Private Annex with beautiful views near Wells

The seating area in the private area of the kitchenette, looking across to Glastonbury Tor

The space on offer is a ground floor studio (ish) flat which sits as an annex to our home. It has it's own entrance, the utility room is shared and has an adjoining door.

It's listed on SpareRoom as a 'room', only because none of the options quite fit. This is a self contained space (other than the shared utility) with its own entrance, kitchenette, and private bathroom, it feels much more like a simple private flat than a house share.

The accommodation is in West Horrington, a quiet village (hamlet), set within the Mendip Hills, just under 3 miles north of Wells. The 173 stops at the end of the village and takes you to either Wells or Bath, it's an hourly bus but doesn't run in the evenings or on a Sunday (so having your own transport is preferable). Loads of beautiful walks from the village!

The private areas of the annex are a combined bed/living room with a door that leads out onto a decked area (at the top of the drive) overlooking the Tor, a kitchenette with breakfast bar area, also overlooks the Tor and a private bathroom. The utility room is the only shared area - I also use this washing machine/dryer throughout the week - we can agree convenient times. 

My hope is that the Annex is a homely and comfortable place to live. The village is peaceful with stunning views across the Somerset levels to Glastonbury Tor, you see this view from both the kitchenette and bed/living room. 

In the bed/living room there is a queen size double bed.
There are drawers, no wardrobe but plenty of hooks and hangers (there is space for a clothes rail, if you would like one). There is a sofa, shelves, coffee tables, mood and bright lighting and your own front door to both the decked area and the drive. 

Our family Wi-Fi works well enough for us, but it is certainly not super fast broadband. Our current lodger uses Voneus (he pays for this himself, around £40 per month) and it's really improved his connection, so this is an option if you would like a fast connection! Ours is with BT (I'm told that the Wifi you recieve is via a ‘devolo’ repeater; around ~5Mbps down, ~1 up). Mobile coverage varies (I'm with EE - its fine if you stand next to a window!).

The kitchenette is in two parts; the main section is next to your bed/living room. In it are the front door to the annex and a back door leading to our family garden. The breakfast bar, kettle, toaster, fridge (no freezer) are also based in this area. Our current lodger has a combo oven which he says is perfect in the space: Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 Multifunction Oven DT200UK

The main kitchenette space leads into two adjoining rooms, where you will find a single induction hob (our lodger uses his own double induction hob), sink, crockery, cutlery, washing machine, dryer, bins etc. The 3 small kitchenette spaces are not huge but work well for a single occupant.

You then continue on through to your roomy bathroom which has an electric shower, mirrors, toilet and towel rail.

The bedroom and main kitchenette have their own electric heating and retain heat well in the winter - so in your key spaces you can enjoy the temperature that suits you. The extended kitchenette and bathroom have radiators which are connected to our own family system and an independently controlled towel rail. These areas struggle a little more with retaining heat in the winter, as many old cottages do, nothing crazy but worth being aware of.

Please note that we do have a very steep drive. Depending on your car you may need/wish to leave your car in 1st gear while parked. Or, there are other spaces that can be used to park in the village. Our current lodger has used the same space for 3 1/2 years, just a 2 min walk. There is space for 4 cars on our drive but a lot of daily coming and going within our family and by my clients means that parking off the drive may be easier for you and generally less logistical faff.

Since living here, the annex space has been used as my therapy room and also as an Airbnb letting. We changed to having lodgers during lockdown and have had 4 lovely lodgers living here since then.

We are a family of 5 (our kids are 22, 20 & 12yrs old). You'll probably only really see me from time to time when using the washing machine/dryer as we are essentially separate from the annex. We share an adjoining door which opens onto the utility space only; this remains locked unless we need to access the washing machine/dryer. You also have an internal lockable door, should you wish to use it.

We are friendly and here if needed but otherwise will leave you in peace.

*Space wise and in my opinion our annex is really only ideal long-term for single occupancy.

**The rent is based on someone that goes to work out of the house during the week. If you are someone that is likely to be in the annex all day (eg working from home) then I will need to increase the rent to £950 PCM as all bills (except Voneus) are included in the rent.

***We are essentially 2 completely separate households. The key area that we share is the utility room which contains the washing machine/dryer.

****The annex is unfortunately not an ideal space if you experience any difficulty with mobility. Stairs link each room as the studio's layout is on multiple levels.   

*****I am clean keen in the annex, it has been a really treasured space as my therapy room and it's important that the space is cared for.

******There is an area in the back garden that you can access, use and enjoy, if you'd like to. It's a part of the garden that sits behind the annex. Our current lodger doesn't use it (and neither do we), but we're happy to help you make it a nice space to enjoy (it could be a lovely private place to sit, grow anything you like and it even has a greenhouse).

*******The village has no pubs, shops etc, lots of families and older adults. It is a quiet but welcoming community.