West Cork farmhouse with 7.2 acres, treehouse and wildlife sanctuary on the market for €525,000

A 12,000km trip to the Indonesian Isles was the catalyst for buying a house at Coolea in West Cork.

The owner of this four-bed, detached farmhouse at Milleens, near Ballyvourney, had been to the Indonesian provinces on bird-watching adventures, photographing birds of paradise.

She enjoyed her excursions so much that “it was painful to be back in a material, throwaway world”.

“I wanted, I needed to find a low-tech bolthole with lots of nature in the countryside. I play the bodhrán, so when I was in Ireland anyway, I saw this house and just fell in love with it,” says Jean Goldberry.

In 1996, when Jean bought this detached house it wasn’t the charming, rural idyll it is today: “There was no running water and no electricity, so a lot of life was by candlelight and involved filtering water from the stream. I was used to travelling with just camera equipment and a small medical bag at that stage, so living with no electricity and no running water was no problem to me.”

“I did a lot of the work, like mixing cement or cutting timber by hand. I put a roof on the barn and built up the walls with the help of a travel companion. I had been in dugout canoes in mangrove swamps in Papua New Guinea with my son, so this was no bother to us.”

It was initially a holiday home/project and then, in 2007, it became a permanent home and has “been brilliant”.

For someone who once travelled so lightly, Jean then transported some hefty items to this house, which is 20 minutes from Macroom town.

These include:

A ‘bed’ milestone from Langstone harbour mill, which was built in 1720;
Beams from Bealick Mill in Macroom;
A big rope block and tackle from Plymouth Dockyard, used to tie ratlines to the deck on galleons;
Ropes from the sail loft in Dartmouth;
A bell wheel from the 11th century Holy Trinity Church in Old Bosham.

“They’re all part of this home’s history now,” Jean says.

Pond view framed by a stone wallA ‘bed’ millstone from Langstone harbour mill which closed as a mill in 1939

Some more modern and practical specifications were also added, including oil-fired central heating and laminated glass in all the windows as a security feature.

Jean, an artist, who once worked as a British Airways cabin crew member — including assisting in an unexpected passenger birth, and performing CPR on a man who had stopped breathing — worked hard to revitalise the 7.2 acres around this house, too.

Part of the property is a ‘forest garden’ with an eclectic mix of native trees and more unusual ones, including blue sausage fruit, bladdernut (“which tastes like pistachio”), cobnuts, and Japanese walnut.

After air hostessing, Jean studied horticulture — as a professional garden designer, she featured on BBC Two’s Gardeners’ World. In the polytunnels here she’s grown cherries, nectarines, and plums.

Upstairs study area with access to balcony and view of the mountains. Pictures: Larry CumminsRear garden deckingBalcony area off the main master bedroom

“I’d love to see this house being occupied by a family with children again. There’s so much here for them. There’s the decking, the tree house with a ladder up to it. There’s so much room for more here, too. I have fenced off two acres. My own grandchildren were playing here the other day and I saw them bringing a basket with some croissants up the tree on a rope. There’s a firebowl too, where we reheated pizzas from the evening before from The Top of Coom, a 12-minute drive away.”

There’s also a pond: “I’m setting up the pump and water purifier and when that’s up and running again you’ll be able to swim in it. I’ve been in it myself.”

‘Embracing couple’ stone sculpture beside the pond

Agent Killian Lynch, of Killian Lynch Auctioneers, salutes all the hard work: “Credit to Jean, it’s a beautiful and unique home now. And there’s already quite a bit of interest in it from people in Britain and also from up the country.”

The C-rated house is on the market for €525k as the owner is moving to England.

As well as being hugely attractive to the children in the family, this property also gets visits from wildlife, including red squirrels, rare butterflies, deer, foxes, birds of prey, a ‘chatty’ raven, and a beautiful pine marten, who “visited until he killed my bantams and didn’t bother coming back”.

A stove in the traditional style farmhouse fireplace. Groundfloor guest bedroom

Some more domesticated guests include two kunekune pigs: “They keep the grass nice and short. They have their own chalet and love foraging under the nut trees. Timmy and Rosie have actually been trained to sit on command and are so friendly, kind, and companionable. They’re gorgeous. They will be rehomed… unless, of course, the new owners would like to talk to me about them.”

Jean with her Kunekune pigs Rosie and Timmy at Milleens. Picture: Larry Cummins

Back in the 219sq m house, there are deep sills, exposed brick and rafters, and oak flooring. There’s a second-level balcony/deck at a gable end and also a large, covered, verandah-style decked area, which gets lots of use as a sheltered ‘outdoor room’.

It’s around a 10-minute spin to Ballyvourney, and Macroom town is 20 minutes away. And for bigger purchases or some hustle and bustle, you’ve got Killarney to the west, at about a 25-minute drive, while it’s 45 minutes from Cork city.

There’s a swimming pool and an Irish-speaking primary school in Cúil Aodha, 1.7km away. And there’s a secondary school, Coláiste Ghobnatan, 5.2km away in Ballymakeera.

VERDICT: From birds of paradise to West Cork paradise, a truly unique rural haven.