Lady Alice's Drive, Lathom, L40

Set on Lady Alice Drive in Lathom, Blythe Cottage is a beautifully presented five-bedroom country home extending to 2,919 sq ft, with two ensuites and a further family bathroom. The ground floor offers a striking orangery-style garden room, a sitting room, dining room, office, and a 36ft kitchen with a Rangemaster range cooker. Also on the ground floor a bedroom with an en-suite which could double comfortably as a snug, whilst upstairs there are four characterful bedrooms including two with hand-painted murals and ensuite facilities. Outside, mature, beautifully kept gardens extend to include a pergola, a thatched gazebo with hot tub, and a garage, workshop, and shed. Surrounded by open countryside, the property is within easy reach of Ormskirk, Parbold, and the M58 motorway network.

Overview

A house that has been carefully loved, set quietly at the edge of the countryside

Set quietly off Lady Alice Drive, Blythe Cottage announces itself gently: a stone-arched doorway dressed in moss and pinecones, a lion's head knocker, a brass bell, and the feeling, even before you step inside, that this is a house that has been carefully loved. The latch falls with a satisfyingly old-world clink, and in that small, deliberate sound you understand that this is a place made to be cherished rather than hurried through.

This is a country home with all the charm of a painting you'd return to, where hedgerows fall still and the sky seems just a touch wider than anywhere else. This is a place that asks nothing of you on arrival except that you slow down, and which gives back, in return, something that is difficult to name and impossible to forget.

Five bedrooms, two ensuites and a further family bathroom are wrapped in warmth and character. The rooms were brought together with an instinctive feel for colour, texture and form - and it shows, not in the way of a showroom, but in the way of a home that has been genuinely loved.

The original cottage rooms unfold one into another, creating generous yet intimate living spaces, from the welcoming sitting room, where the windows frame the garden like pictures hung by the house itself, to a sociable, extended kitchen and dining area anchored by a Rangemaster cooker. There is a quality of enclosure here that older houses carry in their walls, as if the building itself has learned, over time, how to hold people.

Beyond, the remarkable orangery-style extension is the true heart of the house: a great oak-framed living space, glazed on three sides, with a stone fireplace at its centre and Italian porcelain tiled floors warmed from beneath. On winter evenings, logs crackle in the hearth while the night sky presses close, on summer afternoons the doors stand open and the garden drifts in on birdsong and the fragrance of roses. It is a place for art and music, for sketchbooks and instruments, for conversations that stretch long into the evening while the last light fades over the fields.

Here the dialogue between house and garden becomes the abiding impression, a constant, gentle reflection, as if interior and exterior were mirrors of one another. The colours chosen for fabrics echo the greens and plums of the borders; the patterns of birds and leaves inside repeat the silhouettes that pass the windows outside. It is the kind of room that changes the way you feel without you quite noticing.

Five well-proportioned bedrooms make the house as practical as it is romantic, including two ensuite retreats and a further family bathroom. Two of the bedrooms are given over entirely to murals, each quite different in spirit. One is warm and cinematic: blossom-laden branches in plum and gold, birds resting amongst the flowers, the whole room glowing as though lit from within. The other opens into sky - trees, clouds, birds in flight, a landscape so complete that sleeping there feels like spending the night inside the countryside itself. Almost every window frames green: manicured lawns, deep borders, the soft roll of surrounding greenbelt fields. This is a home that works comfortably for family life, visiting guests and long, unhurried stays alike.

Outside, the garden is a world of its own: sweeping, beautifully kept lawns, richly planted borders, and a wilder garden set amongst a backdrop of mature, protected trees. Pergolas draped with wisteria cast dappled shade over seating areas, while bees work the flowers and the resident woodpecker raises its chicks in the nearby trees. Bronze deer - Betty and Bill - keep quiet watch over the lawn, while beyond the boundary, their living counterparts move unhurried through the fields.

Deeper into the garden, half-hidden by planting, a thatched gazebo shelters a hot tub beneath the canopy of an ancient oak and a copper beech whose leaves turn the colour of dark wine in autumn. In the soft half-light of early morning, mist lies low over the furrows beyond; in the depth of winter, the night sky above is startlingly clear, constellations arranged like a private map just for this place. It is the kind of place you find by wandering rather than looking - a small, complete world at the garden's edge, open to the sky and very far from everything.

Through the seasons this garden shifts - blossom to leaf, leaf to flame, flame to bare branch and frost - and through each of them the house watches on, unchanged and unhurried. This is not a home that merely sits in its setting. It belongs to it.

Private parking sits at the end of the lane, alongside a substantial garage, workshop, sheds and greenhouse - well suited to gardeners, makers and anyone who needs room to think. In every direction the outlook is to greenbelt fields and trees, giving Blythe Cottage the rare feeling of a private, self-contained world.

There are houses you visit and houses you remember, and there are a very few that stay with you - in the particular slant of afternoon light through the orangery glass, in the smell of woodsmoke on a cold evening, in the way the garden holds its breath just before the first frost. Blythe Cottage is one of those. A quiet place at the edge of the countryside where memories root quickly and deeply, and where the simplest moments become the ones that last.

Where the House Begins

Arched doors, deep hearths, and rooms that open gently into one another

The front door is a deep, arched oak door fitted with a small leaded light, opening onto a hallway floored in Italian porcelain tiles, pale and elegant underfoot. A bottle green tartan carpet, the same one that runs throughout the ground floor and up the stairs, gives way underfoot, while deep green velvet curtains, gathered on a wooden pole, frame the door itself. Ahead, the staircase rises beneath its own arch, the original turned newel and balustrade in rich dark wood carrying the eye upward toward a galleried landing lit from above. To one side, a glazed door opens straight through into the dining room, drawing light and an open aspect through the depth of the house.

The sitting room (21'0 x 12'2) is dressed in a rich ochre damask wallpaper, warm and textured, that catches the light beautifully come evening. It is built around a stone fireplace, its surround in dressed stone beneath an arched firebox, with a leaded bay window gathering in the garden and the soft rise of the hills beyond. A wide opening connects through to the garden room, the oak framing of the extension visible through the gap, drawing the two spaces into one another.

The dining room (11'4 x 15'3) is papered in a delicate botanical print, climbing florals and hummingbirds in soft blues, yellows and greens against a cream ground, the kind of wallpaper that rewards a second look. Sunshine yellow curtain shades and silk lampshades pick up the warmth of the print, and the room is entered through its own panelled door, opening at its far end onto a pair of glazed doors leading directly out to the lawn, with open views across the fields beyond. A further opening connects through toward the kitchen wing, so that the principal reception rooms run one into the next, suited equally to quiet evenings or entertaining at scale.

Set apart from the main run of rooms, the office (12'4 x 5'10) looks out over open countryside through full-height glazing, a quiet, self-contained space suited to work or correspondence, with a pitched skylight roof and characterful eclectic styling that gives it a personality all its own.

Beyond the principal reception rooms lies the orangery-style garden room (17'11 x 17'1), an oak-framed addition glazed on three sides and built around a substantial stone fireplace, with Italian porcelain tiled floors warmed from beneath. Soft sage greens and warm gold tones run through the furnishings, exposed roof trusses rise to a vaulted ceiling, and on every side the room opens onto the garden, blurring the boundary between the two. It is a space built for gathering, equally suited to a quiet morning alone or a house full of guests.

The Heart of the House

Built for gathering, warmed by stone and softened by colour

The kitchen (36'1 x 8'4) runs the full depth of this wing of the house, its cabinetry fitted floor to ceiling and finished in soft sage and cream, with granite worktops in warm caramel and bronze tones carried through to a matching upstand. A range cooker in pale moss green sits at its centre, set beneath an extractor housed in a painted canopy, while a built-in wine rack and a glazed plate dresser complete the run. A substantial stone archway, the original fabric of the building left exposed in warm honeyed tones, opens through to a snug breakfast area, where a round table and a wall-mounted television make this the kind of space where the day naturally gathers. Throughout, the kitchen carries the same warm, layered country character found across the rest of the house: textures and tones chosen with care, nothing matching for the sake of it, everything working together.

Beyond the breakfast area, leaded windows look out over the courtyard and driveway, the diamond panes a detail that runs throughout the ground floor, and a hand-painted mural wall, peacocks and blossom trailing in soft sage and gold, brings a quiet, romantic note to the space.

Set just off the breakfast room, a ground floor bedroom doubles comfortably as a snug, with a cushioned window seat set into the bay and fitted storage built neatly into the eaves. It is a delightful, flexible room, equally suited to overnight guests or a quiet daytime retreat. This room connects through to its own ensuite shower room, compact and finished in warm walnut joinery with chrome fittings.

The utility room continues the run of granite worktop and fitted cabinetry in deep olive green, with a stainless sink set beneath a window framing open fields beyond. A part-glazed stable door, oak boarded with cast ironmongery, opens directly out to the garden, allowing the room to function as a true working entrance to the house. Parquet-effect flooring runs throughout, warm and practical underfoot.

A handy cloakroom serves the ground floor, fitted with a pedestal basin and WC, and decorated with the same confident, playful character found elsewhere in the house: a riot of colour and pattern across the walls, a small room with a great deal of personality.

A World of Its Own, Upstairs

Four further bedrooms, each with a story of its own to tell

The landing is lit from above through a leaded dormer window, its deep recess dressed in a bold floral roman blind that sets the tone for what follows. A wall papered in oversized peonies, soft blush and ivory against a muted grey-green ground, frames a circular mirror at the turn of the stair, while underfoot the same tartan carpet that runs throughout the ground floor continues up and across the landing, tying the whole house together.

The principal bedroom (17'7 x 14'9) is built almost entirely around bespoke pine joinery: floor-to-ceiling fitted wardrobes and overhead cupboards wrap two full walls, framing a deep, panelled headboard recess lit from within. The warmth of the pine runs the length of the room, offset by soft pink and damson tones in the soft furnishings, and a long window looks directly out over open countryside.

A second bedroom is given over to a striking hand-painted mural, an Italianate landscape in shades of dusk blue and sage, with stone pines, swallows in flight, and a pale moon rising behind distant trees. It is theatrical and calming at once, and the room opens directly through to its own ensuite, finished in soft taupe panelling with a corner shower and a carved, painted vanity unit beneath a gently sloping ceiling.

Two further bedrooms bring playfulness and colour into the upper floor. One is wrapped in a vivid underwater mural, whales, manta rays and coral in blues and corals, paired with a sunshine-yellow pendant shade. The other takes flight entirely, its walls covered in a charming hot air balloon print in jewel tones of crimson, teal and gold, paired with antique pine furniture and a sage green roman blind trimmed in dusty pink.

The family bathroom sits beneath the eaves, a free-standing slipper bath with ball-and-claw feet at its centre, a high-level cistern WC, and a curved corner shower enclosure finished in marble-effect tiling. Stone-toned floor tiles and a leaded arched window, dressed in a tropical print blind, give the room a relaxed, characterful finish entirely in keeping with the rest of the house.

The Garden's Edge

Lawns, lanterns, and a garden that never quite ends

The garden unfolds in stages, each one with its own character. Closest to the house, a flagged terrace runs the width of the garden room, sheltered beneath its oak frame, the perfect spot for an outdoor table whatever the season. Deep borders, heavy with hydrangea, lavender and foxglove, soften the stonework, and pots of geranium and lobelia in red, blue and pink crowd the steps.

Beyond the terrace, the lawn opens out, immaculately kept and edged in deep, established planting, rhododendron, acer and clipped evergreens giving structure and, come autumn, a real depth of colour. A pair of bronze deer stand watch on the grass, a quiet nod to the wildlife that moves through the fields beyond. A wrought iron and timber pergola, heavy with wisteria, frames a secluded seating area at the garden's edge, a fire pit at its centre, hidden almost entirely from view and reached along its own gravel path.

Deeper still, the garden becomes wilder and more playful: a thatched gazebo shelters a hot tub beneath mature trees, sun loungers are arranged around a stone bird bath, and a further pergola walkway, dressed in climbing roses, leads through to a second lawn and a kitchen garden beyond. An octagonal timber gazebo, strung with fairy lights, offers a sheltered spot for evening drinks looking out over open fields, a real sense of being tucked away from the world entirely.

The aerial view shows just how substantial and well-screened the plot is: mature trees and hedging enclose the garden almost completely, with the house, garage, workshop and shed grouped neatly to one side and the gardens opening generously beyond, bordered on one side by open farmland.

Lathom, and Beyond

Deep countryside, close to everywhere that matters

Blythe Cottage sits on Lady Alice Drive, a quiet private lane on the edge of Lathom, deep in the West Lancashire countryside, with open farmland on every side and the rooftops of neighbouring cottages glimpsed only through the trees. It is the kind of setting that feels remote without being remote at all: Ormskirk's market town amenities are just three miles away, while the village of Parbold and its boutique shops and restaurants sit a short drive in the other direction.

The area carries genuine history. Lathom Park Chapel, built in 1500 by the first Earl of Derby, stands close by, alongside the wider Lathom House estate and its parkland, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal threads through the surrounding countryside, a favourite for walking and cycling. Lathom itself is well served by good local pubs, among them The Ship at Lathom, Briars Hall, and the Ring O Bells, all within a mile or so, alongside farm shops and tearooms scattered through the lanes.

Connections are excellent for a setting this peaceful. Lathom is close to the M58 motorway, which connects to the M6 just six miles away, putting Liverpool, Manchester, and the Lake District all comfortably within reach, while Ormskirk and Burscough provide nearby amenities and several local stations offer direct rail links into Liverpool and beyond. For families, Lathom Park C of E Primary School and Lathom High School are both rated 'Good' by Ofsted.

It is a rare combination: genuine rural seclusion, a strong sense of place and history, and motorway, rail, and school links that make daily life entirely straightforward.

In The Owners Words

Memories made, and a garden they call heaven

The garden was the thing that won us over. We stepped out at the first viewing and felt it immediately, that sense of privacy and calm, and we knew this was the one.

There's no typical day in our house. We live busy, varied lives, and Blythe Cottage has always been our haven, somewhere to properly switch off, whether alone or with friends gathered round.

The garden room is the heart of it for us. It's sociable when we want it to be and peaceful when we don't, warm underfoot in winter with the fire going, and open to the garden all summer long through the bifold doors. It was the best money we ever spent on the house. We've hosted musical garden parties out there with live bands, taking full advantage of how private and tucked away the setting is, and at Christmas we move the dining furniture in, put up a huge tree in the corner, and the whole room comes alive. The archways and glazed doors that link the rooms mean the house has always flowed beautifully for entertaining, and with the extra bedroom and ensuite downstairs, plus a sofa bed in the breakfast area, we've never struggled to put family and friends up.

We'll miss the garden most of all. It's wild in places, properly alive with nature: hares out in the back field, deer passing within a hundred yards, pheasants calling, birds everywhere. The vegetable patch is ready to plant, and the greenhouse has always grown good grapes. Even the kitchen has a stable door, so you get the sounds and smells of the garden coming in, and you can watch the wildlife at the back while you're standing at the stove.

The views are something else, whatever the weather, miles of greenery rolling out towards Parbold and Rivington. Twilight is when it's at its best. We're spoilt for choice with local walks and pubs at the weekend, and the motorway and train links make Manchester, Liverpool, and the Lakes all properly easy to get to.

It's a house that works for every stage of life. No steps in the garden and a downstairs bedroom and ensuite make it easy for older relatives, while the grounds, especially the wooded corner at the bottom, give children all the room in the world to explore.

Our neighbours on Lady Alice Drive have been wonderful, we were welcomed with drinks and nibbles when we first arrived, and we still remember helping serve champagne at a neighbour's yurt wedding in their garden, hay bales and all. It was a beautiful day.

Blythe Cottage has been our paradise. It carried us through Covid, gave us solace when we needed it, and filled our lives with memories we'll carry with us. We hope the new owners find here everything we did, and build on what we've loved creating.

Disclaimer

Every care has been taken with the preparation of these property details but they are for general guidance only and complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed. If there is any point, which is of particular importance professional verification should be sought. These property details do not constitute a contract or part of a contract. We are not qualified to verify tenure of property. Prospective purchasers should seek to obtain verification of tenure from their solicitor. The mention of any appliances, fixtures or fittings does not imply they are in working order. Photographs are reproduced for general information and it cannot be inferred that any item shown is included in the sale. All dimensions are approximate.