How big is too big in a country house? It's not an easy question to answer, and much will depend on whether you want to graze a few sheep, keep a few horses or build your own nine-hole golf courses. The idea of owning the land for as far as you can see is, of course, a wildly romantic notion — but for most people looking to swap city for country, a few acres can be just ideal.
That, at least, is the thought that sprang to mind when we spotted Pipers Haigh, a gorgeous Edwardian home in the village of Belaugh, which sits on the River Bure a few miles to the north of Norwich, and on the market with Fine & Country at £1.9 million.
In the space of two and a half acres, you'll get a fine-looking four-bedroom house, a cottage, a coach house, an original greenhouse, stables, a swimming pool, several more outbuildings, and a field which was once a paddock, and easily could be again. Unless you have 17 children, or a desire to open a racing stable, it makes you wonder what more you could need.
Inside, the house is completely charming — particularly with the sitting room which opens up, via a pair of arches, into the library, complete with fitted ladder for those higher-up shelves.
As cosy and delightful as the library is, the heart of the house is the open-plan kitchen-dining-living space, over 40ft long, lit from a skylight above and french windows to the side that head out onto a sheltered patio area.
Eating in the open-plan space isn't the only option: there's a good-sized separate dining room as well, with an original fireplace.
The four bedrooms — two of which are en-suite — are all upstairs, as is a fifth room that's used as a study, but could be another bedroom if needed. The current owners' fun, bohemian style is just as eloquently expressed in these areas as it is downstairs.
So there you go — pretty much every box ticked, so far as we can see. And it's even within a mile of a station which runs to central Norwich, from where it's an easy trip to London or elsewhere. For those looking to swap town for country this year, it's a wonderfully tempting slice of the world to call your own.
Pipers Haigh is on the market with Fine & Country at £1.9 million — see more details and pictures.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
-
About time: The fastest and slowest moving housing markets revealedNew research by Zoopla has shown where it's easy to sell and where it will take quite a while to find a buyer.
-
Betty is the first dog to scale all of Scotland’s hundreds of mountains and hillsFewer than 100 people have ever completed Betty's ‘full house’ of Scottish summits — and she was fuelled by more than 800 hard boiled eggs.
-
About time: The fastest and slowest moving housing markets revealed
New research by Zoopla has shown where it's easy to sell and where it will take quite a while to find a buyer.
-
A wisteria clad hall built by one of the founders of the Bank of EnglandCome for the history of Old Hall. Stay for the interesting interiors.
-
A gorgeous Scottish cottage with contemporary interiors on the bonny banks of the River TayCarnliath on the edge of Strathtay is a delightful family home set in sensational scenery.
-
Six rural properties with space, charm and endless views, as seen in Country LifeWe take a look at some of the best houses to come to the market via Country Life in the past week.
-
380 acres and 90 bedrooms on the £25m private island being sold by one of Britain's top music producersStormzy, Rihanna and the Rolling Stones are just a part of the story at Osea Island, a dot on the map in the seas off Essex.
-
A home cinema, tasteful interiors and 65 acres of private parkland hidden in an unassuming lodge in KentNorth Lodge near Tonbridge may seem relatively simple, but there is a lot more than what meets the eye.
-
A rare opportunity to own a family home on Vanbrugh Terrace, one of London's finest streetsThis six-bedroom Victorian home sits right on the start line of the London Marathon, with easy access to Blackheath and Greenwich Park.
-
A tale of everyday life as lived on Britain's most expensive streetWinnington Road in Hampstead has an average house price of £11.9 million. But what's it really like? Lotte Brundle went to find out.
