A Christmas dream come true

It’s a marketing man’s dream come true and could be a gift to someone close or even yourself this Christmas. Estate agents Dreweatt Neate are offering Christmas Cottage at Popham, near Basingstoke – seasonal fare for anyone who dreams of escaping the big city, and not necessarily just at weekends.

With its guide price of only £300,000, this cottage with so much appeal overlooks open land to front and rear yet is easily accessed from the M3 and is close to fast London rail links at Basingstoke and, more likely, Micheldever Station which gives the opportunity for an enjoyable country jaunt to start and end each working day.

Christmas Cottage is believed to date back as far as the 16th or 17th century, believes Matthew Hallett, of Dreweatt Neate’s Winchester office.

“But time has not stood still,” he adds. “A single storey extension was added at the back, probably in Victorian times, and then in the early part of the last century somebody quite literally raised the roof for the whole terrace of four cottages and added an upper floor and with it two large bedrooms.

“Until 1982, the cottage belonged to the Popham Court estate and since then the current owners have kept everything in top form so there’s literally nothing to do but move furniture in and start enjoying the rural lifestyle.

“The whole area is laced with paths and bridleways and the lane past the cottage is literally the road to nowhere so passing traffic won’t be an issue. All around is a mix of open fields and small woods, just what many people would regard as their rural idyll.

“The cottage itself won’t disappoint. It has two well-proportioned reception rooms at the front, with a long kitchen / breakfast room behind that opens into a conservatory glazed on three sides. The kitchen also includes a traditional Rayburn stove for cooking, heating, and hot water.

“In the rear garden there are two sheds, one of them with power and light to create a perfect studio. The paved terrace adjoining the conservatory, the shaped lawn and further paved patio, plus the rockery and raised vegetable beds make this a haven on weekends and warm afternoons or evenings. Then, to cap it all, there are the long views to savour during summer suppers.”

For more details, contact Dreweatt Neate in Winchester - email winchester@dnproperty.co.uk.