Church Lane, Weston-On-The-Green

An historic thatched cottage with a truly magnificent garden, set on a sleepy lane in one of the area's most highly regarded villages. Lovely character including beams and a stone fireplace, plus modern kitchen and bathroom. Charming in every way and presented in fine order throughout.

Weston on the Green is a small and pretty village just to the North of Oxford. A drive past gives little hint to its ancient origins which include the local church dating in part to the 12th century. Today it is well known by locals for some lovely architecture, two pub/ restaurants, The Milk Shed, a highly acclaimed cafe/ restaurant, a great local store and the Weston Manor Hotel which is a business venue as well as offering " mystery" and other theme nights. The access to all points of the compass is exceptional via both road and rail, with Oxford, London, Birmingham and Milton Keynes all easily accessible. Schooling is also amply catered for with several primary and secondary schools locally which enjoy high Ofsted ratings. Fibre broadband is available in the village.

Dating back at least 400 years, but possibly even older, this cottage is one of just a handful that originated when the village was little more than a settlement in the middle ages. Stone walls several feet thick combine with the exquisite facade of what is a quintessential thatched cottage to raise a smile from anyone who loves historic houses. Once inside, the house provides a surprising amount of room, with character ranging from a stone fireplace to various beams overhead confirming how historic this house is. But for us, the real standout difference between this and anything similar at the price is its garden. Long areas of lawn, busy borders that are a riot of colourful plants, and the seclusion afforded by a wealth of mature trees make this the clincher...

A traditional open porch shelters the entrance through the front door that brings you into a long corridor, with a part-glazed door at the end opening out to a covered area behind that could potentially be enclosed. The character is confirmed by the thick original timber that crosses the ceiling above the hall. Take a right and that beam continues across the ceiling of a very generous living room. Traditional ledge and brace doors, a glorious and deep Inglenook fireplace complete with bread oven, and windows deep set into those thick walls are irresistibly charming. It’s a great space, ample for a large suite and more besides.

Head past the first of two staircases to your left, and you enter the kitchen. We are now in the extended part, with the back of that bread oven now exposed, its wonderfully charred fire bricks now in view! The kitchen is a great size. A generous run of softly-painted traditional units occupies the left-hand side, complete with a thick timber worktop surrounding a Belfast sink. And from here no less than three windows provide excellent light as well as a truly stunning view out across the rear garden. The size of the room is such a large breakfast table sits to the far right with ease.

Back to the sitting room, take a right and at the bottom of the second stairs is a very tastefully-designed bathroom. Unusually for a cottage, this is a large room, so much so that there is both a roll top bath and a shower. It’s exceptionally attractive and stylish with Edwardian style sanitary ware the majority of the theme in here.

Head up the stairs adjacent and at the top the smallest of the three bedrooms is unusual and unconventional, but thoroughly charming. A casement window to the front peeps out under the thatched eyebrow of the roof, overlooking the sleepy lane opposite. A bank of wardrobes provides generous storage just next to it, and there is ample room for a double bed and more if needed.

The door to the side leads through into another bedroom, much larger, albeit very similar in style including another eyebrow casement window. And it’s lovely to see the fireplace retained. A further door brings you to the last of the three bedrooms, another characterful and sizeable room with the last of the dormer windows looking out the lane. And in describing the bedrooms it’s really important to recognise that the two staircases allow them to have a good degree of separation from one another.

The outside space will be a huge and pleasant surprise. For some reason this cottage has taken the lion's share of the garden on this row of cottages. Behind the house a terrace runs the full width, a lovely spot for summer dining. And the afore-mentioned covered space behind the hall has as-yet untapped potential. The beautiful lawn heads away from the house for some distance, flanked by several sheds to one side and a bewildering diversity of lovely border plants, mature trees and shrubs flank the other.

Thereafter the garden turns gently round behind the left neighbour, a very broad space and one that's also utterly private. Veg beds, a large bark-chip-covered play space for the children, another large seating area, all edged with more flowers, shrubs and trees framing it. It's hard to overstate the importance of this garden as an asset. The potential is endless, from creating workshops, an outside office, pergola, to a serious veg patch or even some re-wilding with beehives! Or, just relax, open a bottle of your favourite something, and enjoy a uniquely lovely garden the envy of all...