West Anstey, South Molton, Devon, EX36

Positioned at the end of a 200 yard-long approach drive, Hill Farm is set amidst truly beautiful, lush countryside in an almost incomparable setting on the side of a valley. The house overlooks the stream below and is set within ten acres of garden and pastureland, with nearby access to some of Exmoor's finest walking and riding country.
It is Grade II listed as a lovely example of a typical Devon farmhouse of the period and is thought to date back to the late 16th century, originally incorporating an integral lofted stable and salting room. It was extended and enlarged over the following two centuries and is built of local stone and traditional cob under a Devon slate roof. Today it is very well presented and has been sympathetically refurbished to a high standard. It is full of character with many original architectural fittings such as impressive, chamfered ceiling beams, exposed roof and ceiling timbers (many of which are painted white), oak flooring upstairs plus inglenook fireplaces in the sitting and dining rooms, now fitted with wood-burning stoves. The snug used to be the salting room and has oak mullion windows and a plank and muntin wall. The original fittings are complemented by more recent fittings such as stone and slate flooring downstairs and bespoke painted timber units, granite work surfaces, a Stanley range cooker in the kitchen, and a gorgeous new island.
Upstairs in the main part of the house are three double bedrooms. The main bedroom has an adjacent dressing room/occasional bedroom plus a bath and shower room on the secondary landing. Off the main landing are two bedrooms and the family shower room. Attached to the western end of the house is a self-contained annexe with its own entrance, a sitting room and kitchen/dining room on the ground floor and a double bedroom and shower room on the first.

Outbuildings, Garden & Land

The house is approached along an unmade track that passes the western end of the house and on to a group of period outbuildings arranged around a concrete yard used for parking.
The outbuildings consist of a former piggery, which now serves as a laundry room and two stores, a further outbuilding, a four-bay linhay (traditional open-fronted agricultural building with two storeys) and a hay barn. Attached to the rear of the house at one end is a charming party barn with a traditional thatched roof supported on exposed roof timbers. The approach track continues through the yard and on to a contemporary stable yard consisting of an L-shaped, timber-clad range of two loose boxes and a foaling box arranged on two sides of a concrete yard. To one side is an all-weather manège bound by post and rail fencing. The house and outbuildings stand in just over 10.5 acres. Formal, landscaped garden surround the house and comprises various levels of lawn, dry stone walling and stone-paved terracing. Beyond to the north-east and south-west is sloping pasture divided into two paddocks bound by mature field hedging studded with native broadleaf trees, an orchard and a further turnout paddock.

Hill Farm is situated amidst unspoilt countryside outside the tiny village of West Anstey, which lies in a sheltered valley within Exmoor National Park and close to the moor itself. The small market town of Dulverton is about 15 minutes' drive away and is a vibrant community with many independent shops including a butcher, baker, greengrocer, delicatessen and a mobile fishmonger, who visits twice a week, plus a monthly farmers market. Nearby transport links include the A396 and A361 Devon link roads linking to Junction 27 on the M5 and Tiverton Parkway station, which has a regular service to Paddington (1 hour and 52 minutes). For air travel, Exeter Airport offers connections to both national and international destinations, including a regular service to London City Airport (60 minutes). The area also offers a wide selection of schools from both the state and independent sectors including East Anstey Primary School (Ofsted rated 2), West Buckland School, Blundell's and Blundell's Preparatory Schools in Tiverton and The Maynard and Exeter Cathedral School in Exeter.