Stubbs Oak, Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire, SG19

ENERGY EFFICIENT, MODERN FAMILY HOME, WITH GARDEN STUDIO, IN VILLAGE CLOSE TO SANDY STATION

A hugely attractive, energy efficient, 4-double bedroom family home, with super views from its Juliet balcony and with a garden studio overlooking a wonderful koi and lily pond. One of only four lovely, detached houses built in the last ten years within an exclusive development in the Cambridgeshire village of Gamlingay, you have all the space you could ask for, inside and outside, including parking for three cars.

Glance at a map of Gamlingay and you’d be forgiven for thinking that road and rail links had been designed to leave the village in rural peace yet within easy access of major towns and cities. You’re only just over 5 miles from Sandy, from where fast trains reach London in 48 minutes and from where you can pick up the A1 and on to the A1(M). Other major roads such as the A14, A428 and M11, are within easy reach for speedy access to Cambridge and Bedford, both about 15 miles away, and to further afield.

And Stubbs Oak itself seems to have been designed to be away from the hustle and bustle of the centre of the village, but within walking distance of all of its facilities, including pharmacy, surgery, shop and post office, Co-op, Community centre, gym, playing fields and tennis courts, not to mention restaurants and an historic pub in the shadow of the even more historic Church of St Mary the Virgin. Less than two miles away is the popular garden centre at Waresley.

The village primary school is under a mile away and the catchment secondary is a bus ride away in Comberton. Some villagers send their children to the top private schools in Bedford and Kimbolton.

At Stubbs Oak, you’re surrounded by fabulous walks through lovely countryside, with the Cinques on your doorstep, a nature reserve once part of Gamlingay Great Heath, where you can wander in the footsteps of Charles Darwin hunting for fossils.

Whether you’re a child travelling to school or an adult to work (although your garden studio is a great place to work), you’ll always love coming back to your super new home.

MORE ABOUT THE PROPERTY

With its highly attractive, weatherboarded finish and pantiled roof, your new home has the character of a barn conversion. Yet it was newly built in 2015 as a modern family home, with over 2500 square feet, sophisticated insulation and high-performance windows to keep energy bills as low as possible.

A beautiful silver birch welcomes you home, window boxes overflow with colour, and the sweet scent of lavender hangs in the air. Step into the hall and you already have a sense that this is a home full of space, height and light. You’re never disappointed.

Each room refuses to let you forget that there’s so much outside too. From the study, which overlooks the gravelled, courtyard coffee area, to the sitting room just waiting for you to throw open the French doors to the garden and pond – but with the cosy, but oh so stylish (and very expensive) Contura logburner, making you happy to be inside come wintertime.

An oak and glass staircase takes you to a landing bathed in natural light, and to four bedrooms all of which are larger than many a main bedroom.

But what a main bedroom you have here, with its vaulted ceiling, shower room and shuttered French doors to the Juliet balcony, and glorious views over the pond and the surrounding countryside.

Everyone has their private space upstairs, but the kitchen proves a magnet for the family to come together to cook, chat, eat and watch television – or, indeed, to entertain - a space with four ovens, American fridge/freezer and wine cooler, a superb pantry cupboard, and seating around the table as well the huge, oak and quartz-topped island.

And not one but two sets of French doors to the terrace, and a garden that, while providing a canvas for the green-fingered expert and a lawn for the budding footballer, centres around the delightful pond. Feed the koi from the little, wooden bridge, relax on the decking by the waterfall as damselflies flit over the grasses and water lilies. And decide if your super studio is for working, for working out, for overnight stays or for playing games – or, perhaps, all of them. One thing’s for sure – it completes a superb family home.