Freehold Street, Lower Heyford, Bicester, OX25

Truly charming & characterful Victorian cottage presented in lovely order, with a captivating view of paddock land to the rear. 4 bedrooms (1 en-suite), generously extended kitchen/dining/day room, & a pretty living room. Great South-facing garden, and gated parking to the side.

Lower Heyford is a delightful village. Nestling in a valley with the River Cherwell parallel to the Oxford canal, farmland surrounds the village and the local scenery is wonderful. There is a good local school, a lovely old pub, local store, and access to all points of the compass is exceptional with the M40 and A34 close by and the Cherwell Valley railway line Heyford station within the village. For those looking for a rural existence combined with nearby access to all amenities, there are few better villages in North Oxfordshire.

What a delightful house Ashlea Cottage is... Most cottages fail to strike the right balance between modern usability and old world character as well as this one. Bright, airy, with living spaces that are large and well proportioned, it provides everything most could need, in an affordable package. The condition is excellent, neutral and pleasing to all, with a warmth that's evident throughout and sets you at ease. All the little character traits we love so much, ceiling timbers, exposed stone, stone floors, wood burners in pretty fireplaces, are there in spades. But forget everything else for a moment, and just look at that view! The field behind runs the whole way down this side of Freehold Street, owned by an Oxford College. What a better outlook to wake to the morning? And for those wanting to work from home, broadband speeds of up to 150Mb are now available. Combine all that with the village lifestyle we know Lower Heyford provides, and the new owners will be very lucky indeed!

The front door brings you into a very pleasant hall. The mix of a lovely, warm oak floor, a whitewashed stone wall on the left, and stairs turning upwards on the right, with a window halfway up flooding light in all directions, really sets the tone of somewhere interesting and inviting. As the hall turns left, with the cloak room in the far corner, the living room opens up away from you on the right, towards the garden. It s a delightful room, elegant and bright, with ceiling timbers exposed. The proportions are great with plenty of space for the most generous of suites. And the fireplace to the right hand side set in a stone hearth, currently containing a gas fire, is a cozy companion on winter days. The room itself is pleasing, but combine this with a view of the garden and fields from a window seat, plus glazed doors to the left leading to the terrace, and it's a truly splendid place to be!

Back to the hall, take a left. Where normally you might find a kitchen/dining room, here you find a space for all occasions! The room is so large that it occupies almost the whole width of the house. Three windows to the front overlook the sleepy lane outside, and at the rear the well-fitted kitchen looks out towards the garden. The layout lends itself perfectly to placing a sizeable dining table at the near end, next to a fireplace that's currently unused but offers handy firewood storage. Open to the rear, a good range of modern kitchen units extend round three sides, topped with timber, and there's also a breakfast bar containing yet more storage. And at the right hand end, a further space, with windows front and rear, provides a lovely, relaxed area large enough to house several sofas all ranged around a fireplace with a wood burner. And overhead those same ceiling timbers complete the feeling of history and character. For us, this is the perfect hub for every day to day activity in a space that s social and welcoming.

Heading upstairs, you are greeted by four bedrooms. The first, which is also the largest, is very cleverly packaged. The main area is more than ample to house a super king size bed with a side table either side. And at its foot the whole wall has built-in wardrobes and storage, perfectly space efficient. And that wide window to the rear provides an elevated, peaceful view of the fields - Sunday morning coffee in bed sounds idyllic here! Next to the bedroom, the ensuite is modern, very stylish, and bright, with a large shower and tiling throughout also making it very practical. Down the hall, the second bedroom is another well proportioned double, also looking out over the rear garden and fields. 2 further bedrooms are more compact, probably better described as generous singles, and as you can see from our photos one is currently set up as the ideal working from home/study space. Their outlook is different, but pretty special, over the neighbour's garden towards the playing fields. And serving all, the family bathroom is a stylish and attractive as the ensuite, with a modern suite that includes a shower attachment above the bath, with tiled walls all around.

Turning our attention to the exterior, to the right of the house double gates enclose an area that the vendors do not currently use for parking, but was clearly set up for that purpose, hence there is the ability to park several cars off street. Having said that, parking outside is unrestricted and always available. Behind the house the garden is pretty generous. As the house sits on the rise, the terrace wraps around the whole of the rear, with a low retaining wall behind it ensuring that the lawn beyond is pretty flat across quite a good width. A further terrace set up to the left rear is the perfect summer dining space, perfectly placed to take advantage of that delicious view across the fields. Overall the garden space is the ideal for day-to-day enjoyment without being arduous to care for. And the borders are planted with a very pleasing array of flowers and shrubs. NB also note there is a hard standing to the right-hand side currently occupied by a shed, but this could of course be replaced with a home office if desired. Although with that view, I m not sure I would get any work done ! It is also worth mentioning that within easy reach of this property there are allotments available for hire for a small nominal annual fee.Mains water, drainage, oil c.h.Cherwell District CouncilFreeholdCouncil tax band D?2,073-24 p.a. 2022/23