Describing an English home as a ‘quintessential cottage’ gives it quite a high bar to clear. However, like Dick Fosbury himself, Pear Tree Cottage in Devon leaps over with ease. It's on the market through Marchand Petit at £1.15m.
The number of boxes this delightful home ticks is quite wonderful. There’s a thatched roof, period features such as open fireplaces and exposed beams, and a gorgeous setting within walking distance of Bantham beach and Thurlestone golf links.
Inside, the property has been recently renovated to the highest standard, an example of which being the bespoke kitchen with its granite worktops and Aga.
However, the pièce-de-résistance is the garden room, which overlooks beautifully landscaped gardens.
The room is a recent addition, and boasts a floor-to-ceiling curved glass wall, with bi-folding doors.
What’s that you say? You’re still not satisfied? Well, there’s also a separate annexe offering a workshop, triple-bay garage, and living accommodation — all accessed, quite brilliantly, by a little wooden bridge.
And then there are the gardens, wonderfully landscaped to give a feeling that you're looking out over your very own private valley. Which is exactly what you have here: there is a stream at the bottom, and the whole thing is exquisitely private.
The cottage is actually in a hamlet called West Buckland, an unspoilt place just inland from the coast and enjoying peace and tranquillity, away from main road traffic and protected from the prevailing wind.
Nearby are the larger coastal villages of Thurlestone and Bantham. The former is famed for its 18-hole links golf course but also has some fine beaches, a village pub, shop, church and a hotel which offers country club-type membership to non-residents — it has squash courts, a swimming pool and even its own 9-hole golf course.
The other nearby village, Bantham, is one of the prettiest villages in the South Hams, sitting at the mouth of the River Avon and protected by sand dunes and vast expanses of golden beach.
Pear Tree Cottage is for sale via Marchand Petit at £1.15 million — see more details and pictures.
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