Main Street, Wendlebury, OX25

c.4,200 sq ft of pristine property and outbuildings (incl annex) set in 2/3 acre of gorgeous gardens in the heart of the village. 30 ft office/workshop, ample garaging & storage, plus gated driveway. Immaculate throughout & a fantastic standard. A rare find.

Wendlebury is a quiet and established village featuring a 13th century church, and 17th century public house highly regarded for great food. While the village is tucked away it offers exceptional access to many places. Oxford with all it has to offer is just 20 mins by car. Bicester (including its world-famous shopping outlet), Bicester Village) is barely a fifteen minute cycle ride, while Heathrow and Birmingham airports are 50 miles in each direction via the nearby M40. Stratford and the Shakespeare theatres are just 40 mins drive, and London centre is accessible by train non-stop in 42 mins from Bicester's two' rail stations. The community is vibrant and diverse with a wide mix of residents including local families and commuters. It's a telling comment that quite often when we ask where sellers want to move to, the response is we want to stay in the village !

When I first visited Rose Cottage, I missed it twice on the way past, it was so discreetly located. But then the gates opened to reveal something rather special. A very smart driveway sits next to an extraordinarily well executed annex of quite some size, in addition to which are a garage and car ports (a term I hesitate to use as they're a lot more substantial than the image that conjures!), a 32 ft work shop/ office, storage... Consider for a moment this is 1,800 sq feet of diverse and useful accommodation, and I hadn't even got as far as the house yet... Walking up the path behind, what started life as a bungalow in a truly epic plot (most in the centre of any village have been built on many decades since) opened up in front of me as a nigh-on perfect 2,400 square foot house with four significantly large bedrooms, a 38 foot long kitchen with vaulted ceiling, and a living room that's a similar size to many one bedroom flats. It all adds up to circa 4,200 square feet of the most immaculate, flexible, high quality property sitting in around 2/3 acre. This sort of property just does not come up for sale. And even when it does, the detailing and thought that I have found here does not. If this might suit your needs, I would strongly recommend calling us soon...

Any written tour of the property risks becoming a Tolstoy-esque epic. Our two Virtual Tours, which allow you to walk through the buildings and the land at your leisure, will explain it better than I. But in as brief terms as possible, walking from the gated driveway, which will easily house seven or eight vehicles, and passing the triple car ports, the first door leads into a stairwell at the top of which is a 32 ft long room with roof windows. Currently used as a professional-quality craftsman's workshop, this could equally provide extensive home office space or perhaps a self-contained flat. Next door, the garage with its vaulted ceiling could house a ramp lift if you're a classic car enthusiast. And the open porch to the left covers the stylish entrance to the annex.

Opening this door, your first response has to be wow . An elegant, bright, vaulted space of considerable size greets you, beautifully lit by roof light windows above. Exposed timber trusses contrast perfectly with the whitewashed walls and ceilings. Underfoot, pristine stone tiles hide underfloor heating, and these same tiles run throughout the annex. The design is very well executed, with ample living space to one end and at the other a high quality kitchen that includes everything from fridge and stainless oven to dishwasher and a microwave. The open plan space then gives way to a large and stylish bedroom, next door to which the shower room is sizeable and well equipped including a walk-in shower. This has provided the vendors with a significant short let income when desired, and the rest of the time their guests have felt very pampered!

And now to the main house. A gate next to the annex accesses a perfect path leading round either side of the house. Keep right and you come to the main door, set back under an open porch. The hallway beyond sets the tone. It is so generously proportioned, the a chaise longue it houses wouldn't impede a twin buggy or wheelchair. And the ergonomics are immediately excellent in planning and execution, with all bedrooms to the right and living spaces to the left. Take a left and the glass door opens to the sitting room. Natural light is the order of the day, making this room feel even larger than it is and very positive. All across the front are windows looking out onto a lawn and the back of the stone annex rear wall, and at the rear double doors lead to the terrace. L-shaped, the flow of the room naturally lends itself to a large seating area at the rear, not least as the wood burner faces this area. And to the front the generous dining space is placed next to the kitchen, which is where you would wish it to be.

In the kitchen the ambience changes, with large stone tiles running seamlessly for nearly 40 feet towards the utility room. What a space...! Bi-folds, French windows and roof lights all conspire to create the perfect day room. The vendors spend almost all their waking hours here, and who wouldn't? Beautifully planned, the layout provides cooking, eating and seating areas to be envied. To the front, the kitchen extends round three sides, centring on a large island. Ovens and fridges are placed to one side, the hob and hence prep space to the others, with the island containing a sink next to which is the dishwasher. And just look at the contrasts. The base units are wood-grain fronted, the front-mounted wall units reverse this, then the central island is all cream - with the granite tying the theme throughout. It's simple but clever, the sign of real care. Turning round to look past the large dining table, the bifold doors open onto a large terrace area over which a canopied pergola with electric roof blinds extends the kitchen into the garden. And looking right, the seating space on its own is large by most normal standards, with yet more glazed doors opening onto the garden. The packaging of this house being what it is, it's no surprise to find a separate utility, cloak room and even a boot room just off to the side. A place for everything, and everything in its place...

Normally, the bedrooms are a less interesting part of any property, simply as apart from the number of them and the size of space they offer, there is little more to tell. In remodelling and extending the house, the vendors decided all bedrooms must be good sizes. They also fitted extensive storage/ wardrobes in every one. Even the smallest bedroom is the size of many main bedrooms elsewhere. All four are proportionally excellent, allowing plenty of options regarding furniture placement. And the largest also includes both a wonderful en-suite and a pair of glazed doors opening onto a garden area that is effectively dedicated to its sole use. General bathing needs are also catered for to a stunning degree, with two bathrooms. One contains a shower and separate bath, fully tiled throughout for ease of use; the other just a shower - both are immaculately presented.

Turning attention to the outside, there is much to admire. We have mentioned the ample frontage and driveway. The path behind runs up to the house past a broad bed filled with an abundance of shrubs and flowers to the left. On the right the lawn area runs alongside the path that leads to the front door to the left, with a brick outbuilding on the right that could be another office or just storage. Continue onwards through an arch in the trellis fence and the lawn broadens, filling out into a large area bounded by stone walls. This lawn continues round the house to the left, punctuated by further planted borders and several trees. And as you come side on to the house, fences enclose a hard standing and two timber kennels, professional quality as our clients are keen dog trainers. The facilities are immaculate, as you would expect, and include storage for all manner of feed stuffs and other kit. Beyond, the lawns continue wrapping around to where the deck runs the full width of the rear. And finishing off the rear, a large timber store has been built to provide covered storage for firewood etc.

In summary, the only issue I have with this house is my inability to adequately describe it! Apart from personal taste requirements, it is hard to think of anything the vendors have not addressed in creating what is a home that really can be all things to all people. And that, in our experience, is incredibly rare.