Craiglands, Joss Lane, Sedbergh, Cumbria, LA10 5AS

First and foremost, a wonderful family house, built in 1934 and with a substantial extension. The accommodation is flexible and has the potential for a self-contained annex to suit multi-generational living or even letting for an additional income.

Filled with natural light, the south facing setting is exceptionally private. The large and beautifully maintained gardens provide a degree of seclusion that is surprisingly rare for a house so centrally placed. 

The main house offers a warm welcome with a spacious hallway and cloakroom, sitting and dining rooms, a lovely big sociable dining kitchen opening to a conservatory, laundry, pantry and rear hall/boot room. The first floor provides two ensuite bedrooms, a third double bedroom, a fourth single room and a family bathroom. 

The annex is currently incorporated within the main residence, it all being occupied as one. Connected by the rear hall it currently provides a large family room, fifth double bedroom, shower room and store room (with plumbing to return it to a second kitchen if required). The integral double garage benefits from a useful first floor storage loft. 

Attractively presented, bright and airy, this substantial and impressive property makes a great family house, providing spacious living accommodation within large private gardens in a central and very accessible location. 

Location

Approaching from the M6, round the bend and the valley stretches out in front of you and the glorious Howgill Fells rise to greet you. The view is breathtaking. The Dales market town of Sedbergh is only five miles from the motorway junction but it feels a world away. 

Surrounded and sheltered by the fells, picturesque Sedbergh has a good provision of local shops and services centered around an attractive Main Street which is home to an array of independent retailers for everyday needs. As an official book town, there is a selection of book shops to browse and a town library. For healthcare there is a medical centre, dentist and vets’ surgeries. Sedbergh has a weekly Wednesday market held in the car park on Joss Lane, and during the summer months, Main Street plays host to an artisan market. 

The town has an active calendar of community events including a spring show, gala, music and book festivals. The renowned and independent Sedbergh School has extensive amenities which are available for local residents to use including the swimming pool, various courts, floodlit astro-turf pitch and a sports centre. There are also concerts in the state-of-the-art music hall, Thornely Studio.

Step inside 

The primary rooms are south facing, naturally light filled and have attractive views over the garden and beyond to the distant fells. 

Craiglands feels very well connected to the garden in a variety of ways. The wide oak door opens into the spacious hallway, great for welcoming guests. Through a combination of glazed doors, the hall has a sight line through to the garden. There are two main reception rooms, the dual aspect sitting room has a picture window and Clearview multifuel stove in a stone surround. The formal dining room is atmospheric with a living flame gas fire and an illuminated cupboard. South facing, two sets of French windows open onto the terrace or into the conservatory.

The big L shaped kitchen will appeal to anyone seeking a great sociable space, perfect for family life and ideal if you like to entertain. French windows open to the conservatory and continue the layout’s convivial flow. The dark grey slate floor complements the soft grey of the kitchen cabinets which are topped with either Silestone or oak worktops. There’s a third fireplace, this time housing a Gazco gas stove offering the aesthetics of a real fire, but a lot less work! To the side, an alcove cupboard offers space for both storage and display. 

Connecting the kitchen and the dining room is the impressive conservatory where two sets of French windows open to the terrace. South facing, it’s a room for all seasons with impressive garden views and a delightful space for enjoying downtime.  

The rear hall provides a useful entrance for wet weather, dogs, or prams. It connects the parking area, garden, main house and potential annex. 

The slated floor continues from the kitchen into the hall and laundry room which has soft grey painted wooden cabinets, oak worktop and a Belfast sink. There’s a shelved pantry and storeroom (with plumbing if converted back to a kitchen for an annex). The fifth bedroom has use of a shower room.  

The family room is a wonderful room, spacious and light filled. There are sliding doors out to the garden. It’s an informal and deeply versatile room for screen time, board games, hobbies or music. It would also make an excellent home office as it could be accessed independently without going through the house. Completing the ground floor tour is the integral double garage with an electric door, power, light, water and a set of stairs up to the first floor. It’s boarded, of limited head height and offers readily accessible storage. 

And so, to bed. Back to the hall and with gentle risers and an oak balustrade, the wide staircase rises to the first floor; light floods in from the north through a tall window. 

The principal bedroom is wonderfully bright, the view over the garden has glimpses of the town beyond the trees with a wintertime aspect of the fells. There’s a wall of wardrobes and an ensuite which enjoys the same light and view having bath with shower over, a wash basin, WC and bidet. 
The second double bedroom has an ensuite shower room (with shower, wash basin and WC). The third double and fourth single bedrooms share the family bathroom (having shower over the bath, wash basin and WC).  

Step outside

Arriving at the house off Joss Lane there’s good private parking on the tarmac drive. The gardens are all to the south and are completely enclosed so safe for children and dogs. 

The main garden is situated to the south of the house and is gloriously private. It’s not overlooked and is a pocket of tranquility, hard to believe it’s just a short walk down to the busy Main Street. 'The top of the garden is landscaped with a succession of sandstone flagged seating terraces punctuated by low stone walls. There are well-tended and stocked herbaceous beds planted with a multitude of flowering shrubs, roses and acers, connected by both a gentle ramp (designed for wheelbarrow access) and a semi-circular flight of stone steps with low level inset lighting. The top terrace basks in the last of the sun on a summer’s evening. Every season brings something new to the garden. It’s an ever-changing seasonal palette of colours. Spring brings a succession of bulbs; snowdrops, hellebores, daffodils, bluebells, crocuses and tulips; summer is lush, leafy and green. The autumnal colours are extra special and when the leaves are off the trees in winter the fell views are revealed. 

There’s a tree swing set under the Scotch pine tree and the large level lawn is perfect for children’s play, camping parties, even a marquee for special occasions.   

For those keen to grow their own the kitchen garden houses a Hartley Botanic greenhouse with power. Slate chippings surround railway sleeper edged raised beds where rhubarb, rosemary and mint are all well established. At the far end of the garden, tucked away out of sight are two sheds of which one has a power supply. 

The view from the bottom of the garden back up to the house is particularly lovely with the terraced gardens in the foreground and the house framed by a pair of acer trees with Winder fell rising grandly behind. 

Externally there are lights, power points, water and a flagpole. The gardens extend to c. 0.56 acre. 

Services

Mains electricity, gas, water and drainage. Gas fired central heating from two boilers, one serves the main house, the other the annex (a Worcester and a Valliant). Underfloor heating from the boiler in the conservatory. Heated towel rails in the house bathroom and two ensuites. 

Mobile and broadband services

For information on broadband and mobile services at the property, we advise prospective purchasers to consult the Ofcom website: checker.ofcom.org.uk  

Local Authority charges 

Westmorland and Furness Council – Council Tax band G

Tenure

Freehold 

Included in the sale 

Light fittings, carpets, curtains, curtain poles, blinds and integral kitchen appliances as follows: Bosch double oven and grill, gas hob and dishwasher, Westinghouse fan and a microwave. The Samsung fridge freezer and Bosch washing machine are available. The LG tumble dryer is excluded. 

Please note

There is a strip of land owned by Craiglands (beyond the garden) which provides a pedestrian short cut from the bottom of the garden into town.  Three neighbouring properties can use this for access on foot into their gardens, although all also have access to their own gardens around the side of their own properties. 

A covenant restricts the addition of a permanent building on the lower third of the garden.  

Directions 

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Use Sat Nav LA10 5AS with reference to the directions below:

Exit J37 of the M6 and take the A684 towards Sedbergh. Entering the town, as the A684 bears round to the right, drive straight on, onto Main Street (a one-way street). Take the first left onto Joss Lane and continue as the road climbs and then bears round to the right. Shortly after the turning to Whinfield on your left, you’ll find Craiglands on the right.