The Grand Tour
The cottage is set back from a quiet no-through road at the end of a short private drive. The original doorway leads into the two adjoining reception rooms, both of which feel snug and welcoming, with deep inset fireplaces and log-burning stoves. Solid oak beams remain intact, and the original flagstone flooring runs underfoot. Stone walls have been washed in white, and the copper piping remains exposed.
A set of timber-framed glass doors at one side of the main living space allow light to flood through and create a pleasing visual connection to the surrounding garden. The dining area is naturally lit and opens onto a stone terrace dug into the garden, which, in the late afternoon, is drenched in a golden light.
The modern kitchen extension is the most recent addition to the house and has been beautifully designed. Custom-made worktops have been crafted from beech felled from the neighbouring woodland, and glazed doors open the entire space to the garden in warmer months. A utility room and ground-floor cloakroom are adjacent and have been recently retiled with added underfloor heating.
The upper floor is given over to three bedrooms; rich in rural charm, two sit in the oldest part of the house and are home to an abundance of original features including stable doors and inlets carved into curving stone walls. The third bedroom is part of the modern extension. All sleeping areas have been beautifully decorated in neutral tones, creating a wonderful sense of quiet and calm. A family bathroom and generous airing cupboard are also positioned on this level.
The Great Outdoors
Surrounding gardens, bordered by mature hedging, are primarily laid to lawn and have great scope for vegetable and flower beds. A stone outbuilding positioned on the upper level has the potential to be easily converted to further accommodation or a studio, relevant permissions permitting.
Views onto the surrounding valleys from the hamlet are breathtaking, with field-on-field of rolling countryside. The Harp Inn is within walking distance of the cottage, and the Michelin-starred restaurant, The Stagg, is also very close by car in nearby Titley.
Out and About
Presteigne, six miles from Old Radnor, is a charming town with an excellent fishmonger, greengrocer, butcher and delicatessen offering artisan bread on Saturdays. There is also a good selection of bookshops, a library, a leisure centre, a bank and a good selection of pubs. The River Lugg runs just below the medieval church of St Andrew in Presteigne, marking the border with England. There is also an independent cinema in
Presteigne. Kington, which lies even closer to the house, is a lovely town and home to the annual
Kington Walking Festival.
Hay-on-Wye lies 15 miles north of Harp Cottage, a lively town on the River Wye famed for its many bookshops and the revered literary event, the Hay Festival or, as it’s been coined, ‘the Woodstock of the mind’. Old Radnor is approximately 25 miles from Hereford’s train station, which offers services to London in approximately two and a half hours and services to Bristol in around one hour and 40 minutes.
Council Tax Band: currently used as a holiday home business
Please note that this property is owned by an employee of The Modern House Ltd.
Images by Ben Draguisky and Elliot Sheppard.
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