Church Lane, Oakley, Bedfordshire, MK43

MID-CENTURY MODERN LIVING IN SOUGHT-AFTER RIVERSIDE VILLAGE – WITH LOVELY GARDENS AND VIEWS, AND CLOSE TO ALL FACILITIES

An individually designed and detached, 4-bedroom, 2500 sq. ft. home set well back from the lane leading to the church, behind a beautiful, bird-filled copse, and with a gorgeous garden at the back. With half an acre and in a super spot of the Bedfordshire village of Oakley, looking over the fields towards the River Great Ouse in the valley below, Somersby has a double garage, driveway parking for numerous cars, and scope for adding significant value. It's little wonder that this is the first opportunity for more than two decades for any other family to live here.

And for a family, the location is difficult to beat. Oakley is just over 3 miles from the county town of Bedford, with its restaurants, shops, theatres, world-renowned Harpur Trust private schools and fast trains to London in 40 minutes. The village is within easy reach of major road routes, such as the A6, which takes you to Luton Airport just 25 miles away. It is roughly 15 miles equidistant from Milton Keynes and Rushden Lakes Shopping Centres. Supermarkets are little more than a couple of miles away. There’s a good bus service to both Rushden and Bedford,

For a small village, Oakley has a remarkable number of facilities of its own. Walk with the children to schools rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ in all areas, and to Sunday service at the 12th century Church of St Mary just paces away. Pop along the lane in the other direction to the Bedford Arms, a highly regarded 18th century inn and restaurant, and to the shop and post office. There’s always something going on at the village hall, and children meet up with friends at the scout hut or the playing fields.

Play a round of golf and pick up the Sunday joint from the farm in the adjoining village of Pavenham. Bromham surgery is just five minutes away. And you’re surrounded by wonderful countryside, woods and wildlife sites, with the Ouse Valley cycle route on your doorstep. Your dog can take you through the church meadow or the wheat field at the end of your garden to Oakley’s historic twin bridges, and along the River Great Ouse. What a delightful spot to live in for every member of the family.

MORE ABOUT THE PROPERTY 

Magnificent oak, yew, holly and horse-chestnut screen the hydrangea-clad house from the lane and provide an adventure playground for fortunate children living here, as well as a home for a colony of birds that sing their welcome loud and clear.

There are other lovely, individually designed houses to each side of Somersby, yet few family homes can be as private, with so much driveway space and front garden. And similarly behind the house, a kitchen garden, with apple, plum and damson trees, lies beyond a large, natural garden; a wildlife haven complete with a little pond and wonderful walnut tree – so much outdoor space that you could easily extend the house if you wish to in the future.

Though Somersby is well-blessed with room for the family, as well as an unusual amount of storage space, not just in the loft. The boot room stretches from front to back and has doors to outside at each end, a convenient everyday way into your new home, and with a walk-in pantry and wine store to the side. Step through on the lovely, marble-based terrazzo floor to either the kitchen or the utility and cloakroom, not to mention the huge garage and workshop, with fabulous, boarded loft space there, too.

You’ll no doubt wish to put your stamp on your new home, as well as take advantage of its versatility. The dining room is currently an office, for instance. You have both a family snug in the kitchen/breakfast room, as well as a peaceful garden room, both opening to a terrace where Mexican daises spring up between the sandstone slabs watched over by beautiful crab apple and silver birch trees. And come wintertime, slump in front of a roaring log fire in the original, stone fireplace of the sitting room.

Space for everyone to be together, but also space to call your own, with four double bedrooms, one of which could become a suite by incorporating the shower room, if you wish, by the simple addition of a door to the landing. Spring out of bed each morning to a lovely outlook to the copse or to summer fields of gold beyond the garden, the river emerging as the leaves fall come autumn.

What a lovely garden it is, bursting with spring blossom. Striking alliums tower over contrasting geums and scented herbs near the kitchen. Shaped box creates a semblance of order, while a wealth of pretty shrubs mingle with informal, pollinator-friendly planting around the large lawn. A delight for children, adults and nature alike.