Far Boot, Houghton, Cumbria, CA6 4JF

What Happens When An 18th-Century Inn Stops Serving Pints And Starts Serving Family Life? You get a sprawling 3,600 sq ft home with a vaulted first-floor sitting room, a snooker room, four bedrooms including a self-contained annexe, stables and three acres.Property ref: KD0516

Last orders were called on the Far Boot Inn back in 1916 - since then, this remarkable building has had over a century to work out what it really wants to be. The answer, it turns out, is a home with room for the horses, the teenagers and your parents too.

The house itself sits just outside Houghton, around 10 minutes drive from Carlisle. The view from the road gives very little away - the whitewashed exterior is plain enough that most people would drive past without a second thought. That's their loss.

Once through the gates, the scale starts to reveal itself. 

There's a large courtyard with parking for multiple cars, two garages and a workshop, and the garden wraps around the property in distinct areas - a south-facing patio off the back with French doors opening from the main living space, a large lawned garden to the side, and a separate gated section with its own access that might start you quietly think about potential and planning permission…

Inside, the ground floor has a proper country kitchen - with cream shaker units, terracotta floor tiles and a range cooker - that opens into a dining kitchen with a Tiffany pendant light and French doors straight out to the patio. 

There's a separate dining room with an original fireplace and a staircase rising to the first floor, a sun room, a family room and a utility room. And then there's the snooker room - with space for a full size table, a beamed ceiling, its own fireplace and French doors to the garden. 

The first floor is where the building's character really comes into its own. The main sitting room is a genuinely impressive space - with a vaulted ceiling and exposed oak trusses, a wood-burning stove set into a stone chimneybreast, and views out over open countryside. 

Some won’t be able to get past it being upstairs and that’s a shame - but it is the room that changes how most people feel about the whole house. Off this level you'll also find four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a shower room, with the main bedroom benefiting from its own en-suite.

Then there's the annexe, which is accessed via a spiral staircase from the garage wing. It has its own living room and kitchen - again with vaulted beamed ceilings and countryside views - along with a shower room and a separate external entrance. Whether it's for a teenager who wants their independence, a parent who wants their own front door, or an Airbnb holiday let that helps with the running costs, it works equally well for all three.

If you love life in the saddle you’ll love having stables in the garden and three-acres on the other side of the road.

It’s only 2 minutes in the car to the centre of Houghton, a popular village thanks to the convenient location close to the city centre and M6. Both are around 10 minutes drive away. 

There’s a village post office and store and the local primary school (rated "Good" by Ofsted). There’s even a Michelin starred fine dining restaurant, The Lounge On The Green.

If you’re not into fine dining you might prefer a scone from the Café On The Green or the nearby Houghton Hall Garden Centre, which is only a short drive away.

Far Boot is the kind of home that comes up once in a generation. There’s room for everyone you love, land you can actually use, and a building with more history and character than most houses manage in a lifetime.

It won’t be for everyone - but if you have a large family, love life in the saddle or are just excited by the scale and scope of what’s on offer here, get in touch to arrange a viewing.