A six-bedroom period house half a mile from Lough Derg in Co Tipperary, with a pre-auction guide in the region of £450,000, could tempt the most committed city dweller to up stakes and relocate to the country. Ballycraggan House, near Nenagh, is on about 12.5 acres of gardens with a paddock, farmyard and duck pond.

Agent Lisney expects interest at the auction on May 25th to come from a wide spectrum, including boating enthusiasts, although the house would make an ideal guest house or permanent family home for anyone who appreciates country living. The two-storey house, which is pink-painted and has pretty dormer windows at the front, has been restored and modernised in recent years.

There is a bright reception hall with a fanlight and windows overlooking the front garden. A very spacious drawingroom to the front, with two picture windows, has a fine marble mantelpiece and ceiling cornicing. A timber-floored inner hall leads to a family room, which has a wood-burning stove and oak mantelshelf.

The kitchen looks out on the side garden and has an oil-fired Aga, double-bowl Belfast sink and a good range of teak-topped units. A pine ceiling has inset spotlights. To the rear, a small studio has an open fireplace and beamed ceiling. Through an archway there is a guest cloakroom and storeroom/laundry.

At the top of a period staircase, off a bright landing, there are six bedrooms and the main bathroom. This is the size of a double room and has an antique bath in the centre of the room, with a cast-iron fireplace and hot press. The largest bedroom also has a period fireplace.

Bedroom two, slightly smaller but still huge, has two picture windows with views over the grounds. There is a cast-iron fireplace here too and an en suite bathroom. Three further bedrooms all have their own fireplaces and the sixth room, a large single, has fitted cupboards and an en suite lavatory. Although the house is undoubtedly charming, the 12 acre grounds are also a great attraction. The sweeping driveway is lined with lime trees and whitethorn hedges and cedar, oak and walnut trees shelter the house.

A spring-fed pond has become a sanctuary for wildfowl and an island has been planted with alders. There are also plenty of fruit trees, including three varieties of plum. Close to the house there is a farmyard and stableyard with five loose-boxes and an old coach-house.