THE VIEWS from a large family home, a short walk from Dalkey village and a few steps away from Killiney Hill Park, take in a wide sweep of Dublin Bay, from Howth over to Ringsend.

The current owners of Uplands, the four-bedroom home on Dalkey Avenue they have lived in for 20 years, say they'll miss the views by night - all twinkling city lights - as much as the daytime views when they leave.

But now that their children have moved out, the couple want to downsize to somewhere nearby.

Their 262sq m (2,280sq ft)house is for sale by private treaty for €2.9 million through Sherry FitzGerald.

Uplands, between Ardbrugh Road and the entrance to Killiney Hill Park, was built in 1938 by its only previous owner, local builder Thomas Macken, who made it his family home.

It is a bright and airy house, perfect for entertaining, with an open plan layout which allows people to circulate freely: the main livingroom/diningroom running the depth of the house opens into a kitchen/breakfastroom with, on one side, a snug TV room, and on the other, a sunroom which opens into a private rear garden backing onto Dalkey Hill/Killiney Hill.

This has a large much-used patio with a smooth green lawn sloping steeply upwards. (Soft music wafts from the flowerbeds - the owner shows me his outdoor sound system cunningly concealed in pretend rocks, a present from his daughters.) There is a large lawn at the front, and room to park up to six cars.

Upstairs are four bedrooms and the family bathroom. The main en suite bedroom has the same sweeping views of Dublin Bay as the bay-windowed livingroom below.

The house is in apple pie order with lovely original features, like the parquet-floored hall, stained glass windows and deep mouldings.

New owners might want to modernise some of Uplands's more dated aspects, like the bathrooms, but in general, this is a home that's ready to walk into.