A picture-perfect thatched cottage tucked away in Dorset's Blackmore Vale

The village of Winterborne Stickland is sited in a chalkland valley on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, sandwiched between Blandford Forum and Milton Abbas, where the views are invariably glorious and far-reaching. It is a fitting setting for the equally pretty Grade II-listed thatched Mill House, which itself is set in more than three-quarters of an acre, some of it sweeping lawns. It's for sale at £835,000.

Buying Mill House will be like purchasing a slice of history, because there was a mill listed at Stickland in the Domesday survey, probably on the same site as this 2,300sq ft period house.

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A little more recently, in the 1500s, the core of this cottage was built and the agent comments: ‘As you might imagine with a house that is more than 400 years old, there have been alterations and additions and you can read the history by looking at the mix of stone, tile and timber floors, huge beams, oak panelling and wonderful fireplaces.’

Mill House is laid out on a sort of sideways-T flooplan, with a huge drawing room — an unusual find in such a quaint cottage — plus sitting room, dining room, kitchen-diner and boot room on the ground floor.

The first floor has all four bedrooms, which share a single family bathroom — though there's a further shower room downstairs.

Outside, there's also a barn and potting shed — also thatched, naturally — bringing the total floorspace to over 2,750sq ft.

The gardens of three-quarters of an acre are a joy, and while the kitchen garden looks like it might need some extra care, the lawns, mature trees and the little stream all create a perfect bucolic feel.

The whole place is in astonishing condition for such an old house. It was extensively restored in the 1990s, with some maintenance continued by the current owners, who are moving on after 15 years. They are surely sad to go.

Mill House is for sale at £835,000 via Jackson-Stops — see more details.