4 Bed Detached House For Sale Maple Gardens, Bedford, MK44

GUIDE PRICE £350,000 - £375,000

Made for a family, this home has space and flexibility, as well as the potential to add your own personality. Situated in rural Riseley, there’s community spirit and countryside on the doorstep.

Expecting their first baby when they purchased the property in 1982, the owners very quickly made this house a home, turning bricks and mortar into memories. It represented the future for them, the perfect place to grow into and for children to grow up in, and countless stories have since been woven into these walls, spanning 42 years and 65 photo albums.

Built in 1968, Maple Gardens is a quiet close full of friendly neighbours. The owners recall Christmases when the cul de sac’s kids would test out their new bikes, parents chatting across front lawns, and it’s so lovely here that some of the residents have yet to move since buying brand new.

Riseley is a quiet, safe village, and its rural setting presents walking and cycling routes aplenty. You can wander along Riseley Brook and through Ross Meadow, or meander for miles upon miles. The village has a local shop, The Fox & Hounds pub, and a community hub social enterprise not just for coffee and cake at The Giddy Goat café, but for activities and events too. Riseley also plays host to a range of classes including wine, gardening, history and knitting, as well as sports including football, cricket and indoor bowls. There’s a primary school rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted, with Sharnbrook Academy the nearest for secondary schooling.

For getting out and about in towns and cities, you can drive into Bedford, St Neots and Rushden Lakes in around 20 minutes, and Milton Keynes and Northampton are both under 30 miles away.London is closest via Bedford station, with services into St Pancras in as little as 38 minutes. You’ll never be stuck for something to do with all these centres within easy reach.

Aside from this wonderful location, the house offers so much to a family. There are three good-sized bedrooms so no one has to sleep in a single bed, a large, light lounge for spending time together, as well as a separate dining room ideal for Sunday lunches. The kitchen was replaced in 2017, with ample storage and surfacing, a Franke sink, and Bosch and Neff integrated appliances. The wall between the kitchen and dining room could be removed as neighbours have done for an open-plan layout if preferred.

The downstairs accommodation was extended and adapted to create a single-level suite consisting of a bedroom and an adjoining wet room. This is a convenient, comfortable space for anyone with accessibility or mobility needs, with important aspects such as wider doorways, lower switches and a lower window. There’s also versatility for a secluded office or teenagers’ hangout.

Providing annexe possibility, the back portion of the garage could be converted into a kitchen, affording independent living. Changing this into a utility would keep cooking separate from laundry, and there’s still the front portion of the garage for the lawnmower and bikes, and a part-boarded loft for storing suitcases and the Christmas tree. If the garage is needed for parking, the partition could be taken down, although there is a driveway for two cars to the front. 

To the rear, the garden is a good size, mostly laid to lawn, with a patio area and mature planting. Sliding doors open onto the patio from the dining room for al fresco meals, and there’s a back door into the hallway for coming in after mowing the lawn, pruning the shrubs, or simply enjoying a sunny day outside among the daffodils.

If the owners could, they’d forklift the house up and move it close to their children and grandchildren. Instead, they’ll take their cherished memories with them, and another family will be lucky to start their new chapter here.