A sporting life in the suburbs for €1.15m

Quarry Road winds up into the hills, on the back road between Shankill and Bray, and Aldaniti is very well positioned: high enough to get views from the upper floor all the way to the sea, but not so high that it begins to feel windswept. Named for a famous Grand National winner, a stable and what was once a paddock at the back hints at the original owners' love of horses.

More recently, this rambling (it’s 380sq m/4,100sq ft) five-to-six bedroomed house has been home to an energetic sport-loving family, who have found plenty of space for gym equipment, golfing paraphernalia, a pool table and a table tennis table within its walls. The house is long and low, and four of the bedrooms, along with a gym that could become a sixth bedroom are on the ground floor. The family bathroom at this level has a sunken Jacuzzi, which would give the water charges a run for their money.

There’s also a large entrance hall, TV room and a well-kitted out and impressively huge kitchen/dining room, leading through to a sun room, which in turn gives on to the large back garden. There’s a fish pond out here, mature trees and lots of lawn.

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Enormous landing

Upstairs is an enormous landing, which doubles up as a gallery overlooking the kitchen. The present owners have glassed this in to keep heating bills down. This area has sea views, and leads through to the master bedroom, which has a dressing room and en suite. A pair of glass doors here are testament to an original idea – to include a balcony off the bedroom, a project that didn’t meet with planning approval once upon a time, but it may be worth looking into again.

There’s a bit to be done around the house and, to borrow the phrase, there’s masses of potential too: some of the design and decor speaks of a particular era (like that Jacuzzi for starters), and it needs a bit of paint here and there, and some work in the garden for starters. The upstairs landing leads through to a cosy study, and onto a long storage space under the eaves, which would benefit from being kitted out with more shelving to make it really earn its keep.

Outside at the front is a wide tarmacadam area, with parking for a fleet of cars, and a large garage with room for even more. This has a games room above, and it too would reward extra attention. Aldaniti is in a great area for those wanting access to schools, shops, the LUAS and Dart, and the M50 (all a short drive away), but still dreaming of being in the countryside.

Guiding at €1.15 million with Sherry FitzGerald, it's a bank sale, and you may well be getting a bargain for size and potential.