The Ridings, Oxford, OX3

Accessed by a long gravel drive through electrically operated gates, the house is set in beautifully secluded and private grounds, abundant with wildlife including deer, owls, pheasants, and kestrels.

Watch Hill offers well-laid-out accommodation spread over three floors. The elegant, well-proportioned principal reception rooms are excellent for entertaining. The house has a newly fitted kitchen/breakfast room, ideal for everyday family living. There is also a large drawing room, a former dining room now used as a study, and a conservatory. There is also an indoor swimming pool with a sauna, a former squash court which has been converted into a games room, a wine cellar and a separate home office.

On the first floor, there is a principal bedroom suite with an en suite bathroom, a guest bedroom suite with an en suite bathroom, a further bedroom, and a family bathroom. The second floor comprises two additional bedrooms and a separate family bathroom, as well as good storage and an independent staircase to the ground floor.

Professor Dobson, an Oxford academic renowned for his innovative work in atmospheric science, constructed Watch Hill as both a home and a laboratory. His laboratory at the property—a substantial brick building with two workrooms and provisions for zenith sky observations—was equipped with a well-appointed workshop. While the building remains, Professor Dobson's equipment is now housed in the Science Museum in London.


OUTSIDE

Watch Hill is set in extensively landscaped gardens and grounds of 7.5 acres, with woodland comprising a variety of mature trees, woodland walks, glades and the old observatory building. The property also has a courtyard of useful outbuildings, including five stables, a tack room, two garages, a woodshed, a machinery store, and greenhouses. Within the grounds, there is a productive kitchen garden, a tennis court and a lovely pond, which all further enhance the property's appeal.

Watch Hill enjoys a glorious, elevated position on the outskirts of Oxford, overlooking the ancient Brasenose Woods. The neighbouring Shotover Park, is a protected nature reserve extending to around 290 acres of woodlands, fields, and hidden valleys, to the east of Headington. The park is accessible for riding, walking, and general recreation. The property's proximity to the A40 and junction 8 of the M40 makes it extremely accessible to London, Heathrow, and the north. There is a regular train service to London Paddington and Marylebone from Oxford centre, and from Oxford Parkway, with a regular service to London Marylebone taking from around 77 minutes.

The house is well positioned to take advantage of the excellent schools in the area, including St. Helen and St. Katharine, Abingdon, Radley, Cothill and Chandlings, as well as The Dragon, St Edward's, Magdalen College, Summer Fields, Headington, Wychwood and Oxford High School in Oxford.

There is direct access to Headington, which offers a wide selection of everyday shopping facilities, as well as the universities and hospitals without needing to use the Oxford ring road, while Oxford city centre is only around 3 miles away. Shotover Park bridleways and cycleways are also adjacent to the property.