Lockdown in angler’s heaven
IF you love the look of a traditional cottage but not the work — or investment — involved in dragging it into the 21st Century, there is a solution. Buy one that has already been modernised. Bakewell Barn in Mayo, halfway between pretty Foxford and Swinford villages, takes the vernacular revamp to another level. The work was done in 2005 when sculptor Tim Morris commissioned architect Mark Stephens (markstephensarchitects.com) to turn a traditional cottage and outbuildings into a comfortable five-bedroom family home.
The redesign more than doubled the size of the old cottage from 80sqm to a spacious 230sqm by adding a barn-style extension. It boosted the energy ratings to a relatively cosy BER of C3 — the architect has since gone on to specialise in passive house projects — and added French doors, a rooftop terrace, a mezzanine space and a loft that makes an ideal artist’s studio.
The architect sited the extension at right-angles to the traditional cottage to take advantage of solar gain, and one side now features four large floor-to-ceiling windows, while the other has three sets of French doors out to the gardens.
All for the price of a two-bed apartment in Dublin city centre.
The current owners Sally Dew and Stuart Cudden, who are from the UK, bought the property in 2018, when it was on the market with an asking price of €220,000. They were both working from home and, like many of us under lockdown, realised they could relocate to somewhere more peaceful without disrupting workflow — as long as it had good broadband and easy connections to the UK — Knock Airport is a 25-minute drive.
They came across Bakewell Barn. “We walked up the drive and fell in love with it before we even walked in the door,” says Sally. It has made the ideal pandemic property — they were lucky enough to be at the house when restrictions began. “It’s been perfect to work in.”
The property was lovely, the location so peaceful when they bought it but, says Sally, it was a little ‘tired’. “That gave me a blank canvas. We re-tiled the kitchen, we painted throughout and put in a new bathroom.”
She even painted the chimney pots, window frames and doors in cheery colours. “I like pattern and colour, something that catches the eye, I like something to be ‘noticeable’.”
The barn now contains a living space that is, says Sally, “the heart of the house”, a light-filled sitting/dining room with hardwood flooring and a wood-burning stove, one of three they installed. “I used to run a small catering business in the UK so dinner parties are something I’m keen on,” says Sally, which may explain why there are so many nice spots to sit and drink in the view, both inside and out of the property.
There are double doors through to a breakfast room, and another seating area where Sally likes to tap away at her laptop. It too has a wood-burning stove. “If it’s a really cold day,” she says, “you can shut the room up and put the stove on.”
Two steps lead down to the pretty kitchen with hand-decorated units, a Belfast sink, and integrated appliances. There is also a handy wet room, utility room and a door out to the garden.
Upstairs there are two bedrooms with doors on to a balcony and the rooftop terrace, and a large bathroom.
Access to the old cottage is off the kitchen. There is a large sitting room with a traditional stone fireplace which houses a solid fuel stove that heats the radiators in this part of the property. There are also three more bedrooms. and a sunny loft. “It’s constantly flooded in light and works perfectly for painting,” says Sally, who often brings her sewing machine or paints here to work. “It’s like a studio.”
To the rear, there is a row of big barns that offer huge potential, subject to planning, for conversion into living spaces or accommodation for a holiday rental. The largest of these was used by Tim Morris to forge his sculptures, though Sally and Stuart now use it for storing all the tools and machinery for the garden. A section of the roof on another barn has been replaced with Perspex and now functions as a greenhouse for the vegetables that the couple like to grow.
Bakewell Barn is the last house on a lane off the main street of the village of Cullinaughton. The property sits on a small rise in nearly an acre of grounds with a stream running through the landscaped front garden. Between the house and the barn, the vendors have added a west-facing patio that gets the sun from lunchtime onwards.
This area draws anglers from all over Europe. The River Moy flows through Swinford and Foxford, and on to Ballina, and is well stocked with salmon, while the nearby Callow lakes are rich in trout. The distinctive cone-shaped peak of Nephin and the Ox mountains are popular with walkers, and the 33km Foxford Way Loop winds its way through the varied terrain of bogland, mountain and riverbank passing historical sites en route.
Foxford is home to the well-known Woollen Mills, which also has a good restaurant — a favourite with Sally and Stuart for brunch. There’s a Centra for the weekly shop or Ballina, 20 minutes’ drive away, for stocking up the larder.
Swinford, 6km away, has a Tesco, a homewares store, district hospital and banks, and a buzzing GAA Club.