The Pumping Station - all of it

A restored and converted Victorian water pumping station set amongst ancient woodland in the Hertfordshire countryside - yet on the edge of London. Walks, pubs, tons of space, indoors and out, it is perfect for a big getaway. We are not able to host weddings nor parties. Sorry. The Pumping Station is a beautiful Victorian, ex-industrial building on the edge of ancient woodland in rural Hertfordshire. In the late 19th century it was built to house two huge coal boilers, a massive steam engine, a 120 foot well, and it pumped a million gallons of fresh water to the locality every day. It was decommissioned sometime in the late 80’s, fell into disrepair and was bought by us in 2011. Ali and I have spent the last 10 years converting into our family home... well, us, our daughters and a battalion of skilled trades! Today it can accommodate around fourteen across five bedrooms, five bathrooms, dining area, two kitchens, two living rooms, a TV mezzanine, home office, boot-room and two utility rooms. Almost twenty meters of sliding glass open the living space onto a patio, lawn, woodland backdrop and constant cacophony of birdsong. The vaulted ceilings of the old boiler room has two mezzanine floors - a TV lounge and home office. Downstairs the kitchen and dining area spans 11m and leads into another sitting area and library, leaving room to swing a cat or swing those hips! It’s a hugely social space and, when you need a break, the annexe sitting-room and kitchenette are there to provide respite - or just a separate space for the kids. On the doorstep are thousands of acres of woodland and countryside, birdlife, wildlife, footpaths, bike trails and country pubs. You can get up, pull on your trainers, and run straight into the woods… or pull on your wellies and walk in a wobbly line to the pub! Turn left out of the gate and it's 24h supermarkets, restaurants and a 35 min train ride to London; turn right and it’s farms, woods and villages. We are perched on the edge of both. The house is 'wired smart’, with networked audio, streamed TV, connected lighting and meshed WiFi. Apple Homepods and a Sonos Amp provide music throughout the house and voice control of almost everything. Ali and I have strived to achieve excellent design and architecture in the Pumping Station and after having AirBnB'd our annexe very successfully for the last seven years, have decided to open-up the whole house as and when we are able. It is our family home, but it was always designed to be a social space, for friends and family. It will be let without the clutter of personal gubbins, but with everything that makes a home - including all of our collected memorabilia and home effects. You should need for nothing and have space for everything. You will have access to the entire house, garden and woods (save for a few cupboards and the garage). GETTING AROUND THE HOUSE. Being an industrial conversion we have had to work with the building as-is, and we have poor accessibility for staying guests accessing bedrooms and bathrooms, with steps and narrow doorways. The living space has good wide-door level-floor access but the one level-access bathroom has limited surrounding space for wheel-chairs. GETTING HERE. We are well served by the rail and motorway network. Cuffley, Cheshunt and Potter's Bar stations are within 5, 15 and 20 min taxi rides (we are well served by both Uber and traditional taxi firms). Junction 25 of the M25 and the A10 are 10 mins away. However, there is is no public transport to the house. Also, although there are plenty of recreational walks, pedestrian access is only possible through busy country lanes without pavements. Vehicular transport is recommended. We have parking for over a dozen cars. We are not going to be on site. However, we'd hope to be there to welcome you and maybe even to say farewell. We will be available by phone, SMS, e-mail and of course on the AirBnB platform 24 hours a day. Newgate Street is a small village set amongst woods a farmland, on the edge of Cheshunt. We have two pubs two restaurants, a bar and hotel. The Little Berkhamsted shop is just 5 mins away, as is a CoOp, a Boots chemist, a Post Office, multiple take-aways and Cuffley station (35min into London Finsbury Park and then Moorgate). Tesco 24h Extra is 10 mins away, along with a late night pharmacy. The Pumping Station has ample parking for anyone's needs and, although there are multiple country walks on the doorstep, it is not a comfortable walk to anywhere practical. The nearest train station is Cuffley (6min drive), then Cheshunt and Potters Bar (both 11mins drive). They all go into London: Cuffley and Potters Bar into Morgate via Finsbury Park; and Cheshunt into Liverpool Street, Stratford or Hackney. Millie the cat also lives here. She is a very friendly, placid, easy-going cat who spends her time sleeping and hunting. She can be 'catteried' for the duration of the stay but we would rather - and she would rather - she stayed. She has a separate room with cat-flap access and only requires feeding once a day. If you are amenable, we are happy to discount you the cost of the cattery to keep her at home.