The prime of the 70s in a sensational rural setting

Graylings, Nidd Side, Darley, near Harrogate

Price: £775,000

Contact: Beadnall Copley, tel: 01423 503500

Researchers have revealed that homebuyers take just 21 minutes viewing a property before deciding whether to buy it, but it took Paddy Mayes less than half that when she viewed Graylings.

She and her husband bought the five-bedroom house 18 years ago after moving from nearby Menwith.

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“We walked into the sitting room and looked through the patio doors down the garden to the river and then we turned to each other and said: ‘we’re having it,’ “ she says.

The house was built in the 1970s on the site of the former railway station master’s house at the edge of the village. Like many detached homes from that era, it boasts large picture windows that flood the interior with natural light.

But other 70s features were less appealing. A “baronial” style stone fireplace complete with electric fire in the hallway was the first to go.

“Apart from the fireplaces that were of their time, the house was in very good order and structurally it was very sound. It was constructed by a builder for his own use so even the internal walls are solid. The layout was perfect too,” says Paddy.

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The property has an entrance porch, reception hall, cloakroom, sitting room, dining room, family room, breakfast kitchen and utility room. Upstairs, there is a master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, four further bedrooms and a shower room. Outside, there is a detached double and an extensive driveway with lots of space for parking.

The Mayes have spent a lot of time, energy and money developing the large garden, which has become their passion. Their fondness for roses is evident and they have planted herbaceous borders and installed a contemporary pond.

It has been opened for the National Gardens Scheme and visitors have been delighted with the design and the location of the gardens, which stretch to 1.25 acres with an attached paddock of two acres. The lawns lead down to the River Nidd and the property comes with fishing rights on that stretch.

The couple will miss the garden and the house when they relocate to the North East.

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“It will be a terrible wrench. We have loved being here and finding another house that can give us all we have here won’t be easy,” says Paddy.

“It’s a wonderful family home and we have a lot of happy memories of it.”