A hidden gem
Linley Simpson present a farmhouse sale which offers a rare chance to join the select few, living in one of Yorkshire’s most idyllic hamlet hideaway.
J UST 14 properties share the postal address of Occaney – one of Yorkshire’s smallest hamlets, three miles north of Knaresborough – and now a rare opportunity has arisen to live in one of them.
For the first time in a generation, the feature farm house that sits at the heart of it, adjoining open countryside, is up for sale.
Occaney Farm, on the western flank of the Vale of York, is a substantial four-bedroom family home, which retains much of its original character and individual charm.
South-facing to the front, the property nestles in a plot of over one acre, overlooking a formal walled garden with an orchard and wooded area beyond.
It has been launched to market this week through the Harrogate and Ripon offices of estate agents Linley & Simpson, with an asking price of £850,000.
“This is a distinctive property that can truly lay claim to being one-of-a-kind,” said its Head of Residential Sales, Mark Christopher.
“It the first time the property has come to the market in over 25 years, and the only home in Occaney to be sold in more than a decade.”
“With four good-sized bedrooms, spacious and versatile living accommodation to the ground floor, and a typical farmhouse kitchen, it’s ideal for a growing or more mature family.
“This is a house where you could enjoy family life for many years – as the current owners have – whilst allowing progressive and planned upgrading to suit individual needs.”
It has all the benefits of being tucked away in a rural hideaway between Harrogate and Ripon – many of whose residents may not have even heard of Occaney – yet within easy reach of many amenities.
With the A1 close-by, it is also within easy commuting distance of cities such as Leeds, York and further afield, Manchester.
Near neighbours include Copgrove Hall Stud, a short canter away, where many of the best thoroughbred racehorses in the world were raised as foals – including Peintre Celebre, winner of Europe’s richest race, the £5m Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe, back in 1997.
So too is St Mungo’s Well, once among the most famous holy wells in Yorkshire, attracting hordes of people from near and far in the 17th century in the hope of curing various illnesses by immersing themselves in its miraculous waters.