House For Sale £1,750,000
Whatever the time of year and come rain or shine, waking up at Ashdown Farm is something to savour. As you sleepily draw back the curtains, the breathtaking views across uninterrupted miles of the beautiful Berkshire Downs is a daily pleasure – a ‘big sky’ sight to stimulate the senses and have you ready for the day ahead.
The current owners purchased a pair of dilapidated agricultural barns in the hamlet of Thicket, near Newbury, 17 years ago, and set about transforming them into their dream six-bedroom home. It’s all been done with incredible attention to detail, preserving the heritage timber beams and character of these ancient buildings while creating a truly impressive contemporary family-sized home.
There’s a striking synergy between the house and the countryside. With vast amounts of carefully placed glazing, enhanced by stand-out features such as a glass-panelled staircase and gallery landing, Ashdown Farm is at one with its idyllic rural setting. Every room is filled with masses of natural light, ensuring the stylish rooms and decor chime perfectly with the inspiring surroundings.
South-facing, so it catches the best of the light and sunshine all day, a wildflower meadow lies beyond the garden and it’s all part and parcel of Ashdown Farm’s three-acre plot. If you keep a pony, it’s perfect, and planning permission is in place for the construction of stables too.
This superb residence revels in its countryside location with an endless choice of walking, cycling and riding routes, but it’s just a ten-minute drive to the lovely riverside town of Newbury with its wonderful shopping and leisure options plus mainline trains, and five minutes to the M4.
We’re sure you would like to know more about Ashdown Farm, so here are the finer details . .
A Unique Home That Exudes Luxury And Style
Welcome to the unique delights of Ashdown Farm. Drive through the entrance gates and crunch up the wide gravel driveway to the parking area in front of the handsome L-shaped timber-clad house – there’s space to park multiple cars.
As soon as you step through the front door into the beautifully light and airy entrance hall you’ll feel at home. With floor-to-ceiling glass on both sides the ambience is fresh and buoyant with a contemporary boutique appeal and first-class fixtures and fittings such as the bank of uber-cool pendant lights overhead. A cloakroom with WC is tucked away in the corner and a pair of French doors open onto one of the rear terraces and offer a first glimpse of the superlative views.
The hub of the home is the 40x20ft kitchen/living room(?), and it’s a total ‘wow’! With a soaring vaulted ceiling complete with the original barn beams, now strengthened with steels where necessary, and plenty of Velux windows to ensure lots of downward natural light, this is a simply fabulous space. On either side, two further sets of floor-to-ceiling glass panels and French doors plus half-a-dozen smaller windows enhance that synergy with the gardens and countryside.
At the heart of the bespoke kitchen is an impressive deep blue/grey Pietra del Cardosa island and there’s top-of-the-range integral Neff fan and combi ovens, warming drawer, induction hob, fridge/freezer and dishwasher while the adjoining utility room takes care of laundry. An exterior door means you can take off muddy boots and towel down damp dogs in here before they reach the rest of the house.
There’s masses of space for the family to cook, dine and relax together, warmed by a feature woodburner in the winter. Underfloor heated slate floor tiles run throughout the ground floor with radiators upstairs – all powered by an oil-fired condensing boiler.
The other downstairs rooms are arranged in a wing to the left of the entrance hall. Sophisticated and chic, the sitting room has a wall-inset woodburner and is a delightful room to entertain guests.
Next to this is a sunny inner hall(?study?) with both the exterior walls fully glazed, one with French doors too. The dazzling oak and glass staircase ascends to the super-cool glass-sided ‘bridge’ which accesses four bedrooms above.
Finally, and adding flexibility to the downstairs living space, there’s a one-bedroom annexe with a living room and shower room, plus its own entrance. It would be ideal as a ‘granny’ annexe, for a teenager looking for a bit of independence, or an au pair
anny. It’s equally useful as self-contained guest accommodation.
And there’s more versatile space above the triple garage with a duo of 13x12ft rooms with separate WC. For those who work from home it’s a super office, or it has a multitude of other uses – gym, craft room, teen ‘den’, and so on. Or it could generate income as an AirBnB holiday let.
And So To Bed . .
The principal bedroom with an entire wall of sleek fitted wardrobes lies to the rear of the house where it enjoys the blissful views and has a chic grey slate(?)-tiled en-suite bathroom with low-level bath(?) and overhead waterfall shower plus designer double washbasin. It is ‘Jack and Jill’ style with access to a smaller bedroom which would be perfect as a baby nursery or a dressing room.
Two further double bedrooms are located at the other end of the glass landing. Both have fitted wardrobes and share a shower room.
A staircase from the kitchen accesses a fifth bedroom which is under the eaves on a mezzanine. It has Velux windows and an en-suite shower room/WC.
Garden Delights
Mainly laid to lawn, the half-acre wrap-round gardens are easy maintenance but an open book for further cultivation as desired. There’s plenty of safe space for youngsters to run and play and a gate into the adjoining paddock which is filled with a colourful display of wild flowers in the summertime. Tucked away behind a hedge is a storage area which has planning permission for a storage barn or stables.
The stupendous far-reaching views stretch for miles across this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and are enjoyed at their best from a duo of paved terraces shaded by a trio of Himalayan birch trees. Mature pleached hedging edges the lawns to the front of the house.
Round And About
There are only a handful of properties within the hamlet of Thicket, so peace and quiet is guaranteed. The nearest village is Leckhampstead which has a village hall hosting regular coffee mornings and quiz nights, plus an art group and the local wi.
It’s less than a mile to the nearest primary school, St Andrew’s ce in Chaddleworth, and a little further to Brightwalton ce – both are Ofsted-rated ‘good’. The Downs and St Bartholomew’s secondary schools in Newbury are both rated ‘outstanding’. Excellent independent schools abound within a ten-mile radius including The Downe School, St Gabriel’s, Thorngrove, Elstree and Cheam.
If you fancy an evening stroll with refreshment at the end of it, the 18th-century Ibex Inn is less than a mile away serving highly-rated food and drink, plus Sunday roasts. Other hostelries worth visiting include the Crab & Boar at Chieveley with its ‘field to shore’ menu such as local game and fresh-off-the-boat crab, Ye Olde Red Lion that prides itself on a choice of real ales and The Fox at Peasemore with its beautiful heated and fairy-lit covered terrace. Enjoy hearty breakfasts, light lunches and afternoon teas at Saddleback Farm, then purchase rare-breed meat, deli products and fresh bread in the shop.
Chieveley is five miles away and has a Londis convenience store while a choice of supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Waitrose are located in Newbury, which is seven miles away. It has a buzzing town centre with numerous shops including the renowned Camp Hopson department store founded in 1921. And if you like a flutter on the horses, Newbury, of course, has its own racecourse.
Leisure options abound in this picturesque part of Berkshire. Golfers can hit the greens at West Berkshire Golf Club and Newbury showground hosts a wide choice of events throughout the year. Beautiful Welford Park is the home of TV’s Great British Bake Off and its famous carpets of snowdrops are an annual winter spectacle.
Ashdown Farm enjoys an idyllic rural location but it’s just five minutes from junction 13 of the M4 and you can catch trains to London Paddington at Newbury station and arrive in 45 minutes. There’s a good bus service to Newbury too.
Finer Details:
Distances:Newbury 8.3 miles
Wantage 9.1 miles
Oxford 23 miles
Didcot Parkway Station 15 miles
London 62.4 miles
Heathrow Airport 47.4 miles
What3words: ///strikers.active.grandest
Square footage: Main House: 3195 sq ft / 296.8 sq mtr
Garage: 534 sq ft / 49.6 sq mtr
EPC: C
Central Heating: Oil-fired central heating to underfloor heating (ground floor) and radiators (first floor).
Where To Go When You Need:
Milk
Head to Saddleback Farm Shop (5 minutes away) for milk and much more. The store has its own butchery selling locally reared, grass-fed beef and rare breed lamb and pork. There’s also a deli and bakery, children’s play area and in-store tea room serving coffee, lunch and afternoon tea.
Golf
There are some wonderful courses to discover in this part of the world. West Berkshire Golf Club is close by and is renowned for its relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Its superb location offers players a peaceful round amongst tree-lined fairways with stunning views across surrounding countryside. Or book a tee time at Donnington Valley in Newbury and relax with a drink or bite to eat in the bar and restaurant afterwards.
Schools
Ashdown Farm is in the catchment for the ofsted ‘Outstanding’ Downs School and the school bus leaves from just outside the house. This highly regarded state school has been named a ‘Gold Star State School’ by society magazine Tatler. There’s a wide choice of independent school to choose from including St Gabriel’s, Cheam, Marlborough College, Downe House, Elstree, Thorngrove, Horris Hill. Brightwalton ce Primary School in the neighbouring village is ofsted rated ‘Good’.
Dinner/drinks
The local pub – The Ibex – in neighbouring Chaddleworth has a great reputation. It’s a cosy 18th Century gastro pub that’s won several awards including West Berkshire camra community pub of the year. Head to Newbury to find a wide choice of well-known eateries such as Bill’s, Cote and Pizza Express as well as independent bistros. Or for something very special, Michelin-starred dining can be found at The Vineyard and The Woodspeen which also has a highly-regarded cookery school.
Play area
The village has a lovely children’s play area a short walk or bike ride away. They’ll also love nearby Snelsmore Common where they can ride their bikes around the many well-marked trails and maybe spot a free-range Exmoor or New Forest pony.
Weekly shop
Newbury offers a large Waitrose supermarket as well as an M&S Food Hall, Tesco and Aldi stores.
Gym/fitness
Donnington Valley Health Club is around 20 minutes away by car. There’s a newly refurbished state-of-the-art gym featuring Matrix technology, together with spectacular 18 metre pool, jacuzzi and steam room. There are also 8 treatment rooms for the ultimate in relaxation.
Dog walks
There are endless walks to discover straight from the house in this wonderful Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Peasemore & Leckhampstead Circular is an 8.5 mile loop trail taking a couple of hours to complete. Open year-round, it’s a great trail for hiking, mountain biking and running and dogs are welcome on a lead. If you prefer some refreshment at the end of your walk, The Fox at Peasmore is a decent 2.5 miles away on foot.
The current owners purchased a pair of dilapidated agricultural barns in the hamlet of Thicket, near Newbury, 17 years ago, and set about transforming them into their dream six-bedroom home. It’s all been done with incredible attention to detail, preserving the heritage timber beams and character of these ancient buildings while creating a truly impressive contemporary family-sized home.
There’s a striking synergy between the house and the countryside. With vast amounts of carefully placed glazing, enhanced by stand-out features such as a glass-panelled staircase and gallery landing, Ashdown Farm is at one with its idyllic rural setting. Every room is filled with masses of natural light, ensuring the stylish rooms and decor chime perfectly with the inspiring surroundings.
South-facing, so it catches the best of the light and sunshine all day, a wildflower meadow lies beyond the garden and it’s all part and parcel of Ashdown Farm’s three-acre plot. If you keep a pony, it’s perfect, and planning permission is in place for the construction of stables too.
This superb residence revels in its countryside location with an endless choice of walking, cycling and riding routes, but it’s just a ten-minute drive to the lovely riverside town of Newbury with its wonderful shopping and leisure options plus mainline trains, and five minutes to the M4.
We’re sure you would like to know more about Ashdown Farm, so here are the finer details . .
A Unique Home That Exudes Luxury And Style
Welcome to the unique delights of Ashdown Farm. Drive through the entrance gates and crunch up the wide gravel driveway to the parking area in front of the handsome L-shaped timber-clad house – there’s space to park multiple cars.
As soon as you step through the front door into the beautifully light and airy entrance hall you’ll feel at home. With floor-to-ceiling glass on both sides the ambience is fresh and buoyant with a contemporary boutique appeal and first-class fixtures and fittings such as the bank of uber-cool pendant lights overhead. A cloakroom with WC is tucked away in the corner and a pair of French doors open onto one of the rear terraces and offer a first glimpse of the superlative views.
The hub of the home is the 40x20ft kitchen/living room(?), and it’s a total ‘wow’! With a soaring vaulted ceiling complete with the original barn beams, now strengthened with steels where necessary, and plenty of Velux windows to ensure lots of downward natural light, this is a simply fabulous space. On either side, two further sets of floor-to-ceiling glass panels and French doors plus half-a-dozen smaller windows enhance that synergy with the gardens and countryside.
At the heart of the bespoke kitchen is an impressive deep blue/grey Pietra del Cardosa island and there’s top-of-the-range integral Neff fan and combi ovens, warming drawer, induction hob, fridge/freezer and dishwasher while the adjoining utility room takes care of laundry. An exterior door means you can take off muddy boots and towel down damp dogs in here before they reach the rest of the house.
There’s masses of space for the family to cook, dine and relax together, warmed by a feature woodburner in the winter. Underfloor heated slate floor tiles run throughout the ground floor with radiators upstairs – all powered by an oil-fired condensing boiler.
The other downstairs rooms are arranged in a wing to the left of the entrance hall. Sophisticated and chic, the sitting room has a wall-inset woodburner and is a delightful room to entertain guests.
Next to this is a sunny inner hall(?study?) with both the exterior walls fully glazed, one with French doors too. The dazzling oak and glass staircase ascends to the super-cool glass-sided ‘bridge’ which accesses four bedrooms above.
Finally, and adding flexibility to the downstairs living space, there’s a one-bedroom annexe with a living room and shower room, plus its own entrance. It would be ideal as a ‘granny’ annexe, for a teenager looking for a bit of independence, or an au pair
anny. It’s equally useful as self-contained guest accommodation.
And there’s more versatile space above the triple garage with a duo of 13x12ft rooms with separate WC. For those who work from home it’s a super office, or it has a multitude of other uses – gym, craft room, teen ‘den’, and so on. Or it could generate income as an AirBnB holiday let.
And So To Bed . .
The principal bedroom with an entire wall of sleek fitted wardrobes lies to the rear of the house where it enjoys the blissful views and has a chic grey slate(?)-tiled en-suite bathroom with low-level bath(?) and overhead waterfall shower plus designer double washbasin. It is ‘Jack and Jill’ style with access to a smaller bedroom which would be perfect as a baby nursery or a dressing room.
Two further double bedrooms are located at the other end of the glass landing. Both have fitted wardrobes and share a shower room.
A staircase from the kitchen accesses a fifth bedroom which is under the eaves on a mezzanine. It has Velux windows and an en-suite shower room/WC.
Garden Delights
Mainly laid to lawn, the half-acre wrap-round gardens are easy maintenance but an open book for further cultivation as desired. There’s plenty of safe space for youngsters to run and play and a gate into the adjoining paddock which is filled with a colourful display of wild flowers in the summertime. Tucked away behind a hedge is a storage area which has planning permission for a storage barn or stables.
The stupendous far-reaching views stretch for miles across this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and are enjoyed at their best from a duo of paved terraces shaded by a trio of Himalayan birch trees. Mature pleached hedging edges the lawns to the front of the house.
Round And About
There are only a handful of properties within the hamlet of Thicket, so peace and quiet is guaranteed. The nearest village is Leckhampstead which has a village hall hosting regular coffee mornings and quiz nights, plus an art group and the local wi.
It’s less than a mile to the nearest primary school, St Andrew’s ce in Chaddleworth, and a little further to Brightwalton ce – both are Ofsted-rated ‘good’. The Downs and St Bartholomew’s secondary schools in Newbury are both rated ‘outstanding’. Excellent independent schools abound within a ten-mile radius including The Downe School, St Gabriel’s, Thorngrove, Elstree and Cheam.
If you fancy an evening stroll with refreshment at the end of it, the 18th-century Ibex Inn is less than a mile away serving highly-rated food and drink, plus Sunday roasts. Other hostelries worth visiting include the Crab & Boar at Chieveley with its ‘field to shore’ menu such as local game and fresh-off-the-boat crab, Ye Olde Red Lion that prides itself on a choice of real ales and The Fox at Peasemore with its beautiful heated and fairy-lit covered terrace. Enjoy hearty breakfasts, light lunches and afternoon teas at Saddleback Farm, then purchase rare-breed meat, deli products and fresh bread in the shop.
Chieveley is five miles away and has a Londis convenience store while a choice of supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Waitrose are located in Newbury, which is seven miles away. It has a buzzing town centre with numerous shops including the renowned Camp Hopson department store founded in 1921. And if you like a flutter on the horses, Newbury, of course, has its own racecourse.
Leisure options abound in this picturesque part of Berkshire. Golfers can hit the greens at West Berkshire Golf Club and Newbury showground hosts a wide choice of events throughout the year. Beautiful Welford Park is the home of TV’s Great British Bake Off and its famous carpets of snowdrops are an annual winter spectacle.
Ashdown Farm enjoys an idyllic rural location but it’s just five minutes from junction 13 of the M4 and you can catch trains to London Paddington at Newbury station and arrive in 45 minutes. There’s a good bus service to Newbury too.
Finer Details:
Distances:Newbury 8.3 miles
Wantage 9.1 miles
Oxford 23 miles
Didcot Parkway Station 15 miles
London 62.4 miles
Heathrow Airport 47.4 miles
What3words: ///strikers.active.grandest
Square footage: Main House: 3195 sq ft / 296.8 sq mtr
Garage: 534 sq ft / 49.6 sq mtr
EPC: C
Central Heating: Oil-fired central heating to underfloor heating (ground floor) and radiators (first floor).
Where To Go When You Need:
Milk
Head to Saddleback Farm Shop (5 minutes away) for milk and much more. The store has its own butchery selling locally reared, grass-fed beef and rare breed lamb and pork. There’s also a deli and bakery, children’s play area and in-store tea room serving coffee, lunch and afternoon tea.
Golf
There are some wonderful courses to discover in this part of the world. West Berkshire Golf Club is close by and is renowned for its relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Its superb location offers players a peaceful round amongst tree-lined fairways with stunning views across surrounding countryside. Or book a tee time at Donnington Valley in Newbury and relax with a drink or bite to eat in the bar and restaurant afterwards.
Schools
Ashdown Farm is in the catchment for the ofsted ‘Outstanding’ Downs School and the school bus leaves from just outside the house. This highly regarded state school has been named a ‘Gold Star State School’ by society magazine Tatler. There’s a wide choice of independent school to choose from including St Gabriel’s, Cheam, Marlborough College, Downe House, Elstree, Thorngrove, Horris Hill. Brightwalton ce Primary School in the neighbouring village is ofsted rated ‘Good’.
Dinner/drinks
The local pub – The Ibex – in neighbouring Chaddleworth has a great reputation. It’s a cosy 18th Century gastro pub that’s won several awards including West Berkshire camra community pub of the year. Head to Newbury to find a wide choice of well-known eateries such as Bill’s, Cote and Pizza Express as well as independent bistros. Or for something very special, Michelin-starred dining can be found at The Vineyard and The Woodspeen which also has a highly-regarded cookery school.
Play area
The village has a lovely children’s play area a short walk or bike ride away. They’ll also love nearby Snelsmore Common where they can ride their bikes around the many well-marked trails and maybe spot a free-range Exmoor or New Forest pony.
Weekly shop
Newbury offers a large Waitrose supermarket as well as an M&S Food Hall, Tesco and Aldi stores.
Gym/fitness
Donnington Valley Health Club is around 20 minutes away by car. There’s a newly refurbished state-of-the-art gym featuring Matrix technology, together with spectacular 18 metre pool, jacuzzi and steam room. There are also 8 treatment rooms for the ultimate in relaxation.
Dog walks
There are endless walks to discover straight from the house in this wonderful Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Peasemore & Leckhampstead Circular is an 8.5 mile loop trail taking a couple of hours to complete. Open year-round, it’s a great trail for hiking, mountain biking and running and dogs are welcome on a lead. If you prefer some refreshment at the end of your walk, The Fox at Peasmore is a decent 2.5 miles away on foot.
