Pound Lane, North Crawley, Buckinghamshire, MK16

BEAUTIFUL BARN CONVERSION, WITH GORGEOUS GARDENS, IN A SPECIAL SPOT

A wonderful, brick and slate barn conversion, with 5 bedrooms, including one downstairs for visitors or grandparents and a small one within the main bedroom suite, which makes a super nursery or dressing room – oozing character throughout, not least in the lovely, central, light-filled living space. Gumbrills Barn, with its gorgeous gardens, is set, peacefully, with its neighbour in a no-through, tree-lined lane with fabulous countryside walks all around. It seems almost greedy that it’s in a Buckinghamshire village that is blessed with numerous facilities too.

Wander down the lane from your new home to Sunday service at the 12th century Church, one of only three in the Country to be dedicated to St Firmin. Perhaps stop for a drink at the Chequers, a traditional, dog-friendly pub, collect your newspapers from the village stores and your meat and dairy from award-winning local farms.

Young children walk to and from their little primary school, which is rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. And there’s not one but two village halls that lay on all manner of events for the friendly community. At the bottom of the lane, through the trees, cricket pitches, bowling green, playing fields and wooden play equipment will provide hours of fun for all ages.

North Crawley is just a short bus journey from Newport Pagnell and its well-thought-of Academy School. Nine miles equidistant of Milton Keynes and the historic market town of Bedford, the famous shopping centre, the world-renowned Harpur Trust private schools and fast trains to London in just over half an hour, are all within easy reach. Gumbrills Barn is a special family home in a location that’s hard to beat.

MORE ABOUT THE PROPERTY

Take a moment to admire this former barn’s beautiful brick walls, their inset decorative detail, and the almost imperceptible curve to meet its neighbour. See how wooden doors cleverly reveal separate glazed doors which allow light to stream into the kitchen.

No wonder there’s a seating area artfully positioned to take advantage of the pretty front garden. Silver birch vies for attention with architectural palm, cardoon and acer. Alliums and hollyhocks return every year to stand proudly to attention, varieties of clematis rightly refuse to be outdone.

It’s a delight to linger at the front but that keeps you away from the back garden. Here, vegetable and fruit growers are well provided for, with the separate fenced area and greenhouse. Moreover, there’s no bar to boisterous children on the lawn, who will also love to pick the apples and pears, greengages, cherries and damsons, from the old fruit trees. But, with only the occasional cow poking its head over the fence in the adjoining field to disturb you, this is a garden of such peace and quiet that any cares soon melt away.

Ducks waddle between variegated and contorted willows to splash into the lovely pond. Dragonflies flit amongst the marsh marigolds, yellow irises and candelabra primulas. Watch out for the owl swooping to his box in the old ash tree in the far corner. Sit amongst sweet-smelling lavender and colourful flower beds in front of a magnificent centrepiece - thought to have come from Wrest Park, it surely demands a conversation as to the possibility of it staying.

Relax on the terrace with a glass of wine in between raised beds of scented borage, rosemary and other herbs, with iron flower troughs hanging on the wall behind you and take in the sheer beauty of it all.

French doors from the front and back gardens into the superb central room of the home reveal that the beauty is not confined to outside. Tall windows light up the vaulted ceiling, the gorgeous timbers and the lovely display ledges and niches, at once an impressive place to entertain dinner guests and a cosy room in which to relax in front of the inglenook fireplace, logs ablaze in the striking stove.

There’s nowhere quite like Gumbrills Barn for parties, delicious spreads straight from the superb Falcon range cooker laid out on the breakfast table, guests milling around the granite-topped island, beers pulled from the integrated, top-of-the-range, pull-out Liebherr refrigerator or the tall, family-sized fridge, bottles plucked from the wine cooler.

Individual bedrooms demand to be seen, not least the main bedroom, with its stylish shower room. Fall asleep gazing at the stars. Choose to use the room off the quarter landing as a dressing room, as it is now, or as a single bedroom or nursery.

Sloping ceilings, ledged and braced doors, and wonderful wall and ceiling timbers throughout the home, ooze character, not least in the downstairs room at the far end of the house, which is currently a delightful snug or separate sitting room, but which was once a bedroom.

Fortunate indeed is anyone who claims this room as their bedroom, with its distinctive beamed structure, adjacent bathroom, and super outlook over the garden. As a guest bedroom, you can be sure that friends will find every excuse to stay. But don’t be surprised if elderly parents suddenly have designs for this end of the house.

Oh, and don’t forget the ‘secret’ room aside the sitting room inglenook. Open the door that you think is a cupboard and discover a perfect little study, which you will love to escape to. Gumbrills Barn is a place where there’s something of interest at every turn, one that you can’t fail to be proud of when welcoming friends, but one which never forgets it’s first and foremost a comfortable family home.