Paddy’s Cottage, Barnwell, East Northants, UK

The Jurassic limestone and thatched roofed, 400 year old cottage, is located in the quiet quintessential English village of Barnwell, 2 miles from Oundle in East Northants. The rustic cottage is constructed of oolitic limestone and oak beams under a traditional straw thatch roof. The front door opens to a Garden Room with sliding patio doors to a wonderful laid out rustic Country Garden. The elegant sitting room has settees, coffee table, satellite TV and a gasfired ‘wood burner’ ingelnook fireplace. Next to the sitting room, is a country style kitchen with a Belfast sink, large fridge, range cooker, Irish Dresser and large pine kitchen table. Adjoining the country kitchen is a bright conservatory style 'breakfast room' within the garden room space.
Adjacent to the kitchen is a traditional scullery with a Belfast sink, dishwasher, microwave, freezer and wine rack built into the old copper chimney. Next door, the adjoining boot room is a laundry, with washing machine/drier and ironing facilities. Next door is a separate shower/bathroom on the ground floor. Accessed from the garden, through a stable door, is a small study with TV, fridge, radio and an extensive sports library.
On the first floor there are three bedrooms. The largest bedroom has built-in wardrobes that overlooks the Barnwell brook. The second good sized double bedroom has individual standing wardrobes and it also overlooks the brook. A third smaller single bedroom has built in wardrobe and is used as a dressing room. With the option of a blow-up double bed.
In the garden is a pretty summer house which is used as an extra leisure area in the summer months.

Barnwell village is a delightful old fashioned rural retreat with a 13th Century Castle, two churches, and a number of notable buildings such as, the eponymous ‘Montagu Arms’ our local country pub, which has a quaint and quality rustic restaurant. Within the village is located the Royal Family Estate of the Duke of Gloucester, which was considered to be of national importance yesteryear. This North East corner of Northamptonshire is characterised by attractive undulating countryside, and rural villages with attractive Jurassic Limestone cottages in the valley of the River Nene. There are public rights of way, such as ‘The Nene Way’ along Barnwell Brook which passes our front door.

The beautiful stone built, Georgian Market Town of Oundle, situated on an incised meander on the river Nene, lies about two miles to the North East and it is known for its old fashioned quintessentially English streetscapes and its famous Public School. Within the town there is a good range of restaurants, pubs, tea shoppes, coffee houses and tourist facilities, including antiques/ art galleries, a theatre, a library and a number of sports venues and clubs, such as Oundle Golf Club. There is also Barnwell Country Park, with several riverside walks through lakes and woodland teeming with fish in river and lake for the fisherman, and migratory wildfowl on its banks for birdwatchers. It has an adventure playground for young children, a waterside cafe and a Park Warden wildlife education office and shop. Well worth an afternoon visit for young families. Oundle Marina is across the road from Barnwell Park and you can hire long barge boats to travel the canals that criss-cross the region. In Oundle, on North Bridge, you can hire canoes and bikes so that you can explore the river and it’s villages.