Sparkford Road, Winchester

A spacious 4 double bedroom home on a quiet road within walking distance of the city centre and 3 minutes' walk from the hospital and university. Westgate School catchment. With a pretty garden, double garage and driveway parking for 4 cars, this home is ideal for a discerning buyer.

Ground floor
The double height entrance hall allows light to flood into the house. This large hall leads to all reception rooms. The kitchen breakfast room has full height windows and a patio door leading on to the back terrace. This is a wonderfully bright area and works perfectly as a 'day room' for morning coffee, homework and casual meals.

Double doors open on to the dining room, which is lined with glass partitions. This room can be sectioned off, or joined to the kitchen breakfast room to create seating for up to 20 people.

The dual aspect living room is a wonderfully large, flexible space. Beginning with a raised area - previously used as a piano space, leading down to a cosy fireside area to one side and a bright open area to the rear of the house, with a lovely double window seat overlooking the garden. This room can be 'zoned' with multiple seating areas, or opened up for family gatherings.

Finally on the ground floor, there's an office overlooking the front aspect, a generous utility room just off the kitchen and a w.c. for guests.

First floor
The main suite overlooks the garden and has an en-suite shower room and dressing area with built-in wardrobes. Bedroom 2 includes a shower tucked away past the dressing area. Bedrooms 3 and 4 are also doubles and share a family bathroom with bath and separate shower.

For those looking for scope to extend, the loft is unusually large and open with great ceiling height, so a loft extension, STPP is a very viable option.

Gardens
The back garden wraps around the side of the house. Carefully tended with mature shrubs and lawn, to the side there's a greenhouse and potting area. The garden attracts wildlife, with a delightful variety of birdlife to watch.

The front garden is mostly paved for parking, accommodating 4 cars. Additionally, there's a double garage and workshop. Collectively, the outside space is more extensive than it appears.

The house is mostly screened from the road by mature shrubs and trees, giving the house privacy.

SELLER INSIGHT

We upsized to this house from a bungalow just round the corner, so we've been here for 43 years - it's fair to say we love the area!

We raised our children in this house, we all needed more space and this house has such versatile living space it was ideal. We've had 19 people for a sit-down Christmas meal across the breakfast and dining area, but it can also feel very cosy.

The breakfast area is probably my favourite spot, it's so bright with a lovely view of the garden. These days I mostly use it for arts, crafts and cooking when my grandchildren visit. My husband loves his office and workshop, he's a scholar and writer so he appreciates the focus and quiet in his office.

The living room is lovely for snug evenings by the fire and the window seat is a wonderful spot for bird watching or just having a quiet moment.

This location is fantastic, the town and country are both just there. We can walk to the shops and train station in 15 minutes, it's 5 minutes to a corner shop and there are play parks 5 minutes in either direction. The Water Meadows is a 10 minute walk, we walk there quite often. I'm an avid gardener so I walk up to Hilliers garden centre for a wander and tea and cake! Bishop on the Bridge and The Bridge at Shawford are our favourite restaurants, although we're spoilt for choice in Winchester.

When we moved here we bought a book of 36 walks beginning and ending at pubs. We've done them all over the years! We're surrounded by beautiful countryside and villages, so there's always somewhere lovely to discover.

The schools here are outstanding, literally! Our children went to St Faith's and Westgate and made some wonderful friendships there. They still have friends in the area and love to visit. They belonged to the youth group at the local church, chess club, had piano lessons and as they got older, they could walk into the town for nights out or to catch the train to London. We've all always felt safe walking into town.

The neighbours are really lovely, we have a WhatsApp group to stay in touch and organise meet-ups a few times a year; garden parties, new year's drinks, pot luck dinners... There are about 15 houses in the group including doctors and lawyers, so any profession you need there's someone around here who will sort you out!

We're moving to downsize and be closer to our children, it's the right time but we will miss it so much here. We hope the next owners will be as happy here as we all have.

LOCATION

Sparkford Road is a quiet, leafy road a short walk from the heart of Winchester. This affluent cathedral city lies in the heart of the South Downs national park, offering a comfortable lifestyle with all the conveniences you could want with countryside only minutes away.

With a vast array of shops, cafes, and eateries, you're almost spoilt for choice. Small independent businesses thrive in Winchester offering up plenty of different and exciting choices. Additionally, a farmers' market is hosted on the High Street several times a week, with regular craft and antique markets.

If you're interested in history and culture you will be well looked after, as museums are in abundance, from the stunning centrepiece of Winchester Cathedral to the house of the famous author Jane Austen.

Winchester Cathedral hosts regular events including concerts, festivals, seasonal events and educational courses. The Christmas market draws visitors from far away for its beautiful setting and charming wooden huts featuring beautiful gifts from independent traders.

Winchester has a strong artistic flair; Hat Fair is a family-friendly festival of Street Performance and Outdoor Arts, taking place in the first week of July each year. The festival brings an array of creativity to this ever-vibrant city. There's also a cinema, theatre and The Arc library and arts centre.

Winchester puts a focus on natural beauty, with several parks dotted in and around the city. The Water Meadows is an easy 4 mile loop including the River Itchen, part of the South Downs Way, Clarendon Way, Wolvesey Castle, St Cross hospital, the Itchen Navigation path and St. Catherine's Hill.

8 Sparkford Road is in the catchment for several Outstanding schools, including the highly sought after Westgate School and Peter Symonds 6th Form College.

Winchester delivers endless opportunities for everyone, it's a real gem of a Cathedral city.

NEARBY AMENITIES & LINKS

Shop: 0.3 miles
Restaurant: 0.5 miles
Pub: 0.5 miles
Gym: 0.4 miles
Primary school: 0.7 miles
Secondary school: 1 mile
Doctor: 0.7 miles
Train: Winchester, 0.9 miles, reaching London in 1 hour
Motorway: M3, 2 miles
Bus stop: 20 metres