4 Bed Detached House, Single Let, Lancaster, LA2 6HB, £850,000

• Characterful accommodation +
• Situated in the picturesque village of Hest Bank +
• Built in 1932 +
• Light, bright and well-presented +
• Four well-proportioned reception rooms +
• Personality of period features +
• Surprisingly private setting +
• Expansive gardens surround the house +
• Large parking area +
• Popular residential choice +

Built in 1932, the characterful accommodation comprises an entrance vestibule, reception hall, cloakroom, sitting room, dining room, games room, office, dining kitchen, family room and a separate utility room. Off a generous first floor landing are four double bedrooms, two of which are ensuite and a house bathroom. Outside, a gated drive leads to a large parking area and there’s a single garage. Expansive gardens surround the house and offer a choice of seating areas, a summer house, kitchen garden and lawns with a formal pond. Grassgards is truly an all-rounder, for those seeking space both inside and out, a light filled period home and a private and convenient position; it needs to be viewed to be fully appreciated. Vendor Insight We love the flow of the house, the layout really works and the views are lovely. It’s been a great house for entertaining too, we’ve had some super Christmas parties here. The games room was ideal for children’s parties when they were younger, they were two and four when we moved here, but they have long since flown the nest and now we have the pleasure of grandchildren visiting us. It’s been a very happy home but it’s reluctantly time to downsize now and let another family enjoy their time here. Location Situated in the picturesque village of Hest Bank, Grassgards benefits from excellent accessibility to the M6 at both J34 and J35 depending on the direction of travel. It is a popular residential choice for families offering a great lifestyle with local village amenities and convenient access into Lancaster city centre. An ever-popular village, Hest Bank has a vibrant, active local community and a much sought after primary school in addition to a variety of sports clubs including tennis, football and bowling. Whether you like to walk, run or cycle, there are pleasant routes straight from the door. The shoreline at Hest Bank is managed by the RSPB to protect wintering waders and enjoys panoramic views to the Lake District fells. Village amenities include a post office, cafes, pubs, a general store, hairdresser, pharmacy, dentist and beauty salon. The church with new hall and community village hall between them host a variety of clubs and interest groups. The town of Carnforth provides a wider range of facilities including four supermarkets (Booths, Tesco, Aldi and Co-Op), doctors, dentist and a train station which offers regular services to the West Coast mainline station at Lancaster making Manchester and London Euston (and all points in between) eminently commutable; there’s also a highly convenient direct train service to Manchester Airport which saves on parking costs when you are jetting off.  The vibrant city of Lancaster has multi-generational appeal with an established cultural and music scene, bars and restaurants offering cuisines from around the world, an excellent range of high street and independent shops and a comprehensive provision of professional services, two universities (Lancaster and Cumbria) and good healthcare with both private and NHS hospitals in the city. An important consideration for family buyers, Grassgards is also within catchment area for Lancaster Grammar Schools and the Ripley St Thomas CoE Academy. Vendor Insight Many local people don’t even know the house is here, it’s so tucked away, that’s really worked for us as it’s lovely and private despite being so central; it’s proved to be a very convenient place to live with excellent schools locally, good access to Lancaster, Carnforth and Morecambe and easy links to the motorway, especially now the Bay Gateway road has been built. We have valued the strong sense of community here, it’s a great location for young families as there are so many opportunities to meet people. Step Inside Arriving at the entrance, the double opening oak convex doors with leaded glazing are a striking feature, these open to a vestibule and then through a second original oak and leaded glass door to the central reception hall. The internal panel doors are all the original and have been stripped to a golden pine. There are many architectural hallmarks of the era besides the doors – cornices to the ceilings, picture rails, some dado rails, built in cupboards and the staircase. In total, there are four well-proportioned reception rooms – all of them enjoying good views out to the gardens. The sitting room has a period painted mantlepiece with marble slips and fender and a Rayburn Rembrant open fire. The splayed bay window looks out to the back garden and an inner glazed door leads into the useful home office, again, enjoying the same garden view. The dining room also has a bay window, this time with a fitted window seat, the fire surround is a period reproduction with granite inserts and for convenience a gas living flame fire. An inner glazed door opens to reveal an exceptionally spacious games room, added by previous owners in 1981 to house a prized full size snooker table as the dimensions enabled space for players to navigate the table with ease. It’s still a games room and has been incredibly well used by the family as their children have grown; it’s been invaluable for hosting parties for all ages too. It’s an incredibly versatile room, the triple aspect makes it lovely and light and with a set of French windows leading out to the back garden it would make a good office if you needed to welcome visitors but didn’t want anyone walking through the house. It would also make a super home gym, a dedicated hobbies space or a self-contained suite for a dependent relative (subject to consents). Partially open to the kitchen, the family room transforms the dining kitchen into more of an all-round living kitchen and has proved ideal for children watching TV after school whilst supper is being made, it’s also cosy if there is just the two of you. Whilst the pine fireplace is a reproduction with a living flame fire for ease, the stripped pine alcove cupboard is original. There are dual aspect super garden views and an opening through to the kitchen which has timeless cream shaker kitchen cabinets and granite worktops. Appliances are integral for a neater look and the flooring is hardwearing Kardean. A lovely old stripped pine tongue and groove boarded door goes through to the rear entrance vestibule which leads to the utility room and to outside through an arched back door. Completing the picture on the ground floor is a cloakroom off the hall with a heritage style suite. The staircase rises to the first floor, a large window provides a great view of Warton Crag and Morecambe Bay with Grange over Sands in the distance. The L shaped gallery landing is spacious and very light. Bedrooms are all light, well presented and of a good size, each one having a good view over and above the garden, as does the house bathroom. The principal bedroom has a splayed bay window and an ensuite bathroom with a contemporary double ended bath, separate shower, wash basin and loo. The second ensuite double bedroom has fitted wardrobes and a contemporary shower room with a large cubicle, vanity unit and loo. There are two further double bedrooms, one of which has original built in wardrobes with stripped pine doors. The house bathroom has a rainfall shower over the bath, twin wash basin vanity unit, a loo and bidet. Vendor Insight It’s been a lovely family house. At Christmas we’ve had the space to have family staying over and enough separate rooms downstairs for everyone to be doing their own thing but still under one roof. The dining room comes into its own for special occasions and we’ve enjoyed having after dinner tournaments in the games room. Step Outside Turning in off the road, the attractive drive is edged in limestone with a variety of shrubs, it leads up to the house where it opens out to a large parking area in front of the house and a detached single garage which has power and light. A small lean-to at the front of the house used to house the outside WC, but it’s now a useful garden store. The garden planting is all well established with hedging and neatly trimmed shrubs ensuring a good degree of privacy. A shallow set of steps lead to the formal front lawn which is surrounded by a mixed hedge and a variety of shrubs. There’s a central pond with a statue water feature, original to the house. A sandstone paved path leads round to the left and extends out to a generous split level seating terrace with a summer house having double doors opening to the front. A lovely place to sit outside when there’s a breeze or for children to use as a playhouse. The terrace is large enough to allow a number of arrangements of garden furniture, both for dining and relaxing. As this back garden faces southwest it enjoys a sunny aspect making it a lovely place to sit and enjoy your downtime. It’s very private with established hedges and planting and is divided into three distinct areas. A white clematis adorns a trellis arch which leads to the kitchen garden with raised beds having gravel paths in between. From here, a pedestrian gate leads to Greenacre Road from where the bins are collected (thus avoiding the front drive) and it’s also through this gate that post is delivered. Back in the garden, neatly trimmed conifers hide the bins and compost area from sight. The central section is laid to lawn with deep planted borders, edged in local limestone. A stepped plinth is topped with a bird bath, original to the house and makes an impressive central feature. The third section is laid with old flags and a path then leads round the games room to a further tucked away terrace in front of the dining room. Externally there are outside lights and a garden tap. Vendor Insight We really appreciate the privacy of the setting; we have the security of neighbours but are surprising secluded. The back garden is lovely for having friends round in summer – we’ve enjoyed many a barbecue there, it’s an absolute sun trap and so private. Services Mains electricity, gas, water and drainage. Gas fired central heating from a Vaillant boiler in the utility room. Security alarm. Directions what3words Irritable. Influencing. Tinsel. Use Sat Nav LA2 6HB with reference to the directions below:
Leaving Bolton-le-Sands and driving towards Hest Bank along the Coastal Road (A5105), proceed through the traffic lights and past the fuel station and shop on the right. You’ll pass Greenacre Park and then Greenacre Road, now this is where you’ll need to pay attention as Grassgards has the sort of driveway entrance that you need to keep an eye out for. Blink and you’ll miss it! There’s a certain hidden charm about this as the house is tucked away behind those houses who do have road frontage. The entrance is on the left. Keep an eye out for the numbers, it says “15” on the right-hand side of the entrance. Turn in here and proceed up towards the house. Included in the sale Fitted carpets, curtains, curtain poles, blinds, light fittings and integral kitchen appliances (combination double oven with grill, induction hob, microwave, larder fridge and dishwasher, all Bosch, and a Franke extractor fan). Lancaster City Council Council tax band - G Tenure - Freehold