If I were young again I'd love to have a go at a place like this, says Agriculture Correspondent Sean MacConnellof this Wicklow hill farm
IF YOU ever wanted a chance to get away from it all and start a new life close down to the soil, a property which has just come on the market in Co Wicklow could give you that opportunity. For less than half the price of a three-bedroom house in south county Dublin, you could become the owner of an 89-acre hill farm at Muckduff Lower, near the village of Kiltegan, in Co Wicklow.
The property which is for sale by private treaty has an asking price of €385,000 and that is exceptional value in this day and age as that works out at €4,325 per acre, which is very cheap indeed for land.
Of course, there has to be a downside and that is the fact that the farmhouse that goes with it is in need of total refurbishment.
There is also what auctioneer, Savills HOK of Dawson Street, Dublin, describes as "attractive stone outbuildings". Not being an auctioneer, I will settle for the truth that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it's probable that some people may find the outbuildings attractive.
What is also a fact is that this area is one of the most beautiful parts of the country and the farm itself is snug under Keadeen mountain which I had the pleasure of climbing last Saturday.
The farm is on the side of the mountain and I suspect that anyone who purchases it will have little time to go hillwalking except to go herding sheep or cattle.
It is most likely that this place,which is 7kms from Kiltegan and just over 16kms from Baltinglass, will most likely be purchased by someone from the growing ranks of urban people of all ages who are seeking the good life.
The recent downturn in the economy has rekindled interest in self sufficiency and more and more folk are looking at growing their own food and fuel and even generating their own electricity from windmills or hydro schemes.
Speaking to those involved in providing alternative energy at the recent National Ploughing Championships, they told me that when the price of oil spiked recently, they could barely keep up with the flood of queries from the public. A hill farm in Muckduff Lower will never suffer from a shortage of wind or indeed water, situated as it is on the side of the mountain.
Growing your own food might present a problem in this area which is very high and is subject to frost but the dozens of folk I know who have moved into that general area over the last 10 years seem to manage well enough.
There is also the prospect of planting half or all of it in forestry. That is what many of the incomers have done with the land they felt unable to manage or did not need.
If I were young again, I would love to have a go at a place like this and try a mix and match of everything from rearing sheep to turning one of the "attractive outbuildings" into a hostel for walkers.
Before you think of raiding your bank balance or selling off your home to move down there I suggest you look at a book published recently by Teagasc with the Irish Farmers Journal. Called 101 ideas - innovation in the countryside" have a look and then decide whether or not you want to move and find the good life.
