Sitting pretty at the peak of a gentle incline surrounded by the rolling Worcestershire countryside, this is a truly idyllic place to call home. There’s an enviable ‘big sky’ feel and dreamy panoramic vistas from all the windows and conservatory of this beautifully presented four-bedroom, four-bathroom house. It’s perfect for watching the birds and wildlife, catching the seasons change from the pink blossoms of spring to the leafy greenery of high summer, the orange hues of autumn to the frosty landscapes of winter.
Lench Wood Lodge is located on the edge of Abbots Lench, at the heart of the picturesque group of five villages called The Lenches – there are also Church Lench, Rous Lench, Atch Lench and Sheriff’s Lench – and all sit amidst the peaceful rural bliss of this beautiful part of Worcestershire. Historically, Lench meant rising ground or hill.
However, this is not in the proverbial ‘middle of nowhere’. The largest of The Lenches, Church Lench, is a three-minute drive, or 20-minute stroll, away and has a social club, leisure options and a highly rated primary school plus a pre-school. Evesham (six miles) has a choice of supermarkets while road and rail connectivity for commuters is excellent.
With a 2,700 square footage, Lench Wood Lodge is a traditionally styled, beautifully presented and generously proportioned house with great flexibility. Built in the 1950s, it was fully refurbished and extended seven years ago. It’s the perfect family home, and especially appealing to those who require a private annexe as there’s ground-floor self-contained accommodation comprising an en-suite bedroom and sitting room. Equally, this future-proofs the property, making it ideal for downsizers – and in this stunning countryside location it’s an amazing lock-up-and-leave retreat.
Warm and welcoming, the house has oil-fired central heating and there’s also rooftop solar panels and air conditioning.
Daily life will revolve round the ultra-spacious kitchen/family room and there’s a correspondingly large living room with double doors into the all-glass conservatory where you can curl up with a coffee and simply enjoy the picture-perfect views.
Upstairs, the en-suite principal bedroom is a super-sized 20x18ft and there are two further en-suite double bedrooms.
The garden reflects the surrounding countryside – beautifully cultivated and maintained.
This is a fantastic home, so let’s fill you in on the details . . .
A home for all seasons
Impressively smart with its white brick gabled exterior, Lench Wood Lodge radiates tranquillity and sits slightly elevated from its wrap-round manicured gardens on a quiet lane on the far edge of the hamlet of Abbots Lench.
Beyond the double five-bar gate, there’s parking for several cars on the curved block-paved driveway and in front of the attached double garage.
The front door leads into the kitchen/family room, an ultra-generous 35x22ft at its widest with stylish black Cotswold limestone tiles underfoot. The sleek white kitchen units are configured in a U shape with oak worktops, split-level Neff ovens, warming drawer and Whirlpool ceramic hob. To the rear, there’s a small utility room with a door to the garden – really useful for discarding muddy boots and towelling down damp dogs after countryside walks. There’s also a separate WC.
The open-plan family area of the kitchen can accommodate a nice big farmhouse table and chairs and/or a comfy L-shaped sofa for watching TV. In the corner, the oak staircase rises to the first floor.
Double doors open into the L-shaped dual-aspect living room which measures a generous 17x23ft at its widest and is a great space for chilling out or entertaining. Another set of doors access the super-sunny conservatory which, with its panoramic windows, is the best place to enjoy those superlative views or watch the birds on feeders suspended from the gazebo alongside.
Returning to the kitchen, a door opens into a sunny dual-aspect sitting room, adjoining double bedroom and en-suite shower room.
A glorious garden
Beautifully designed and tended, yet of a manageable size and layout, the garden of Lench Wood Lodge is truly lovely, especially during the warmer months when children can play on the lawns while the grown-ups relax with a drink or entertain friends. The garden is fully enclosed and screened by timber fencing and hedging.
A clematis-entwined pergola sits just inside the gate and is a good spot for a picnic bench. The flower and shrub borders are ultra-pretty and one has an ornamental rose arbour.
A gate leads through to a sunny south-west-facing paved patio at the rear of the house and here there’s also a greenhouse and raised vegetable beds. Another gate accesses a garden shed.
Round and about
Take a walk around the Lenches and revel in the spirit-raising views which reach out across the county to the Malverns. On a clear day you can even see the Black Mountains. The great outdoors beckons with a multitude of routes for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders.
This area is exceptionally beautiful in the spring when all the fruit trees of this verdant area come into bloom – it’s known as the blossom trail.
Abbots Lench is located equidistant (13 miles approx) between the riverside relaxation and cultural lure of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon and the city buzz and excellent shopping and leisure options of Worcester. For supermarket shopping, including Waitrose, the best and nearest options are Evesham, Pershore and Alcester.
It’s just a mile to Church Lench where the Lenches social club is the hub of village life with lots going on all the time. It has a licensed bar, pool and skittles, lounge and terraces to enjoy the views. There’s also a village hall with a wide variety of activities throughout the week and a sports club which is about to have a new pavilion built complete with its own funky open-air amphitheatre – organically curved tiered grass seating with a portable timber stage.
Golfers will be delighted to hear that the fantastic Vale Golf & Country Club, set in 300 acres of stunning countryside, is just two miles away. It has two challenging courses and a floodlit driving range plus a great clubhouse with bar and dining. Or if wild swimming is your thing, the Lenches lakes are the place for a bracing dip!
Children from the village pre-school feed into Church Lench CE First School, which is Ofsted-rated ‘outstanding’. The closest secondary schools are Pershore High School, rated ‘good’, and Prince Henry’s High School in Evesham, ‘outstanding’. There’s a choice of good private schools within a 15-mile radius including Bowbrook House, King’s School, River School, Worcester’s Royal Grammar and Malvern College.
The Lenches has excellent commuter connectivity to the M5 and M40, and to Birmingham airport via the M42. There are mainline railways at Evesham, Pershore and Worcester Parkway.
