Church Walk, Cranfield, MK43

GUIDE PRICE £300,000 - £325,000

Damson Cottage is an incredibly captivating Grade II-listed home, full of character and with surprising space. There’s a gorgeous courtyard garden, and the location has an array of amenities.

Much of the cottage’s charm comes from its original features, including a medieval cruck frame seen in the corners, and beams across the ceilings and up the walls. The property dates back to the 17th century, but it’s been extended in more recent years, with accommodation that unfolds further than you’d think. When the owner purchased the property in 2014, she took out the window & door between the kitchen and dining room, opening up the space and allowing light to pass through. Soon after moving in, she also replaced the kitchen and bathroom.

The kitchen/dining room is super bright, with three windows down one side, and French doors onto the garden. Inside feels very connected with outside. The kitchen is fitted with white cabinetry and wood surfacing, and there’s patterned tiling to splashbacks. There’s a Belfast sink, an integrated dishwasher, plus space for a fridge/freezer, a washing machine and a slimline electric range.

Over the last decade, the home has been well looked after, and every nook and cranny maximised. The lounge is a showcase for how to make a room feel cosy, with a comfy sofa, armchairs around the fire, and lots of ambient lighting. The owner loves to sit fireside, warmed by the gas stove, with a glass of something from the bar area under the stairs.

Up the soft carpeted stairs are two good-sized bedrooms. One is particularly lengthy with built-in wardrobes, and both have floorboards under the carpet if preferred. The bathroom is downstairs. This is contemporary, but still as quirky as the rest of the rooms. There’s a wc, a luxurious corner bath with a seat and a waterfall shower, and a sewing table topped with a bowl sink. We love the tiles from travels around the world. Between the lounge and bathroom is a dedicated storage area, with convenient cupboards for sheets and towels, the hoover and the ironing board, and for hanging coats and tidying away shoes.

Outside, the tranquil courtyard garden is quite special, tended to with care, and with efforts rewarded with colour all year. There are raised beds brimming with life, from blue clematis, purple wisteria, pink fuchsia, red robin, green ferns and black grass, to white snowdrops in winter. The stump of the plum tree the cottage is named after remains, and wrens nested atop it last year.

The garden is walled to one side and fenced to the other, and the area closest to the house is really private. It’s a suntrap, facing south, and sitting out here is soundtracked by trickling water features and chiming church bells. The summerhouse provides sheltered seating, storage, or the option to use as an office or a studio. A gate leads to a path across the back of the neighbouring house and out to the front of the row. The frontage is low maintenance. You could fit a small car on here, and the road has parking too.

Church Walk is a quiet no through road ending at the church. Within strolling distance are amenities such as a Co-op and a Morrisons, pubs, restaurants and takeaways, doctors and a dentist, a hairdressers and a dog groomers, a community centre and a village hall, a swimming pool and a 3G football pitch, and both lower and middle schools. There are walking routes from the front door, through the churchyard, into Rectory Wood nature reserve, and out to Marston Thrift. Cranfield is a lovely little village, yet only 20 minutes from both Bedford and Milton Keynes, where you’ll find comprehensive eating and entertainment, and mainline stations with services into London.

The owner’s grandson will miss Damson Cottage most, but Nanna’s moving nearer to him in Northampton, offering this characterful cottage to new owners. You’ll fall in love at first sight.