MOVE TO
NICOLA BRADY takes a tour of the Emerald Isle and recommends some fabulous places where you could make your home
With white sand beaches, dramatic cliffs and epic seafood, Ireland’s coastline is mesmerising. And between the picturesque bays and tiny coves, you’ll find charming villages and bustling towns where you can make a home for yourself.
Here’s my guide to eight cracking coastal communities on the island of Ireland worth exploring when it comes to making the move:
SLIGO
Up on the north-eastern coast of Ireland, Sligo is one of those counties that ticks all the boxes when it comes to knockout scenery. There are striking mountain ranges, lakeside forests and cute thatched pubs clinging to the edge of the shore. But there’s also a thriving artistic community, with theatre groups, art galleries and more traditional music than you can shake a fiddle at.
If you like to keep active then you’re in for a treat – Sligo is the surfing capital of Ireland, with the opening of the brand new National Surf Caentre in Strandhill and a solid reputation for big wave surfing in the winter months.
Cyclists can make the most of quiet country roads and epic (thigh-burning) climbs and there are sea swimmers in the water every day in Rosses Point. It’s also a great county for food – you can eat plump, sweet lobsters at waterside restaurants, pluck wild oysters from the shore and go foraging for seaweed.
The biggest coastal village is Strandhill, with most of the properties found in the sprawling (but still attractive) housing estates around the strand. Pick wisely, and you can probably get a sea view without busting the budget, even if you have to squint a little to see it. The more chi-chi neighbour is the village of Rosses Point, on the other side of Sligo town. The houses here are more quaint, but come with a bigger price tag.
If you’re happy to go rural, you can pick up a bargain (relatively speaking), particularly in the inland locations. There are plenty of giant McMansions with little charm, but also converted cottages and derelict properties aplenty, if you’re not shy of a challenge.
Sligo town is a buzzing place, with characterful townhouses and apartments overlooking the river that flows out to the Atlantic. While the days of bargain property finds here are long gone, the prices are still favourable and you can benefit from t
