Park Lane, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, MK44

CHARMING STONE COTTAGE, WITH LOVELY GARDENS AND DELIGHTFUL OUTDOOR OFFICE OR POSSIBLE GUEST ANNEXE

A gorgeous, Grade II-listed, 2-bedroom cottage, with the most perfect, restored barn, which has been converted as a super garden office, but which has scope to become a bedroom suite for guests. Tucked off Park Lane in the prime North Bedfordshire riverside village of Sharnbrook, the cottage has been recently re-thatched along with its attached neighbour, expertly re-pointed at the front with lime mortar, and new gas central heating installed. With a back garden complete with a treehouse, and a front garden with the pantiled, stone barn that is as ideal for working from home as it could be, perhaps, for Airbnb, Stoney is a joy for child and adult alike.

Just 8.5 miles from the County town of Bedford and its fast trains to London in 40 minutes, Sharnbrook has every facility you could ask for, from Co-op to farm shop, traditional pub to coffee shop and deli., theatre to playing fields and tennis courts, not to mention a surgery and schools for all ages.

Wander from the cottage to Sunday service at the Norman Church of St Peter, and to the nature reserves and islands at Pinchmill. Or, without even leaving your front gate, to fields at the end of a the footpath that runs past your beautiful, thatched, oak porch (akin to pavements that run directly past many a home’s front door, but much nicer), with your new home looking across the footpath, rather than the road, to your lovely, front cottage garden.

Sharnbrook was the home of Joseph Betts, who was the inspiration for H.E. Bates’ Uncle Silas and who lived in the village all his life - in a thatched Cottage not dissimilar to Stoney, perhaps. The village is also the country retreat of a major Hollywood star, who you might come across while walking your dog along the wonderful River Great Ouse. How fortunate to live in such a beautiful cottage home in such a glorious environment.

MORE ABOUT THE PROPERTY

Lovingly and skillfully restored, Stoney is the epitome of the English country cottage. Step through one of the most perfect porches you’ll come across, through the front door set into its old oak frame, onto the original, restored red brick floor of the sitting room, logs ablaze in the inglenook’s winter woodburner, and instantly fall in love.

It's difficult to imagine a home that’s more cosy, more delightful, and where compact space is so tastefully utilised; from the bathroom, with its cute, claw-foot bath and overhead shower, to the wardrobes and cupboards built into recesses on a lovely landing that is even more interesting for the huge chimney breast making its way ever upwards - there’s more storage space in the loft high above your head, too.

Duck (or grouse) beneath the low doorway into your bedroom and be amazed how high the sloping ceiling is - a room full of charm and character, where you can slide open the window and breathe in the morning fragrance of the garden roses. The single bedroom is as delightful, with a similar window seat for enjoying nature’s scents and sounds.

Latch doors are perfectly in keeping with wonderful timbers throughout, as are the high-end radiators, the Belfast sink and the handmade, oak-topped kitchen furniture, the carcases of which are even solid wood. Stoney has been home to generations of families, yet today it’s very much a cottage for modern-day living.

Not least in the gorgeous, pantiled, stone barn, with its wonderful, old internal doors hiding utility appliances and a stylish shower room, and with its stable door leading out onto its own garden; an old brick path winds under the jasmine-clad arch to cherry and plum trees, butterflies bustling amongst unusual buddleia blooms, bees busy amongst the sweet-scented roses and lavender.

You have various eating and sitting areas in both your front and back garden, where the old apple, its boughs supporting the super treehouse, watches over younger fruit trees, a beautiful Magnolia and Acer, and a bountiful vine that clambers over the sitting room’s French doors. Relax beside the tiny pond with coffee or a glass of wine and enjoy your peaceful, private piece of historic rural England.