A couple of miles outside Duleek brought me to Drumman House, a lovely period residence set on 102 acres of farmland in the heart of east Meath – a county that is not immune to hosting some of the finest farms for sale in the country.

While driving towards Drumman last week, the first thing that struck me was the wonderful character with its mature trees, post and railed fencing, well-kept lawns and long winding avenue.

Just launched to the market in the past fortnight, the property comes with a fine period residence, a newly refurbished two-bed gate lodge, a farmyard and a sporting lodge. Since acquiring the property 10 years ago, the owners made a number of improvements that included tarring the main entrance, planting a beech hedge the full length of the avenue, installing electric gates, strategically planting hardwood trees on the land and giving the gate lodge a complete overhaul.

For sale by private treaty, this impressive package is being offered by selling agent Pat O’Hagan, Savills Country, Dublin, at a guide price in the region of €1.95m.

Almost bisected by the Navan/Drogheda commercial railway line, around 52 acres lies on one side with circa 50 acres on the other. But access to fields is not impeded in any way by the railway line as there are a number of access points off the nice long entrance that leads up to the house and yard. I believe at one stage that Drumman was a working dairy farm but has been used in more recent years for tillage and grass. Currently, circa 17 acres are in stubble, eight acres are in woodland/natural habitat while the remaining circa 77 acres are laid out in pasture. Part of the grass area has been reseeded and in the main the land has mostly been used for the harvesting of meadows in recent years. It has been let out for the past decade.

Accessed through wrought iron electric gates, Drumman House is approached by a long winding avenue that takes in a hump-backed railway bridge and eventually culminates at the forecourt to the front of the house.

Partly post and railed fenced, the rustic colours emanating from the beech hedging – which was planted by the owners on both sides of the entrance – is just beautiful at this time of year. Centrally located, the residence is a two-storey house that dates back to the 1700s.

Completely refurbished in 2002, the house is presented in excellent condition and comprises two reception rooms, kitchen, pantry, office, utility and conservatory with three large bedrooms (one en suite) and bathroom upstairs.

To the rear of the house are a range of lofted traditional outhouses that feature the former cow byre, tack room, stores and workshops. There is also a lean-to for machinery and a large concrete shed which is currently used as a workshop – this shed comes complete with corrugated iron walls and roof and two large enclosed (lock-up) store rooms.

Apart from the main entrance, there is another gated back entrance (also features electric gates) which is more than wide enough for large chunky machinery. This entrance is also lined with lovely beech hedges.

The one feature that stood out for me during my visit was the gate lodge. Fully rebuilt about six years ago, the lodge features a fabulous natural stone and brick exterior with granite ledges. Apart from giving the original gate lodge a major overhaul, the owners added a fine L-shaped extension that now gives over 1,800 square feet in accommodation. It now incorporates a large kitchen/ living area, utility, two bedrooms (one en suite), family bathroom and a second living/office area. Features include recessed lighting, marble fireplace with solid fuel stove, Belfast sink and ceramic tiles.

Being an avid enthusiast of clay pigeon shooting, the owners also built their own shooting range on the land along with a club house. CL