Foxdale, Scarisbrick, L40

There is something rather lovely about finding a home that gives you countryside, privacy and space, without asking you to sacrifice the convenience of everyday life.

Hidden behind gates on Clyffes Farm Close in Scarisbrick, Foxdale is exactly that.

Today, it is a substantial four-bedroom family home extending to approximately 2,556 sq ft including its garaging and garden bar, surrounded by peaceful wraparound gardens. Its story, however, began rather differently.

Originally built as a stable around 1936, the building was converted into a house in 1982 and named Foxdale. The current owners arrived in 1997 and immediately fell for the setting. They could see the house needed considerable work, but they could also see what it might become.

Nearly three decades later, very little remains untouched.

The house has been extended, remodelled and continually improved as their family has grown, creating a home that feels less designed around a floorplan and more around the way people actually live.

And nowhere is that more apparent than in the kitchen and family room.

At over 31 feet long, this is the real heart of Foxdale: a wonderfully sociable space where cooking, eating and relaxing happen together. Open the bi-fold doors and the room continues naturally into the garden, creating the sort of indoor-outdoor living that completely changes how a home feels during the warmer months.

Morning coffee can move outside. Lunch can turn into an afternoon in the garden. Friends can gather around the kitchen before drifting out towards the garden bar as the evening carries on.

It is easy to understand why the owners say this is the part of the house where everybody eventually congregates.

There is plenty of room to escape from one another too.

A second lounge/dining room measures over 22 feet and comes into its own during the colder months. It is a cosier counterpoint to the open-plan family space and has become the place for home cinema evenings, fireside winters and family Christmases. A separate study/snug provides another useful room for working from home, reading or simply finding somewhere quiet.

Upstairs are four bedrooms.

The principal bedroom is particularly impressive at approximately 18'6" x 17'11", with its own en-suite. A second bedroom also has an en-suite, while the remaining bedrooms are served by the family bathroom. There is also a substantial walk-in wardrobe, giving the first floor the storage a busy family home actually needs.

Outside, Foxdale becomes something else again.

Rather than having a garden simply sitting behind the house, the grounds wrap around it, creating different areas to use throughout the day. There is room for children to play safely, places for adults to entertain and quieter corners where you can sit with a coffee and hear remarkably little beyond the surrounding countryside.

The detached garden bar makes summer entertaining particularly easy, while a substantial garage provides useful storage and another interesting possibility. With plumbing already available, it may offer potential for conversion into ancillary or annexe accommodation for multigenerational living, older children or guests, subject of course to any necessary permissions and building regulations.

Then there are the occasional visitors.

A family of deer regularly wanders across the front of the property — a small detail, perhaps, but one that rather perfectly explains how Foxdale feels when you are here.

Because for all that tranquillity, this is far from isolated.

Foxdale sits in Scarisbrick, West Lancashire, within walking distance of Scarisbrick Hall School, making it an especially interesting proposition for families wanting a home close to the school without sacrificing land, privacy or a countryside setting.

Ormskirk is only a few minutes away for its railway station, shops, restaurants, schools and everyday amenities, while Southport and the Sefton Coast are also within easy reach. Master McGrath's is close enough to walk to, and the surrounding lanes and countryside provide plenty of opportunities to head out on foot.

That combination is perhaps Foxdale's greatest strength.

Close the gates and life feels distinctly rural and removed. Open them, and schools, towns, restaurants and transport connections are all readily accessible.

For its current family, Foxdale has provided almost thirty years of Christmases, celebrations, grandchildren racing through the garden, summer evenings outside and ordinary days that became treasured memories.

The owners say they fell in love with the setting before they fell in love with the house.

Looking around Foxdale today, it isn't difficult to imagine the next owners doing exactly the same.