Location

Bourn is an attractive west Cambridgeshire village with a good range of local facilities including a post office/shop, church, hairdressers, cafe, two public houses/restaurants and a primary school rated as outstanding by Ofsted. Cambridge Country Club (formerly Bourn Golf and Country Club) is a luxurious new complex offering a wellness centre, gym, luxury spa, swimming pool and a bar and restaurant with views over the very well-established 18 hole golf course.

The University city of Cambridge is approximately 9 miles east and is not only world renowned for its academic achievements, but has also become recognised as an important centre for the 'high tech' and 'bio-tech' industries with the University Research and Development Laboratories, Science Park, ARM, Microsoft, AstraZeneca and Addenbrooke's Hospital/Biomedical Campus.

The city offers extensive cultural and shopping facilities together with an outstanding choice of independent schools for all ages.

London commuters are also well served with services to King's Cross from St Neots (42 minutes) and Royston (37 minutes) lying approximately 10 miles west and 11 miles south respectively.

Description

Cherry tree Cottage is a very special and much loved detached family home nestled at the far end of Crow End with pedestrian access right to the heart of the village. Formerly known as Well Cottage, this charming cottage has been carefully extended and transformed by the vendors during their tenure of over 40 years. Of rendered elevations beneath a reed thatched roof, the original part of the property, which is not listed, displays many features of its period including exposed timbers, an Inglenook fireplace with salt niches and former bread oven and some sliding sashes. The later addition is cavity insulated and also thatched.

The property has been sympathetically extended over the years - some of the beams in the newer sitting room were 'recycled' having come from an old farmhouse in a nearby village - and it now incorporates an adjacent vaulted and converted barn which is ideal for use as an additional reception room/ground floor bedroom or indeed as much sought after work from home space. The whole provides a very welcoming and desirable family home with a wonderful mature cottage garden, detached garden room, stabling and garage with workshop above (again with further potential).

Although the house is normally approached via back door into the kitchen, the main hall with its dividing staircase links the old and the new. To the right is the sitting room with its Inglenook fireplace and canopy hood, door and second staircase and beyond is the dining area with re-claimed pamment flooring and unusual exposed brick work (understood to have been made in the village) to one wall. The kitchen with its electric Aga within a brick fireplace with bressumer backs on to the sitting room and is fitted with a range of reclaimed oak floor units with pitch pine draws, tiled worktops, Miele electric oven and fitted dishwasher and fitted former pews providing banquette seating to one side.

There is a 'back' door to the garden and access to the utility/boot room with a part glazed door to the rear. The second sitting room forms part of the extension, is part panelled with a charming octagonal turret like window fitted with oak seats and a larger Inglenook style fireplace. Beyond is a cloakroom and the impressive vaulted converted barn as mentioned previously.

On the first floor there are four vaulted bedrooms from two staircases which link together upstairs. The first has an en suite bathroom and storage and in addition there is a dressing area from the landing together with a family bathroom with sunken bath and separate shower, bidet and window seat with useful storage.

Within the garden is a superb, spacious south facing French Oak framed and vaulted garden/ entertaining room with electric underfloor heating and a kitchenette to one side with hotplate, drawer fridge, vegetable drawer and granite worktops. In addition there is a detached twin door garage housing the Myson oil fired boiler and workshop area and access to the upper floor with a fantastic vaulted second workshop area (again with further potential). The garden also incorporates a drive and a range of three stables – including a foaling stable – with automatic drinkers together with a tack room and feed room. Beside the old part of the house is an external and thatch topped well brickwork indicating a date of 1937. The gardens are predominantly laid to lawn interspersed with attractive, well stoked borders.