Natural beauty: rural home surrounded by rare hay meadows

All estate agency brochures do their best to win us over with words, but the description of Cally Hall Farm is particularly evocative.

“Absorb the view from your south-facing terrace as you listen to the call of curlews drifting across the valley. Relax inside the architect-designed garden room with its panoramic windows, while drinking your own spring water and enjoying the seasons as they pass. See the sun rise over Stoodley Pike and the flowers in the June meadows below.”

The secluded property is a paradise for nature lovers, which was the main attraction for owners Phill and Sally Featherstone, who bought it nine years ago.

Sitting high in the hills above Todmorden and with views over three Pennine valleys, the grade two listed laithe house is set in 12.5 acres of upland hay meadows.

These fields are a rarity and attract a grant from Natural England to help protect the 60 species of grass and wild flowers, which are in full bloom at the moment.

It’s a beautiful sight and one that serves a purpose in supporting wildlife, including endangered birds. The twite, whose flight path crosses the land, relies on the sheep sorrel that grows there.

“We loved the location and we also wanted to do our bit for conservation so this place was perfect,” says Phill.

He and Sally, who moved from the Midlands to be closer to their daughter in Yorkshire, have added to the farmhouse, converted barn and stable. A new extension with a sedum roof is home to a garden room with extensive glazing to make the most of the views and there is a new guest suite and plant room.

They have also upgraded the interior of the house with oak floors and doors and fitted furniture from Neville Johnson.

Outside, they have invested in a garden pod for the patio. The sphere, which they saw at the Chelsea Flower Show, rotates and can seat eight people.

The property now has a galleried sitting room that stretches the full width of the building, a dining room, garden room, store room, guest suite with wet room, kitchen with pantry, utility room, plant room, boot room and a bathroom. Upstairs, there is a master bedroom suite, three further bedrooms and a bathroom.

Outside, there is parking, a stone terrace, a cobbled yard with an agricultural building and six fields.

Phill and Sally are selling to move closer to their daughter in Sheffield.

Phill says: “It is going to be a terrible wrench to leave this beautiful place.”

For details contact: Yorkshire’s Finest, tel: 01422 824729 , www.yorkshiresfinest.org