Lagoon View, West Yelland

Fern Wood, Lagoon View

Fern Wood is a house like no other, concealing a big secret you would never guess from the front of the property! This deceptively spacious four/five bedroom detached family home is tucked away on the ever popular Lagoon View in West Yelland between Instow and Fremington. Not only have you got parking for several cars through gated parking, you are also set in a plot of just under 0.4 acres with a wildlife-focused garden that has been developed and rewilded over the years into what is now a nature haven. Furthermore, the rear of the property and garden looks out onto arable farmland as well as having wonderful coastal views of Appledore and Instow, the latter less than a two-minute drive away. With plenty of versatile living space and boasting the largest plot on the estate, this house privately tucked away in a quiet area with easy access to the beach could be your slice of heaven.  

Overview: 

Fern Wood has been extended and adapted over the years and is very well maintained and loved by the vendors, whilst still offering plenty of further scope for potential buyers. It benefits from gas central heating and rosewood UPVC double glazing throughout. 

Set back from the rest of the cul-de-sac, beyond gated access and a large block-paved driveway, you find the unexpected oasis that is Fern Wood. As you enter the property via the enclosed porch into the entrance hall there is plenty of space to kick off your shoes and hang up you coat after a beautiful walk around the local footpaths which are right outside your door. The cloakroom with vanity wash basin and low-level w.c. is conveniently the first room to the right. There is also a useful shelved understairs cupboard for tucking away your day-to-day belongings. The good-size dual aspect sitting room with box bay window to the front features a wood burning stove on slate hearth as well as plenty of seating space. The snug to the rear of the sitting room is the perfect place to sit and watch all of the incredible nature right outside your double patio doors. Open them up and dine al fresco on the raised decking overlooking the woodland and the Taw and Torridge estuary beyond. This area has a feeling of true tranquillity and is also completely private. 

The kitchen has a range of high and low-level wooden units which complement the natural surroundings beautifully. The work surfaces give plenty of space for anyone who enjoys cooking. The tiled surround, sink drainer unit, space for slot-in cooker with extractor over and space and plumbing for further appliances finishes the room off wonderfully. There is the further advantage of a utility room close by with plumbing for appliances as well as plentiful storage space. It is currently used as a laundry room but also houses the necessary plumbing for a downstairs shower if required. Leading off from the kitchen, the dining room has plenty of space for a large family dining table and chairs and the exposed solid wood floorboards truly does make this room feel special. From here sliding patio doors lead down wrought-iron steps to the garden room where you can sit all day and watch the range of local wildlife from squirrels and hedgehogs, butterflies and bees, to over twenty-seven varieties of birds frequenting the various feeders, including great-spotted woodpeckers, nuthatches, goldcrests and jays. A further door then leads you out into the rear garden.  

Finally on the ground floor is the family room, also dual aspect, which could be used as a formal dining room, 5th (or 6th) bedroom, work-space or playroom. It could even be converted back into the former garage, subject to the necessary building regulations and planning permission. The room is currently set up as a calming yoga studio. 

On the first floor there are 4 generous bedrooms. Bedroom 1 benefits from fitted wardrobes, solid wood flooring and an attached former ensuite shower room with wall mounted wash basin. The vendors currently use this as a dressing area but it could easily be re-instated as a functioning shower room or the full conversion could be completed to create a walk-in wardrobe or even an additional study area. Bedroom two, also a wonderful-sized double, has stunning panoramic views over the garden and estuary beyond. Exposed solid wood flooring adds to the woodland feel. Bedroom 3 has a wall of fitted wardrobes and storage space as well as further solid wood flooring. Bedroom 4, though the smallest of the rooms, could easily house bunkbeds. It is bright and airy and, again, has solid wood flooring. What was formerly another double bedroom now boasts a larger-than-average freestanding bath with waterfall tap and creates a wonderful relaxation and pamper space. This could easily be changed back into a bedroom to make the most of the beautiful outlook over the garden or, with its convenience adjacent to the master bedroom, could be converted into a full bathroom or luxurious en-suite as all the necessary pipework is already accessible. It also has a very useful inbuilt large storage cupboard. 

Completing the upstairs there is a family shower room comprising a heated towel-rail, large corner shower cubicle with electric shower, wall-mounted wash basin and low level w.c. In the hallway there is also airing cupboard with slatted linen shelves. 

Topping off the house, the fully-insulated roof space consists of two separate large attics, both with electric and one has a loft ladder. 

Garden and Parking 

Outside, to the front of the property, there is a five-bar wooden gate which opens up to your brick paved driveway with ample driveway parking leading to the property. Surrounding the parking there are well established plants, shrubs and trees which makes Fern Wood completely private. There are gates to the rear garden on both sides of the property, with the primary side pedestrian access conveniently leading straight from the driveway. The outdoor tap directly behind the gate makes washing down your muddy boots, surfboards or paddleboards easily accessible. 

The garden is the true show stopper of this wonderful home. The garden is split into two distinct sections with the more formal top garden divided from the woodland by a leat with bridge over. A traditional Devon hedgerow between the gardens provides a vital wildlife corridor as well as safe space for nesting birds and resting hedgehogs. The more formal top garden is mostly laid to lawn with raised decking and a patio area ideal for outdoor dining. A variety of mature shrubs and trees encompass this private space, including conifers, hebes, laurel, bay, camelias and pieris as well as a lovely silver birch to sit under. There are also raspberry bushes, blackberry bushes, apple trees and a peach tree as well as a herb garden to meet your culinary needs.   

The bridge gives way to the large woodland area consisting mainly of oaks but also holly, hawthorn, blackthorn, ash, beech and rhododendrons amongst others. The vendors have spent over a decade rewilding this nature haven and have been rewarded with blankets of moss and a plethora of ever-expanding wild flowers including primroses, bluebells, ragged robin and violets to feed the variety of bees and butterflies. There are also two well-hidden small ponds in the woodland which are home to toads and frogs. 

The garden backs onto arable farmland and so benefits from an increased sense of peace and tranquillity, aided by the estuary views beyond as far across as Hartland Lighthouse, Lundy Island and Crow Point with additional glimpses of Braunton Burrows. Both the top garden and woodland are fully enclosed and benefit from a good degree of all day sunlight making them both prime for hosting social events as much as spending quiet nights watching bats skim through the trees as the sun sets.

Agent Notes: 

Freehold 

EPC: C

Services: Mains gas, Mains electric, Mains Sewage and Mains Water 

Set over just under 0.4 acres 

All the trees in the woodland are under TPOs. Full safety surveys were completed in 2021and 2024 respectively with no need for work at this present time. 

The hedgerow and leat are under covenants

Boiler newly fitted in 2018 

New composite door fitted 2022

EV Charger fitted 2022

Blocked driveway installed 2022 (under a twenty-five year guarantee) including underground trunking installed for the gate to be made electric if required. 

New radiators installed throughout most of the property in 2023 

Unrestricted parking outside the front of the property

Easy access to the tarka trail. Walking distance of Instow beach, yacht club and pubs/restaurants. Walking distance of bus routes. 

Viewings are strictly with the agent only.