Water Street, Somerton, OX25

Sat in around half an acre of beautiful gardens edged by a pretty brook, a fine detached house with bay-fronted 28 ft living room, kitchen & separate dining room, conservatory, plus 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a detached double garage & gated parking. Wonderful village location backing onto fields.

Somerton village offers a rare mix of countryside seclusion and easy access to all amenities, sitting amidst the wonderful rolling countryside of the Cherwell valley. Within a short drive are rail and road links to London M40, Oxford via the Kidlington A4260, and Banbury. The nearby village of Deddington offers various food shops, pubs, a library, health centre, primary school and a monthly market. The village itself dates back to Saxon times, mentioned in the Doomsday Book, and the Church of St James dates back in part to at least 1074. There are many local activities, a number of which revolve around a fine village hall, rebuilt with lottery money in 2008. This features everything from toddler groups to films, evening talks and a Thursday evening bar (which we are told is very popular!).

This charming house has been owned by our vendors for over 30 years, and it is easy to see why. Originally built in the 1960s, the house was later extended, almost doubling the size. Today, it combines light rooms that flow well with a sublime position in a plot of around half an acre. Behind the house there are fields, to the left a pretty brook meanders along the boundary, and to the front is a sleepy village lane. It's an idyllic position, made all the more so by the charming village in which it sits. Presented in good condition today, it nevertheless offers all sorts of opportunities to tweak and change to your own requirements, such is the size of plot and layout of the house.

An open porch shelters a door into an inner porch, beyond which a broad hallway is pleasing bright and spacious. The staircase rises and gently turns ahead of you, with a deep cupboard beneath. And just off to the left a modern cloak room provides a facility any family will welcome!

Take a right and you enter a delightful living room. When the house was extended, the decision was made to combine the full depth of the original house and the new part, resulting in a triple aspect living room that comes complete with a huge bay window affording a panoramic view over the garden. There is a fireplace off to the side, the perfect accompaniment to any winter day, and the rear sliding doors open onto a peaceful terrace, a sheltered spot looking out towards the field behind.

Back across the hall, the door past the stairs opens into the kitchen. Fully fitted, its proportions are perfect for family living. To one end, units wrap around three sides offering ample storage, culminating with a window providing a delicious view down the garden towards the brook. At the other end, the room provides a natural space that is ample for family breakfasts, flanked by a further set of storage cupboards. Just beyond it is a utility room with a door to the garden and back patio.

To the left of the hall, the dining room is another bright and spacious room, also beautifully proportioned and hence offering a great space for more formal dining, if desired. This room connects via bi-folding doors that pull right back, leaving a wide opening that connects directly to a lovely conservatory from which the views are so easily enjoyed. In turn, the conservatory includes quad-folding doors that open onto the terrace beyond, a fine arrangement that ensures dining room, conservatory and outside link beautifully. Nb it is worth noting the layout of kitchen and dining room would appear to lend itself exceptionally well to combining the two rooms, which would provide a fantastic open-plan space the envy of any family.

Heading upstairs, the wide landing with its window overlooking the garden and village beyond accesses all rooms. Dealing with the smallest of the five bedrooms first, this is a great child's room or study, with a pretty dormer window that provides a lovely view out across the fields behind. Next door, the first of two ensuite double bedrooms is delightfully light and bright with a truly stunning view over the tops of the pretty neighbouring houses of the wider valley beyond, which stretches for miles. The ensuite pleasingly includes a bath as well as a thermostatic shower overhead. Refitted, it is presented in impeccable condition.

Across the landing, another good size double bedroom offers that same lovely view. Continue to the end of the landing, and where it turns, the family bathroom is fitted in a very similar style to the ensuite bedroom previously mentioned. Next door, an ample double bedroom is delightfully light with windows to two sides, and proportions that allow for really easy furnishing.

The final bedroom is a particularly generous size. A large double bed is currently flanked by various chests, side tables and a large wardrobe, but still offers an awful lot of free floor area. It's another double aspect room, this time overlooking the farmers field behind on one side and back across the village towards the church on the other. And the ensuite is the most modern of the three bathrooms, offered in impeccable condition throughout.

Heading outside, it is hard not to sound effusive with a garden this gorgeous. A broad and gently sloping lawn runs round three sides of the house. The terrace just outside the conservatory connects to the inside almost seamlessly, encouraging outside dining on most summer days. Another terrace behind the house cut into the bank behind, hence there are steps up to the lawn behind by a mature beach hedge. Walk to the left and a gravel seating area is set in a very informal and relaxed spot that's perfect for picnic surrounded by pretty trees.

Just beyond it, the brook that we previously mentioned gently meanders along the side, forming the natural border between this house and its neighbour. Our vendors and their children have spent many hours enjoying the peace of this spot. Various trees, shrubs, bushes and hedges are dotted across the plot, including a discreet border running along the front where it meets the village lane. Even the front porch is wide enough to accommodate a terrace, a prime spot for watching the world go by.

The driveway is accessed via a five bar gate that sits just back from the lane. Beyond it, a generous gravel parking area provides generous parking and turning space for a number of vehicles. And to the rear, a detached double garage complete with a recently renewed pitched roof offers all sorts of potential for use as an office, playroom, storage - or even a garage!