Location

Set on the eastern fringes of the Peak District National Park, the property is surrounded by open farmland, bridlepaths and footpaths, with excellent outriding and great dog walks in the small, secluded valley. There are many local amenities in the surrounding villages of Crich (2.8 miles) and Wirksworth (2.3 miles), such as public houses, Post Office, a leisure centre, restaurants and cafes, with Whatstandwell also benefiting a local cafe. The city of Derby is 14 miles to the south and offers a wide variety of High Street shops, superstores, leisure and entertainment amenities and a university. There are excellent transport links via Whatstandwell and Cromford, with both enjoying a regular train service to London St Pancras via Derby. Lea Primary School (3.3 miles) and Crich Junior School (2.8 miles) both boast Ofsted Outstanding ratings, as does the Alderwasley Independent school (2.3 miles).

Description

On the cusp of the Peak District and set within a charming valley, Watergate Farm offers an exceptional and rarely available opportunity to acquire a small yet extremely versatile private estate, with fantastic potential for equestrians, as a small farm or other commercial activity. The characterful cottage is a well appointed family home, and is accompanied by a detached two-bedroom annexe, barns, stabling and workshops. The current owners have undertaken a variety of improvements over the years, relandscaping the garden, improving the outbuildings and making a number of changes to the main house, including installing underfloor heating and a log/oil boiler, extending the kitchen and dining area, adding fibre optic broadband and updating the interior. The house is beautifully presented throughout, featuring natural materials like wood floors and exposed beams, large windows affording plenty of natural light and pleasant neutral tones.

Accommodation
There are character features throughout, which combine with more modern elements like contemporary bathrooms and a fabulous open plan living space with kitchen, dining area and a modern wood-burning stove. The layout is well planned and offers plenty of space for entertaining and spending time as a family.

Dining room
A porch to the front aspect enters into a formal dining room in the older part of the house, laid with engineered oak flooring and overlooks the gardens. This leads to the sitting room and the open plan kitchen. Glass panelled doors allow excellent natural light.

Sitting room
The cosy sitting room is a relaxing space featuring exposed wooden beams, an arched stone mullion window to the front aspect and an inglenook fireplace with inset, traditional wood burning stove.

Open plan kitchen/family room
The vast open plan living space is situated to the rear of the property within the rear extension, featuring a high vaulted ceiling, bifold doors to the rear terrace, a focal point wood-burning stove and tall picture windows overlooking the lovely gardens. The kitchen incorporates a range of cream shaker style units with laminated work surfaces and is fitted with integral appliances to include a Rangemaster oven with induction hob and extractor above, stainless steel sink, a Neff dishwasher, pantry storage cupboards and a tall integrated fridge.

Snug
The charming snug, laid with strip oak flooring enjoys a dual aspect view with a window the front and French doors opening to a side patio and onto the garden.

Central lobby
There is a hallway in the middle of the house, with the staircase to the first floor, allowing access to a cloakroom to the rear with WC and the sizable utility room, fitted with further base and wall storage, a fridge freezer, an additional sink, bench seating and provisions for a washing machine and dryer.

Boiler room
Accessed externally from the front of the house, the boiler room also offers storage, with a separate service room to the rear.

Office
Accessed via an external staircase, the office/study is situated over the boiler room and is a fantastic provision for working from home.

First floor
A handsome timber staircase ascends from the internal lobby to the first floor accommodation. To the top of the stairs there is a contemporary, three piece shower room, holding a large walk-in shower enclosure, a wall hung hand wash basin and a WC. The main bedroom sits to the front elevation, fitted with a full wall of wardrobes and benefitting additional alcove storage. Two further double bedrooms are positioned to the front, alongside the family bathroom, incorporating a corner shower enclosure, pedestal wash hand basin, a bath and WC. The fourth bedroom sits to the rear elevation with views over the garden.   

Annexe
The delightful annexe has recently been renovated and would ideally suit buyers seeking secondary accommodation for dependant relatives or older children. It could also be a fantastic income generating asset, with the area being in high demand for holiday accommodation. On the ground floor there is a sitting/dining room with log burner and a kitchen with a range of integrated appliances. Upstairs there are two good-size double bedrooms, both with built-in wardrobes, and a shower room. There is also a storage room accessed from the outside.

Outside
The house is nestled at the very end of a private lane, surrounded by dense woodland that offers a high degree of privacy and a real feeling of seclusion, while enjoying far reaching views over the surrounding countryside. The 40-acre plot is wide ranging and extremely versatile, offering fantastic potential for equestrian use, as a small holding or a simply extensive private land. The grounds, coupled with the array of outbuildings which could be converted – subject to the relevant planning permissions – also offer good scope for commercial use, such as glamping, a livery yard or a leisure venue.

The main barn, which extends to approximately 120ft x 60ft, has vehicular access at both ends and could be converted to an American-style barn with internal stabling, amongst other uses. In addition, there is a three bay stable block, a large workshop, an old lambing barn and a two-storey Dutch barn. The land is well draining and offers a mixture of pasture and woodland, with a brook forming the northern boundary. Surrounding the cottage there are well-tended gardens, displaying established flowerbeds, stretches of lawn, mature trees and borders, a planted rockery with a central waterfall feature, a small pond and a number of seating areas, strategically placed to make the most of the stunning views over the gardens and grounds.