Key features
Property Features
Description
There are properties that need imagination, and there are properties where somebody has already done the imagining for you. Woodside Stables sits firmly in the second camp.
Approached along a quiet country lane on the foothills of Exmoor, this is an established equestrian holding of approximately 13.6 acres that has been shaped over recent years into something genuinely unusual. Within one ring fenced setting you have consented residential development, high quality equestrian facilities built by people who clearly ride, and a newly established holiday let business generating its own income. Each element sits in its own distinct part of the holding, yet they work together rather than tripping over one another.
It is a property that can be enjoyed from the very first day, while still leaving plenty of room for the next owner to shape its future.
The approved residential development
Planning permission has been granted for an attractive four bedroom detached home extending to approximately 185 sq m (1,990 sq ft). The approved design has been positioned carefully to make the most of the countryside around it and to sit naturally within the wider layout of the holding.
What sets this apart from most rural building plots is how much of the difficult work has already been done. The planning conditions relating to drainage and the septic tank have been discharged, which means there is no time limit hanging over the build. Mains water and electricity have been installed. Anyone who has taken on a bare rural plot will know exactly how much cost, time and patience that represents, and it is all behind you before you start.
Directly opposite the proposed dwelling is a substantial hard standing yard measuring approximately 80 ft by 70 ft, entered through high quality timber gates of around 16 ft in width. It is a generous space, ideal as parking and turning for the new home while comfortably taking horseboxes, trailers and visitors without anybody having to reverse down the lane
Details
The American barn
The purpose built American barn is the centrepiece of the equestrian facilities, and it has been designed by someone who understands what a wet January morning actually looks like.
Eight loose boxes are arranged around a wide central aisle, finished with a durable resin coated concrete floor and an integral drainage channel that keeps everything clean and safe underfoot. Alongside the stabling you will find a dedicated tack room, an office, a utility room and a shower stall, so the yard can be run properly rather than out of the back of a car.
Large access doors open directly onto the adjoining yard, the turnout paddocks and the ménage, allowing horses to move safely and efficiently between stable, turnout and exercise. Immediately surrounding the barn is the first of the two substantial hard standing yard areas, giving ample room for loading, farrier visits, the vet and the ordinary business of a working yard.
The ménage, yards and access
The professionally constructed ménage provides a proper year round exercise surface, positioned so that it flows naturally from the barn and the turnout areas rather than sitting awkwardly at the far end of the holding.
Internal access tracks, generous gateways and the two hard standing yards mean horses, machinery and vehicles can all move around the property with ease, whatever the season. Every improvement here has been made with day to day practicality in mind, and it shows in the small details.
The land and grazing
The land extends across predominantly level to gently sloping pasture, forming a single ring fenced holding.
A purpose designed track grazing system encourages horses to move naturally around the property, supporting healthier movement and more efficient grazing management. Multiple gated sections give the flexibility to rotate throughout the year, holding pasture quality together through the wetter months and adapting easily to changing conditions or the needs of individual horses.
Approximately 4,500 native trees and hedgerow plants have been established across the holding, reinforcing the field boundaries, lifting the biodiversity and creating a landscape that improves with every passing season. These sit alongside the existing mature trees and hedgerows, which give welcome shade through the summer and real shelter in the winter.
Importantly, there are no public footpaths or rights of way crossing the land. The privacy here is complete, and it is a rarer thing than most buyers expect. As the property sits just outside the Exmoor National Park boundary, the land is not subject to National Park planning restrictions and retains its permitted development status.
Cottontails Shepherd’s Hut
Tucked into its own paddock of approximately one acre, and reached along its own quiet tree lined lane, Cottontails is the sort of place people book once and then return to.
The sense of arrival begins well before the hut comes into view. Open countryside surrounds it on every side, with far reaching views towards the foothills of Exmoor and not a neighbouring window in sight. The hut itself is a fully equipped one bedroom retreat with an open plan living area, shower room and WC, warm and comfortable throughout the year, with the changing landscape framed from sunrise to sunset.
Outside is where guests really slow down. A wood fired hot tub, a BBQ hut, a fire pit and seating areas give plenty of choice for long evenings, and the private paddock creates a feeling of space very rarely found with holiday accommodation. A 10 panel solar array contributes towards renewable generation for the property, and the hut benefits from mains water and electricity.
Cottontails is included within the sale complete with all furniture, fixtures, fittings and equipment. It is a genuine turnkey holiday let opportunity, ready to trade from day one.
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THE SETTING
Woodside Stables enjoys the kind of position that is difficult to find and almost impossible to create. A quiet country lane, rolling countryside on every side, and a real sense of seclusion without ever feeling cut off. Although the holding extends to approximately 13.6 acres, the surrounding landscape gives the impression of something considerably larger, with uninterrupted rural views and no visual intrusion from neighbouring properties.
Immediately adjoining the land is approximately 300 acres of Forestry Commission woodland, which means riding and walking straight from the yard without a horsebox or a road in sight. Beyond that lies Exmoor National Park itself, with its extensive bridleway network, open moorland and some of the finest riding country in the South West.
The market town of South Molton is close at hand, with its independent shops, supermarkets, pannier market, primary school and community college, healthcare facilities and a genuinely thriving local community. The A361 North Devon Link Road gives straightforward access towards Tiverton, the M5 and Tiverton Parkway station, with direct services to London Paddington.
The North Devon coast is within comfortable driving distance too, so a morning on the yard and an afternoon at Saunton, Croyde or Woolacombe is an entirely ordinary sort of day here.
THE NEW HOUSE
The new house has approval for the following accommodation
Ground Floor
Open Plan Vaulted Living Room
Wet Room
Utility Room
Bedroom
Bedroom
First Floor
Double Bedroom
Double Bedroom
STABLING
American Barn Stables
21.95m x 10.97m (72 x 36)
Space for 12 Stables but only 8 installed the rest used for tack storage, feed store etc.
Manege
40 x 20 (131’2″ x 65’7″)
Timber rail fencing and silica sand and rubber chips
Mobile Home
Temporary until new house is built
As New Shepherds Hut
Set in a field away from the house with hot tub and open front timber storage barn, solar panels
The Land
About 14 Acres all in pasture with 15 or 18 different sized paddock for grazing control divided by electric wire fencing and with walkways between, many hardened.
Coppice Areas
Some 4,500 young trees have been planted, some in clumps, some individually and some dividing paddocks, alongside the electric wireLIFE AT WOODSIDE STABLES
The rhythm of this place is set by the horses and the seasons. Mornings begin with the quiet business of turnout, the barn and the track system, the mature hedgerows giving shelter across the fields. Guests arrive at Cottontails and disappear into their own corner of the holding. In the evening, the sun drops behind the foothills of Exmoor and the whole property softens.
What the current owners have built here is a holding where family life, horses and a small tourism business genuinely sit alongside each other, with none of the three compromising the others. That balance takes years to achieve, and it has already been achieved.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Tenure: Freehold (to confirm)
Services: Mains water and mains electricity. Private drainage via septic tank. 10 panel solar array. (Broadband and mobile coverage to be confirmed. Please refer to the Ofcom checker.)
Local Authority: North Devon Council (to confirm)
Council Tax / Business Rates: (to confirm, including the rating position for Cottontails)
Rights of Way: No public footpaths or rights of way cross the land.
Method of Sale: The property is offered for sale as one combined purchase.
Holiday Let: Cottontails is sold as a going concern including all furniture, fixtures, fittings and equipment. Trading information is available to seriously interested parties on request.
Viewings: Strictly by appointment through Phillips Smith & Dunn, Barnstaple. Telephone 01271 327878.
