5 bedroom detached house for sale

Part of a hamlet of just four houses and a neighbouring farm and set amidst beautiful countryside alongside the River Avon, North Beneknowle is in a gorgeous rural setting that avoids being isolated. It stands in about 1.7 acres of garden and mature woodland spanning the shared approach lane leading to one of its neighbours. The house is believed to date from the late 18th century and has been the much-loved home of its current owners for many years. It has two storeys with more recent extensions behind and is built of rendered local stone under a slate roof.

The interior is full of natural light and character. All the main ground floor rooms face south and/or west retaining original architectural features including a fireplace with a massive stone lintel in the sitting room and an inglenook in the dining room, both of which are now fitted with wood burning stoves. It is not listed and has been refurbished and extended sympathetically to a very high standard.

The ground floor has two good-sized original reception rooms, one on each side of the hall, supplemented by a light-filled garden room and a gorgeous kitchen/breakfast room that has room for seating and dining areas and windows on two sides looking out over the garden. The kitchen is floored with slate and has a set of French windows that open onto the paved terrace. This all combines to create a wonderful core to the house that can be expanded into the garden when the weather is fine for both family days and for entertaining. The lovely kitchen has a walk-in larder, oak-fronted units, Belfast sink, granite work surfaces and a range of built-in electric appliances.

Much of upstairs is floored with oak and all four first floor bedrooms face south and have views over the surrounding countryside. There is a further double bedroom on the ground floor with an adjacent shower room.

North Beneknowle is approached off the passing country lane via a short approach lane that is shared with two neighbouring properties. A wide driveway entrance off the lane leads to a gravelled parking area with space for several cars, from where a gravelled path leads on to the house. The grounds amount to about 1.71 acres (0.69 hectare) separated into two roughly equal areas by the shared approach lane.

On the far side of the lane is an area of mature broadleaf woodland and beside it a stone-built outbuilding incorporating a single garage/workshop, a log store and parking for two more cars. The remainder of the grounds consist of a beautiful mature garden that extends out on three sides of the house and which is designed to need minimal maintenance. It consists of a large lawn fringed by tall hedging and is dotted with a wide variety of trees and flowering shrubs plus some richly planted borders. At its centre is a level lawn of sufficient sized to play croquet.

On two sides of the garden room are areas of paving with ample space for separate seating and dining areas. In one corner is the kitchen garden which is enclosed by hedging and incorporates a greenhouse.

Diptford 1 mile, South Brent 2 miles, A38 (Devon Expressway) 2 miles, Dartmoor 3 miles, Totnes town centre /A385/station 7.5 miles
(Exeter St. David's 35 minutes) Blackpool Sands Beach 12.5 miles, Paignton 13 miles, Torquay 15.5 miles, Plymouth town centre 17 miles, Exeter city centre 30 miles, Exeter Airport 33 miles (London City Airport 1 hour)
(All distances and times are approximate)

North Beneknowle is situated in a small, rural hamlet close to the River Avon with easy access to Dartmoor. This is within the South Hams District of Devon, which is part of the South Devon AONB. The nearby village of Diptford is a thriving community with a parish church, village hall and a small primary school rated as Good by Ofsted.

South Brent offers shops, church, GP surgery, dentist, a busy community centre and large primary school rated as Good by Ofsted. Totnes is about a 20-minute drive away providing most day to day requirements, with a wide choice of local shops and businesses including GP, dental and veterinary surgeries plus a large Morrison's supermarket. For wider requirements the centre of the port city of Plymouth is only half an hour away.

Transport links are good too. The A38 Devon Expressway is just two miles away and Totnes has a train station offering a regular service to Exeter St. David's and London.

The area also has a wide choice of schools from both the state and independent sectors. This includes seven Ofsted-rated Good primary schools to chose from within a five mile radius.