Country House Retreat

This beautiful family home is located in one of East Sussex's most exclusive and sought after locations. It has an attractive, tranquil environment with woodlands, meadowland and well manicured gardens. Ashdown forest is within 5 mins drive, The Ivy in Tunbridge Wells only 20 mins and The Royal Pavilion in Brighton only 30 mins away, there’s lots more attractions and family day out locations close by, this makes it most suitable for family gatherings. Entry to the property is via a private driveway leading to Automated gates, the drive leads to a large gravelled turning area with two lawned islands and offers parking for several cars. Entry into the house is via an open Porch leading into hallway with a boot room and cloak room (downstairs toilet) to the left. Ground Floor: The Kitchen offers a high spec, light and airy, open plan space with comfortable seating in the orangery area. It is very well equipped with everything you should need to make your stay as comfortable as possible, including all cooking utensils, plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, spices, coffee beans, etc There is a: - - Large 3 metre Island with a breakfast bar with 5 bar stools and two built in Gaggenau wine fridges. - Large Wolf dual fuel range cooker with a chargrill and a teppanyaki plate and dual convection double oven, giving the kitchen a classic professional look. - Miele microwave oven and plumbed in steam oven as well as a 2 Miele plate warmers - Miele plumbed in coffee machine. - Miele dishwasher - Large built in Gaggenau fridge freezer - Dual Gaggenau wine fridges - Qooker boiling water tap Utility room has washing machine and tumble dryer as well as a double butler sink unit. The Formal Dining Room sits 12 people and has sliding doors offering access to the large terrace outside. There is an additional dining table that seats 6 people in the kitchen for a more relaxed dining. The Lounge has a 16ft high ceiling, tall windows and minstrel gallery. It is open plan to the dining room, creating an excellent large entertaining space with three large 4 seater sofas and foot stools. Over Christmas, this room is often decorated with a 15ft large Christmas tree. The Annex is accessed from the kitchen and with it comes 2 bedrooms with a shared bathroom and sitting area with comfortable sofas and television. Bedroom has a king size bed with two bedside cabinets. Bedroom has two single beds. There is Wooden staircase in the lounge to the first floor where you can find the other bedrooms and 3 of the 4.5 bathrooms. Master bedroom has a super king size bed with two bedside cabinets and chest of drawers as well as a master ensuite and access to private balcony. Bedroom 2 has a king bed with two bedside cabinets and two built in cupboards with hanging space, as well as a Jack and Jill ensuite bathroom shared with Bedroom 3. Bedroom 3 has a twin beds with bedside cabinets and wardrobe. Bedroom 4 and 5 have king beds (access to bed 5 is through bed 4). The property benefits from automation through Control4 with numerous speakers both in and outside the property and all TVs are linked into the system, offering Sky, BT Vision, Amazon Fire and Netflix. Superfast WiFi is accessible throughout the property with numerous access points ensuring continued connection. Outside Space. There is a large terrace at the back of the house with access from both the formal dining room and the kitchen. There is a children's play area with a climbing frame, 2 slides, playhouse, swings and a walkway. There are 4-acres of woodland and a further 6 acres of meadow land and formal gardens (including a vegetable patch and enclosed chicken run) and with so much outdoor adventure opportunities to suit any imagination. There is also a large pond with an island in the middle and wooden benches on the banks. The property has some interesting historical connections. It is understood that an old summerhouse in the grounds, evidence of which can still be seen, was the site of a meeting in 1914 between Prince Munster, the then owner of Maresfield Park, and two of the sisters of the Kaiser of Germany who were holidaying in England at the time. The meeting was to advise them that war was about to be declared and to return to Germany as soon as possible. During World War II, the area was used as an Army Camp and our property as a base for the Royal Engineers. On the southern side is a sunken road that was the 17th century route of the London to Lewes coach road; the public house in Maresfield village being a former coaching inn. The route of a Roman road also crosses the land but is not evident. Guests have full access to the entire house and grounds but we do ask that you watch any young children when they are out in the garden as the pond in the woodland area has no fencing and is quite deep. I will be at the house to welcome you and show you around at the start of your visit. Should you wish to contact me at any point during your stay, please don’t hesitate to contact me as I’d only be approximately 15 mins away from the property. The village of Maresfield centres around a conservation area and the church. There is a general store, Post Office, primary school and public house, together with a cricket field and tennis club. Just to the north lies the 6500 acres of the Ashdown Forest, the largest free access public open space in the south-east. It is a great place for walking and enjoying spectacular views over the Sussex countryside and is known the world over as the 'home' of Winnie-the-Pooh. The Forest is at the heart of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has national and international protection because of its wildlife. Nearly two thirds of its 6500 acres (2500 hectares) are heathland, amounting to 2.5% of the UK's extent of this rare habitat. The town of Uckfield is about 2 miles to the south and offers a wide range of shopping and leisure facilities, two supermarkets, several banks, Post Office, numerous restaurants and public houses, library, cinema, leisure centre/swimming pool, Community College. The nearby junction of the A272, A22 and A26 offers good road communications in all directions and access to the major towns of Tunbridge Wells, Crowborough, Heathfield, Haywards Heath, Lewes and Brighton. Gatwick airport is about 24 miles. The rail station in the nearby Buxted is closer to the property has trains to and from London Victoria and London Bridge. Uckfield rail station also has services to London Bridge and London Victoria from about 75 minutes. No dogs or domestic pets permitted. Due to the exclusive location of the house there is a 10pm noise curfew enforced.