Three-storey million-pound mega-house with lush Narnia-style gardens and a summer house included

We have an endless fascination with old things in this country, probably owing to the fact that we have quite a lost of history to remember. From a 5,700-year-old stone house in Orkney to an Anglo Saxon door in Westminster Abbey made out of 1,000-year-old wood, we love it all. But what about the new? As proved by this breathtaking six-bedroom, three-storey mega-home, the new can be just as interesting as the old.
AshdeneAshdene
Ashdene

Yours for a cool mil, the relatively newly-built Ashdene is one of those buildings which makes you well and truly believe that architects know what they're doing. From its pretty symmetrical front to the Narnia-esque gardens, it's a house which looks like it was born ready to be high standard in a 21st century defined by homely opulence, which I suppose it very much was.

Located on the outskirts of Longridge, this property - built in 2005 - is all about the elements. Oak, stone, light, water, plants, under-floor heating: it's got the lot. And it's got a damn big garage, too. What more could you want? Fine, a pool perhaps, but let's be realistic - this is Lancashire.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Accessed via a couple of humongous oaken gates which slide asunder at the satisfying click of a an electric clicker thingy, the home is immediately stunningly beautiful. Get into the porch and the prettiness continues; an arched doorway with Indian stone-flagged flooring opens into a Travertine-tiled entrance hall with spotlights above.

Through to the lounge, and one of the home's most decadent USPs is given due shrift: a pair of lovely French doors open out to the home's rear garden, which can only be described as sprawling and very very nice indeed. As if designed by Frederick Law Olmsted himself, a charming mix of trees abound. There's also a serene waterfall rockery. If fairies truly existed, this would be the garden they'd choose.

But back inside...

The lounge also has surround sound built in and more underfloor heating, as well as a cast iron gas fire set in an Inglenook stone fire surround and grand old Pine mantle for when you want to get a bit more hands-on with your source of warmth/burn some stuff. The desire strikes us all; embrace it.

Ashdene really pops when it comes to the kitchen. Hand-crafted cream panelled wall and base units make the place look like a wonderful, Michelin-star operating theatre designed for the chef offspring of Heston Blunenthal and Brian Cox, while the solid granite work surfaces and assorted accessories - including a plate-warming drawer - add a dash of classy spice to the mix.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Amble through to the sun lounge, why not, where there will also be underfloor heating for when the sun lounge is less a sun lounge and more a lounge owing to the likely lack of reliable sunshine. C'est la vie.

Upstairs, and a veritable badger's sett of massive bedrooms, all (yes, ALL) with their own en suite awaits. From their fitted oak-carved wall-to-wall wardrobes and dressers to the various Jacuzzi baths, steam sauna shower enclosures, and double shower units, these are some seriously nice places to go to sleep and generally wash yourself.

Upstairs once more - who doesn't love a house with more than two storeys? - and there are two more bedrooms and another bathroom (by my count, five in total) with wet room-style shower for the inhabitants of the uppermost regions of this property. Bet the views are nice up there, too. And stairs are good for the glutes.

Sitting in a five-acre plot of the aforementioned gardens, the outside of this home may just move it from the Very Nice category to the Let's Play The Lottery More So We Can Live Here category. Clean as a bowling green and teeming with enchanting nooks and crannies, the grounds are surrounded by high stone walls and are subtly lit by corner-to-corner outdoor lighting.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Oh, and there's also an Amdega summer house and an additional four-acre paddock available via separate negotiation.

*Sighs dreamily*