104 THE CAUSEWAY

DELIGHTFUL COUNTRY COTTAGE, WITH A MODERN FEEL, IN ONE OF BEDFORDSHIRE'S BEST VILLAGES
A superb, 3-bedroom, red brick cottage in the historic North Bedfordshire village of Carlton, with lovely countryside views, garden, driveway parking, and with most of your wish list already ticked off – super kitchen and bathroom, electrics and plumbing renewed, oil boiler and woodburner replaced – all wrapped up in energy-efficient quilt insulation.
Not only does your new home have what many would deem the best of both worlds – early C20th character outside with C21st century interior – but Carlton is in the heart of beautiful countryside yet with every amenity on the doorstep. Moreover, the village is just 15 minutes from the County town.
Bedford, with its fast trains to London in under 40 minutes, its supermarkets, music venues and eateries, and its world-renowned private schools, is a very good bus service or short drive away. Yet Carlton, which lies, peacefully, a couple of miles from any major road, has an outstanding pre and primary school, its own lovely little shop and post office, and not one, but two great pubs, each offering something different. Wander across the beautiful River Great Ouse to the surgery in the neighbouring village of Harrold, and to the country park, with its lakes and café. The catchment secondary school is in nearby Sharnbrook, complete with community sports centre and gym.
Play cricket and tennis in Harrold and squash in Carlton. Grow your own veg in the superb allotments. Adults have a village hall which hosts all manner of events and societies. Children have a super playing field and play park a couple of hundred yards from your cottage. And your dog has the most wonderful walks in countryside that you can see across the lane from your bedroom window. A lovely place in which to live.
MORE ABOUT THE PROPERTY
Each side of your cottage tells a story. At the time it was built, it was known as No. 2, The Green, set as it is with its attached, wisteria-clad neighbour aside the village green, the magnificent trees there alive with bird song. To the other side, a lovely, low, old brick wall separates the cottage lawn from the former Baptist Chapel’s early C19th churchyard, now managed for wildflowers. The manor house, with its old clay roofs, and the row of gardens and C18th cottages which once housed its staff, form the backdrop to your new home. At the front, you look over miles of countryside beyond the country lane called the Causeway.
In the courtyard, you can relax in summertime, eat, drink and be merry in perfect privacy. Green fingers can busy themselves in the beds and borders at the front and side of the cottage, tending the roses, salvia and other pretty, bee-friendly flowers, watched over by a young Photinia Red Robin in one corner and an elegant Flamingo tree in another.
In the barn, an earth closet was prized by the tenants of No. 2, The Green. How things have changed.
Today, you not only have a cloakroom downstairs, but a stylish bathroom upstairs, with its freestanding bath and separate shower. You have three bedrooms, the largest currently with a 7’x7’ bed and a countryside view that makes the start of each day special.
And following a long, winter walk in the countryside or, perhaps, along the river, it’s a joy to come home and slump in front of the sitting room’s roaring log fire, hidden LED lighting above your head, porcelain wood planks beneath your feet, your dog towelled off first in the boot room.
Amazingly high ceilings throughout add to the feeling of space. And it’s versatile space too. The study could be a playroom, for instance. And how lovely to have such a large kitchen, its striking, contemporary furniture, topped by the most gorgeous granite, housing top quality appliances, including a fabulous American-style fridge/freezer. Oodles of storage and plenty of space for your table too. Kitchen, cottage and village, all out of the ordinary.