Breakfast on the deck where not much can outdo the view from €675k Crosshaven home

Irish Examiner

01-05-2025

FIVE years spent in Greenwich, Connecticut, a favoured New Yorkers summer escape with a 32-mile coastline, left a lasting impression on the couple that bought Waterville on Crosshaven's Point Road.
'We lived on the coast in Greenwich and we loved it and you could say that's what drew us here,' says the owner of superbly positioned, radiantly bright Waterville, a property you'd think could hold its own among the homes that dip down to Long Island Sound.
As a couple very aware of life's stages, the decision to buy in Crosshaven 19 years ago was part of a retirement plan.
'When my husband retired, he wanted to move by the sea and I have to say the move lived up to our expectations,' says the woman of the house.
She's blown away by the wildlife.
'I think the thing I like most about this house is the wildlife, which I hadn't expected when we came here. We've seen pods of dolphins and seals, we can hear Oyster Catchers feeding in the morning when the tide is out and we see curlews and sandpipers and herons. It's fantastic.'
Giving the wildlife a run for its money in the category of most enjoyable aspect is the ebb and flow of the ever-changing seascape. All the moving parts of Cork's inner harbour are visible from Waterville: the yachts that head to sea from the safety of the marina at nearby Royal Crosshaven Yacht Club (RCYC); the giant Rotar blades of a wind turbine powering pharma in Ringaskiddy; the Cork/Roscoff ferry on its 14-hour trip to Brittany.
Aerial view of inner harbour Picture: Denis Scannell
Not everything in the habour is a moveable feast. The dense green treetop canopy of 35ha Currabinny Woods, on a hill above the harbour, is a fixture of the Waterville vista.
Currabinny Woods is directly across the harbour
You can drink it all in from the generous timber deck at ground floor level where dining out is an art form, or from the first floor balcony accessible from the study (best home office in Cork?) or from any of the habour-facing rooms in this spacious, 155 sq m property.
You can step straight from the home office onto the balcony
The crowning glory is the sunroom, wide as the property itself, and deep enough to comfortably accommodate a lounge at one end and dining at the other, with French doors to the deck at the midpoint.
Doors lead from the sunroom to the deck
De luxe sunroom
Overhead, made safe by a glass balustrade, is the first floor balcony.
First floor balcony
'The sunroom is terrific because you can enjoy the view whatever the weather. If guests are coming, you don't have to worry about sunshine. They can dine in the sunroom and it's just as nice to look out,' the owner says.
Dining indoors with sea view
They have a sun nook to the rear of the house, but it doesn't get as much use, because it doesn't have the views. The same goes for the substantial rear garden.
Overlooking the rear is the kitchen, which has a sitting room section.
Kitchen/living room
A sitting room across the hallway is open to the sun room.
The main bathroom underwent an impressive upgrade 18 months ago.
Despite an obvious love for her home, within a short stroll of Crosshaven village and just a half hour drive from Cork city, the owner is sanguine about selling up. 'We've always moved our lives in stages,' she says.
Karl O'Reilly and Michael O'Donovan of Savills are handling the sale and reckon the pretty coastal home will have a broad appeal, from those looking to relocate to the coast, to families trading up, to 'anyone with a boat, into sailing, who can just drop their bags and go'.
The agents, who expect domestic and international interest, are guiding Waterville at €675,000. There's been significant price creep recently on Point Road as big names in aviation, pharma and construction bed down. Two Point Road properties sold in 2022 for c€1m.
VERDICT: Multiple points of interest at this classy Point Road home.