Spacious, characterful country home with large garden and countryside views
Introduction
We are a family of four (humans!) with two young sons, a beloved 15 year old characterful cat, a 9 year old Chocolate Labrador who is slowing down a bit but still has lots of love and bounce, and a one year old black Labrador who loves lots of play, long walks and cuddles! We love where we live because it's so quiet and peaceful and surrounded by lush green countryside, but so close to wonderful places to visit such as Luton Hoo, Whipsnade Zoo, Dunstable Downs and the Chilterns Hills, St Alban's, Harpenden, Berkhamsted and the Ashridge Estate. Our village has a nice common with a playground, two shops and a nice country pub with a lovely garden and playground. We both work in public service and enjoy long walks, lots of fun outdoor activity, and pottering and playing in our garden with our kids and fur babies on our days off.
Show more...Home & location
We moved out of London just over 4 years ago to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and because we found and instantly fell in love with our absolute dream house which is in a little village called Kensworth, in between the market towns of Harpenden (15 mins drive) and Dunstable (10 mins drive). Our home is a light and spacious 4 bedroom 17th Century old farmhouse (grade 2 listed building) with spacious extensions including a 25ft barn sitting room full of toys! There is one double bedroom, a double sofa bed in the snug, and a bunk bed room for children. There is also a climbing frame and swing, and a large in-ground trampoline in the garden. Our house looks out over the Chiltern hills - a designated area of outstanding natural beauty, and our garden is just over an acre in size. From the back of our garden are walks across fields and through woodland for as long as you like, and the only noise pollution at night is the sound of the local nesting owls. The village is lovely with two well stocked shops and a nice country pub 3 minutes walk from the house with a beer garden and small playground. The old village with a beautiful 12th century church is 15 minutes walk across the fields at the back of the house. There are also wonderful places to visit within only a few minutes drive of the house, these include: - Whipsnade Zoo (4 minutes drive) - Chilterns Gateway & the Dunstable Downs (4 mins drive) National Trust - wonderful views and walking and a woodland playground - Woodside animal farm - (10 mins drive) working farm with a petting zoo, large playground and soft play. - The Ashridge Estate - National Trust (15 mins drive) - 6000 acres of woodland with lovely villages with country pubs dotted around the outskirts - Luton Hoo country house and Spa (10 mins drive) - famous for being the site of a rally of 100,000 people during the war led by Winston Churchill. - Tring and Berkhamsted each only 20 mins drive through beautiful country villages The house is a 15 minute drive to Harpenden Station which is 29 minutes by train into London Kings Cross. There are busses from nearby towns, but they are infrequent so use of a car is important for getting around, we recommend hiring one if you don’t have one already. There will be space to park a car off road in our driveway.
Show more...Responsibilities
Quoia (said Co-ya) is a lovely, older chocolate lab who loves company and cuddles. In 2023 she sadly tore her cruciate ligament. She has healed well but can’t run far or do really long walks any more, and shouldn’t be off lead when walking outside the garden (partly also because her recall is very unpredictable despite our best training efforts!) she is very happy wandering around our large garden though and keeping you company. We also have Nell who is a young black lab and a very special animal - super gentle and affectionate and very responsive. She has good recall and is good off lead (as long as in a safe environment away from roads). Nell and Quoia are good friends and like to be together. Both dogs are very used to small children and are very gentle. We also have an elderly, very friendly cat, Mac who loves a cuddle and has no problem bossing the dogs around! Mac doesn’t have set feeding times, he is a grazer, so we just make sure he’s always got food and water.
Show more...Meet the pets
Quoia
9 years
Nell
2 years
Mac
17 years
Sitter Reviews (11)
Homeowner Reviews (0)
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Such a lovely house, in walking distance to a great area! Quoia, Mabel and Mac were good company! and the local pub is a must! Communication was great - very helpful and welcoming. Hopefully see you some time in the future :) E&K
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Gwanwyn and John are the sweetest couple, really responsive and friendly. Their cats Mac and Mabel are really friendly with adorable personalities - Mabel in particular always made us smile with her little mannerisms, and she really is one of the prettiest cats I've ever seen! Their dog Quoia is really energetic and loves being outside so made for a great running companion :) The house is lovely and feels warm, we were able to explore lots in the area (there are lots of walking paths around, and bus connections are easy and frequent too) and almost feel like we were outside London. There is a beautiful big park right opposite the house. Gwanwyn and John let us borrow their baby's things so the house was perfectly set up for us :) The instructions they left were clear and they were very approachable when there was anything we had to double check. Thank you for trusting us with your home and your dear animals!!
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A review was not left by the sitter.
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A beautiful house with detailed instructions on taking care of the pets. The cats are very affectionate and Quoia is a lovable dog that's full of energy. Walks along the River Lea and the surrounding areas are really beautiful.
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A very lovely house sit! It was short and sweet. Gwanwyn and John are an extremely kind and welcoming couple. And their home was very comfortable for our family of four. What a wonderfully rich and diverse neighbourhood with tons of green surroundings. It was a real pleasure to walk with gentle and beautiful Quoia on the many paths. The two cats, Mac and Mabel, were low maintenance. We were happy to get a few cuddles here and there. We feel fortunate to have had this nice opportunity. We only wish it could have been longer. Highly recommended for sure!
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Gwanwyn
