Overview
If you are looking for a property with some wow factor, then 1 Woodheads may well fit the bill. Architecture, interior decor and views all combine to make this property that extra bit special. Perfect as a romantic retreat or for family holidays, I trust our description will do justice to what we think is somewhere quite unique, but maybe the images will serve better along with Visit England's recognition of a 5 Star Award.
Originally it was built as a beautiful Regency style villa with stables and coach house. As much with the view in mind as to its architectural excellence, Woodheads is set above the popular town of Grange over Sands, with a magnificent backdrop of rooftops and church spires, the Morecambe Bay estuary and in the distance the hills of the Pennines.
Today the house is divided into three spacious apartments; the top floor apartment, the Coach House to the side, occupied by Joanne the owner, with our property, 1 Woodheads, having the ground floor of the main house along with a front garden overlooking the bay.
The peninsular lies just below Lake Windermere, a spit of land jutting out into the bay, where country lanes crisscross meadows and woodland, joining the local villages including Grange and Cartmel, and are perfect for both walking and cycling.
Joanne's welcome is warm, where there will be a complimentary basket of logs, a table set for tea and coffee with some home baked cookies.
Accessed by a narrow private drive serving four nearby properties, there is a private parking bay for two cars and where you get the most perfect bay view.
Living Spaces
From the parking area you walk around to the rear of the house, through a small courtyard between the Coach House and Old Stables, and where French windows open into the combined kitchen/dining room and snug.
A large room with original stone flagged floor, to one end is the kitchen area with cupboards and drawers along with a range cooker and all kitchen essentials. To the rear of the kitchen area, through a door is a small scullery with the fridge/freezer, laundry equipment and a separate WC.
The dining table sits in the middle and to the other end is a settle and armchair drawn around an open fire.
From the kitchen/snug you go through to the central hall. A feature in its own right with polished timber floors and French doors flanked by arched windows, it serves to make the perfect entrance down into the grand sitting room.
Set to the front of the house, three wide steps lead down into the room, is a very special space. A timber floor sits beneath a perfect ornate plaster ceiling, where to the far end is a roaring log burning stove, set in a beautiful specially commissioned stone fire surround. Two sets of French windows open out to the veranda and the garden beyond, allowing light to flood in and where the view is filled by the bay and far fells.
A plump sofa and two large Designers Guild armchairs sit around the fire; where in the centre of the room is a beautiful oak table for grand dining. In one corner sits a piano, and there is enough open space to twirl your partner in a grand romantic gesture.
Candles, soft lighting and ornament, make this the perfect room to relax in. Tuck around the fire in winter with a good book or movie, or come summer throw open the French windows, where you can spill out on to the veranda and enjoy a most memorable view.
Bedrooms & Bathrooms
There are two bedrooms to choose from. The first bedroom is off the main hall, to the rear of the apartment and with a king size double bed. Adjacent to this, across the hall, is the house bathroom with bath, shower cubicle, basin and WC.
The master bedroom is off the sitting room. A large space it also has a king sized double bed. The window and glazed door look out to the garden, where you can step out onto the veranda to enjoy the sunrise and an early morning coffee.
Garden Spaces
There is plenty of outside space to enjoy. The veranda with the lawn in front makes for the perfect place to relax with a drink and a good read, or you can simply watch the tide ebb and flow and the light change across the sands and the bay.
In Summary - This property is one of the most attractive we have seen, the setting delightful, the interior quite unique where we think it will be a very special place for romantic breaks, honeymoons and anniversaries, along with a perfect base for small family holidays.
Out & About
As someone who lives on the peninsula I may be a little biased, however our family think it is one of the best places in Cumbria, where the Bay rivals any lake view!
The peninsular offers plenty to do, with the foot of Lake Windermere only seven miles north of Grange over Sands. The town is mostly Edwardian in design, offering plenty of shops, including Higginson’s famous butchers, a veg shack, two bakers and a Co-op, along with cafes, the Post Office, a few banks and, of late, some rather good shops for clothes and interior dressing.
The big attraction is the promenade, a mile-long causeway that skirts the bay and where the old lido can still be seen, though sadly is now unused. Come summer the Prom hosts a monthly art fest, normally accompanied by food stalls and musicians and through these months the little cafe opens daily serving sandwiches, cream teas and Lakes ice cream.
Just above the property is Hampsfell, a huge limestone ridge with a perfect limestone pavement. The view from the summit is panoramic taking in the bay to the south and the Cumbrian Mountains to the north. Perfect for a picnic, you can extend the walk into Eggerslack woods, a haven for wildlife and carpeted with bluebells in spring.
A mile over the fell is the village of Cartmel. Picture perfect it is lauded for its architecture, which includes a huge Norman Priory, the horse race course, the smallest national hunt track in the UK and is a place of pilgrimage for both foodies and celebrities for its dining, which includes Simon Rogan's Michelin starred L'Enclume.
At the foot of Lake Windermere is the National Trust’s Fell Foot Park where you can enjoy the grounds, fish and swim in the lake and take to the water with a hired row or sail boat. Opposite is Lakeside where you can hop on a steamer for a round trip of the lake.
This is just a taste of the area, where there is much to do with the wider attractions of the National Park within easy reach.