Spectacular €600,000 Baltimore Harbor site could be the setting for a multimillion-dollar waterfront home

ANYBODY living in this location of Church Strand nearly 400 years ago could have retreated in haste and saved lives – it watches over the entire harbor from Baltimore to West Cork, as well as the River Ilen, handy when the pirates come to plunder.

One of the most imposing stretches of the bay, it is said to have witnessed the arrival of North African Barbery pirates from Algiers in 1631, when among the plunder hundreds of locals (many of them English settlers) raided were captured and taken away as slaves and kitchen rowers, who never returned, in a well-documented event known as the Sack of Baltimore.

This time around, it’s the loot that’s likely to come in, not out, from above the waters as Baltimore’s pink house hits the open market, sparking bloodthirsty interest.

You can get to West Cork’s Pink House by road or by boat, and already viewers are queuing to come to Cork by air, from the US and UK, and then to this abandoned house of Baltimore Harbor, one that is clearly worth more dead than alive.

Probably not more than a century old, Pink House is a traditional-looking, two-storey farmhouse, set in overhanging and towering 7.5 acres, which has direct access to Church Strand Bay, opening onto the wider waters of Baltimore Harbor. , Roaringwater Bay and the 100 Islands of Carbery.

It’s a familiar sight to passers-by either on the main road into Baltimore, a short walk from the village, or by boat on the estuary of the River Ilen, with over 400m of shoreline including several beaches of pebbles at tide.

It is for sale via Maeve McCarthy of Charles P McCarthy in nearby Skibbereen, and she values ​​the property, orchard and good farmland at over £600,000.

Its seller lives in the United States and planning permission has been granted to develop and extend the stone structure, taking full advantage of the views of the harbor and the islands.

There are already many spectacular one-off sites nearby, built on lesser sites and on the nearby island of Ringarogy, and it’s possible anyone buying here will be looking to plan something truly world-class to match the setting.

Also Closeyby with a Rathmore address but no water views, a modern version of a Georgian house on 23 acres fetched £2million last year via Hodnett Forde.

VERDICT: A site like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s not at all surprising that it’s already making waves internationally.