Main Road, Astwood, Buckinghamshire, MK16

ATTRACTIVE, DETACHED FAMILY HOME WITH SELF-CONTAINED ANNEXE

It’s not often that a modern home comes with a moat. Oak Ponds, in the historic, Buckinghamshire village of Astwood does - or at least a section of one. It also comes with four bedrooms, huge garage which could, perhaps, be incorporated into the house, horseshoe driveway, gardens and a one-bedroom annexe from which to earn an income or provide the perfect place for extended family. Built in 1986, it’s the first opportunity this century that anyone else has had a chance of owning this super family home.

Astwood lies between Bedford and Milton Keynes, just 15 or 20 minutes from either railway station, from where fast trains arrive in London in less than 40 minutes. MK’s shopping centre and Bedford’s world-renowned Harpur Trust private schools are within easy reach. Newport Pagnell, with the catchment schools of Cedars Primary and Ousedale Secondary, is only about five miles from the village. The market town of Olney is seven miles and Bromham’s supermarket about four. Just a short hop away is the farm shop, Browns of Stagsden, which can supply your Sunday joint and other fresh, local produce – as well as tempting coffee and cake.

The two villages of Astwood and Hardmead are within two miles of each other and share various community events at Astwood’s village hall and Hardmead’s medieval church, as well as lovely countryside walks between. Those who live in Astwood though, feel fortunate to have the award-winning, 17th century coaching inn, The Old Swan, in their village – just a couple of hundred yards from Oak Ponds, it’s some local to have on your doorstep.

ABOUT THE PROPERTY

Wonderful, welcoming wisteria cascades over the window of the dining room, roses ramble across the arched porch, and you feel glad to be home. Sit at the front and enjoy the golden rain of the laburnum, the beautiful magnolia, and the magnificent horse chestnut watching wisely from across the tree-lined road.

Inside, light pours into the spacious hall and onto the galleried landing through the rather lovely, springline window on the quarter-landing, which adds a classic dimension to this modern family home. And space and light is a theme that runs throughout the house - in good-sized bedrooms, some with banks of mirrored wardrobes and all with windows overlooking gardens, paddocks or fields. And in downstairs rooms, where there’s plenty of space for the family to get together and plenty of space in which to do your own thing.

Yet it’s flexible space, that can be designed to suit your needs. Snug or study, for instance? One thing’s for sure, Oak Ponds is a super home not only for everyday family life, but for entertaining - and in all seasons.

Imagine intimate, winter dinner parties in the dining room before drinks in front of the sitting room fire, flames reflected in the elegant, contemporary cast iron of the fireplace. Imagine, too, the bifold doors open to the conservatory for larger gatherings, extending out to the garden terrace in summertime.

Fold open the doors from the kitchen to breakfast on the terrace. How easy it is to fill a cafetière from the hot tap, pour iced water from the fridge/freezer, pluck chilled wine from the cooler. And how amazing it is that your gorgeous granite tops are naturally different from anyone else’s in the world.

And it’s not everyone who has a moat at the bottom of the garden either – sit under the willow with a glass of wine and watch dragonflies skim across the surface. Budding footballers can kick a ball between the conifer hedging to their heart’s content. Tend your roses, harvest your own veg and pick your own eating apples – something for everyone in this lovely, private garden. Your only question is whether the superb annexe is for elderly parents, lucky teenagers, guests, or Airbnb?