All aboard! Fancy living in a disused rural station - with vintage train carriage included?
As the pandemic continues to drive people to seek more space and solace in rural areas, wannabe property purchasers with a penchant for trainspotting could be very tempted by a quirky property that's up for sale near Exeter.
The converted railway station, on sale for offers in excess of £550,000, can only be accessed by foot for most of the year and has unique features for railway enthusiasts looking for a home with a difference.
Not only does the sitting room, which used to be the waiting room, open onto the station platform, the former ticket office is now a bedroom, and there's actually a railway carriage in the garden, which would make the perfect one-of-a-kind garden room or office.
According to the description of the quirky home, on sale via Stags, Station Halt was a former railway station at Brampford Speke and was was part of the Exe Valley Railway, a branch line built by Great Western Railway (GWR), and opened on May 1, 1885.
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In 1923 staff were withdrawn and the station became an unmanned halt. Due to Beeching Cuts - a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain - the line stations were closed in 1963, with Station Halt becoming a private house soon after.
Accessed either by foot along a public footpath crossing an iron footbridge over the River Exe and through a meadow, or through a private ford only passable by a four-wheel drive vehicle during the summer months, Station Halt could offer someone the perfect rural retreat for those looking for an escape from busy city lives.
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The quirky converted property features the detached three-bedroom railway station, an old railway carriage, a wooden chalet and a pond, plus some incredible rural views.
With many original station features still in place, including the ticket hatch in the sitting room, the house has cleverly converted the original building into a covetable family home.
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The former ticket office is now a master bedroom with a built-in wardrobe, which adjoins the sitting room - the former waiting room.
An inner hall leads to the kitchen, a bathroom and the former ladies waiting room, which is now a second bedroom with a central fireplace.
The one-of-a-kind Exe Valley property also includes a railway carriage with further potential, perhaps for converting into a unique work from home space.
As well as unusual features, Station Halt has plenty of outside space for enjoying dinners al fresco including a wooden covered seating area on the original station platform and 6.2 acres of mature grounds and gardens, with meadowed areas and rewilded woodland to explore.
Though the original railway track has been removed and replaced with lawn, there is also a large pond with flora and fauna making this a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
In terms of its situation, the unique property, located in Brampford Speke, is in a popular Exe Valley village, surrounded by unspoilt countryside, but just 5 miles from bustling central Exeter.
For those wishing to stay local, the village has a whole host of amenities including a church, a primary school (rated 'good' by Ofsted) and an excellent pub, The Agricultural Inn, for cosy catch-ups.
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The current owner tells Yahoo UK she has loved living in such a unique property: “We’ve been in living at Station Halt for over 10 years, and for me as an Australian, it has been the experience of a lifetime.
"Living in a building with such history is wonderful. There are many original features, such as the waiting room fireplace, the ticket office window, and the old train platform. There are even the initials of WW1 soldiers carved into the stone at the back door."
Another plus point of the property is its rural setting and the wildlife that attracts.
"The house is in the middle of a field, which we have slowly been re-wilding, so it is full of birds and bees and butterflies," she continues.
"Walking down to the house from the village, you cross a bridge over the river and walk through the trees - it is a great way to put the day behind you.
"My son is 12 and has grown up in the house - lots of room to run about, climb trees, make dens, and swim the river. It’s pretty idyllic.”
