Stowe Road, Orpington, BR6 9HQ

*360 Virtual Tour Available – Click on the virtual tour/video link*

*£650,000-£700,000 Guide Price* A beautifully presented extended family home which is being sold for the first time in almost 30 years - now that the adult children have all flown the nest.

Why should you buy me?

Meticulously worked on over a happy 27 years stay by the lovely owners, Debbie & Niall - no stone has been left unturned in making this once traditional family house, into a home fit for their six person family.

It's hard to find 5 bed family houses… let alone an example as nice as this one!

A breakdown from Debbie & Niall as to why they bought the property is below my description if of interest.

When the couple first moved in 1997, the property required a fair amount of work, so no time was wasted in getting their hands dirty.

Everything you see in the house has been added over time, and work has included the building of a two storey rear extension, a single storey rear extension and a loft extension (with all proper permissions & records), plus recently modernising the ‘fuse board’ with a 60amp supply and 10 year old boiler.

The open plan kitchen / breakfast room has benefitted the most from the extension (more than doubling in size), and there is clear potential to adapt it all to a more open plan setup if preferred.

The almost football pitch sized West facing garden can be accessed from both the extended dining area / reading room and a side entrance (through the utility from the original kitchen).

Being semi-detached, side access is available, should any future owner need any help to maintain the huge garden, or to store motorbikes / tools in the massive summerhouse sized shed at the back.

In addition to the massive shed, there is a greenhouse, a more traditional shed and even a tortoise run for pet ‘Eric’ who was adopted by the family when nobody claimed him in 2012.

There are toilet facilities on each floor, ensuite to bedroom 1, family bathroom & shower room on the first floor, and a downstairs WC which saves visitors having to nosey around upstairs.

The loft extension is now the main bedroom (with added storage), while there are four bedrooms on the first floor.

Should a ground floor bedroom and shower room be required, there was planning permission granted in 2015 as an option for Niall’s mother.

You’ll struggle to find a house with a better ‘full-service history’.

Early viewing is advised to avoid disappointment.

EER: C (2033)     |     Council Tax: Bromley Band D     |     Tenure: Freehold



More info, but this time from Debbie & Niall (the owners):

What features of your home appealed to you when you were buying?

We loved the location and feel of the area immediately.

Proximity to good elementary schools was really important to us, and we wanted to be amongst other family houses - yet with excellent travel links (Chelsfield Station, Orpington Station, the M20 and M25).

In addition to the above, our main criteria when looking was to have a large garden (which this house certainly has!) and off-road parking (for insurance).

What is your favourite thing about living in your home?

For years it’s been the space we have. With four kids this was/is a boon, especially the garden.

What is your typical commute to work? How long does it take?

We used to commute to the city and to get to London Bridge – it’s approximately 30 mins door to door. Add 30 mins to get to pretty much anywhere in central London (is a good rule of thumb I’ve found.)

Chelsfield Station is the last in Zone 6, so many move here from North Kent as they know it operates express services to London - both in the mornings and evenings. Orpington also offers more regular express trains into London Bridge or Victoria.

How are your neighbours?

The neighbours are both very friendly, and next door’s vine produces good grapes, which they tend to encourage us to help them pick.

In your opinion, what are the best local schools?

Elementary Schools:
Highway (at the end of the road) - very strict entry requirements, measuring proximity from the front door.
Warren Road
Holy Innocents (Catholic, but all ours went there, and they aren’t.)

Grammar:
Girls: Newstead
Boys: (until 6th form, then mixed) St. Olaves

These both constantly come first or thereabouts in England. They’re very competitive, our daughter went to Newstead (Masters achieved), one son went to St. Olaves (1st Class hons, but sadly couldn’t be bothered with a Masters!)

Secondary:
Ravenswood – seems to be good, but we may be biased to our rugby connection.
Bishop Justus – is nice. One of our sons went there.

What’s the best local park?

Goddington Park is our favourite as it’s a large park and only a short walk (10 mins). There are many others around the area mind you.

What’s the best local gym / sports club?

Westcombe Park Rugby Club for us. All our children played there from 7/8 up. Best grounds in SE London/Kent and a 10 min walk max.

We’re perhaps a bit biased mind you. Niall has been a member for over 20 years.

Orpington Football Club, plays in the park next to WPRC.

What’s the best local shop?

The local butcher is very high quality, and will source whatever you want. He is a pig farmer, and the pork is his own. He is very well priced, and we highly recommend the sausages and chicken. Sometimes he even beats ALDI prices on some items.

What is the best local pub?

We always liked The Five Bells pub in old Chelsfield as our favourite, the Chelsfield Village fete is held just outside which always has a Spitfire flying overhead, but The Dew Drop is also nice with its beer garden.

What is the best local café/restaurant?

We like visiting The Orpington, on Orpington high street, which is a combined Café, restaurant and record shop. Excellent coffee (and beer), the food is good and really friendly people. There is room available for parties.

There are also lots of trendy new places popping up on the high street too – including the old post office which has been converted.

For special occasions, ‘Chapter One’ in Farnborough village is beautiful and once had a Michelin star.

What are the best local supermarkets or shopping centres?

Tesco and Sainsburys are both on Orpington High Street, Waitrose is in Green Street Green, all about 10 mins away, and with ample parking.

Nugent Shopping Park just before Sevenoaks Way has an M&S, Boots, WHSmith, Waterstones, JD Sports amongst many others.

Hope this all helps! :)