre stage in a dramatic entrance hall is a marble fireplace with doors at either side opening to an inner hall. There are four reception rooms, including a first floor study.

The drawingroom has a splendid overmantel and lovely garden views through its bay window; a morningroom enjoys the early sun.

An L-shaped area comprising kitchen, breakfast and family room provides a warm and handsome heart of the home. This section is served by a scullery and store rooms.

A lovely original staircase rises from the inner hall to five double bedrooms and three large bathrooms.

There are a variety of first floor views of the stableyard which has been upgraded in sympathy with the main house, providing five horse boxes and tack room. An attractive archway leads to the hay-barn and paddocks.

The two-storey gate-lodge has a low-ceilinged sittingroom, kitchen, two bedrooms and bathroom. A private front garden is separated from the lodge by the entrance drive.

This drive opens out into a parking area in front of the big house, surrounded by a woodland-style garden.

Sixteen of the 20 acres consist of pastures, fields and grazing lands. The four acres of gardens include a rear lawn, formerly a croquet court, a river walk, boxed-hedge fruit and vegetable gardens, and a tennis court.

There are many specimen trees and shrubs, including a wonderful Spanish chestnut on the front lawn.