Ramblers benefits from a picturesque setting on Burley Street’s village green with some of the New Forest’s loveliest heathland views a short walk away. It is also close to the amenities of Burley, a honeypot New Forest village, and yet it is only a couple of minutes’ drive to Picket Post on the A31. The location is ideal for those looking for the New Forest lifestyle while requiring easy access to road networks towards Southampton and London in one direction and Bournemouth and Poole in the other. The area has a reputation for good local schools: Burley Primary School is an idyllic village school which attracts parents to the area while the bus for Ringwood School runs past Ramblers.

Ramblers is believed to date from the early 18th century and originally comprised two old workers’ cottages. In the 1920s it served as the local garage with pumps out the front. It is considered such an iconic New Forest cottage that it has been pictured on the National Motor Museum’s annual Christmas card and was recreated as an ornamental Lilliput Lane cottage – one was bought (with deeds) before a purchase was completed on Ramblers itself!

The aim was to sympathetically restore this Grade II listed cottage, reinstating as much of the original structure and character as possible – using a photograph of the cottage in 1917 as a guide – while bringing it into the 21st century. This work has included new windows crafted by a local joiner, bespoke oak staircase, solid oak floorboards, new central heating system with new boiler, water tank and radiators, rewiring, and new pumice lined chimney. The original exposed beams have been blasted back to their natural oak colour, and a new kitchen/breakfast room and luxury bathrooms have been installed. The result is a charming cottage that retains its traditional character while offering the comforts expected for modern family life.

The house is entered through an attractive thatched entrance porch with solid oak stable door and Welsh slate flooring. This opens onto a hallway with an original bread oven. In the oldest part of the cottage is a study and a sitting room/snug with original flagstone floor and woodburning stove in an inglenook fireplace. An old mason’s stone bears the date 1702 and the original front door comes complete with old oversized key. A turning staircase leads from this room up to a stunning vaulted bedroom with built-in wardrobe and basin, together these rooms can provide the flexibility of partly separate accommodation for a family member, such as a teenager. A second sitting room or drawing room features an impressive inglenook fireplace with woodburning stove. It is thought that the fireplace’s oak beam was taken from an old warship: the holes where the ship’s framework would have fitted are still evident. This room leads to the dining room where the exposed beams have been painted a stylish muted white. Beyond this is the extended kitchen/breakfast room with vaulted ceiling incorporating a New Forest oak beam, flagstone flooring with underfloor heating, comprehensive range of kitchen furniture with island unit and granite worktop, Rangemaster stove with copper glass splashback, and double doors onto the dining terrace and gardens. The main staircase leads to the master bedroom with en suite WC and a further double bedroom with built-in wardrobes, basin and garden views. An inner hall leads to a cloakroom and a luxurious family bathroom with half-panelled walls, vaulted ceiling, roll top freestanding bath and Travertine marble flooring with underfloor heating. A shower room also features Travertine marble tiling, a wall mounted drawer and basin unit, and plumbing for a washing machine. Sky is available in both sitting rooms. 

The cottage is reached across a cattle grid and through a five-bar gate which leads onto a wide gravelled driveway with parking, double garage and single garage. The double garage is fitted out with units, plumbing and power to provide additional storage and laundry facilities. The weatherboarded single garage is used as a store, but the intention had been to replace this building with a garage/boat store repositioned nearer the boundary.

Ramblers is surrounded by country cottage gardens which enjoy a great deal of privacy and include a flagstone terrace and pergola with outdoor lighting that’s ideal for alfresco dining. There are lawns, well-established shrubs, hedging and trees, as well as a cedar clad and thatch log store and new picket fence to the front. Altogether the gardens extend to about a third of an acre.