Renting and roaming
You’ll have acres on your doorstep when leasing in one of these parks
SuNdAY strollers walk hand-in-hand past herds of fallow deer in London’s Bushy Park. Swans glide on the river running through it, as waterfowl pick about in the shallows. It’s a picture of serenity. The park, in South-West London and overlooked by Hampton Court Palace, contains 17th-century water gardens and the remains of the World War II u.S. Army camp where d-day was planned. But, surprisingly, it also holds a number of charming homes let to the public.
The properties are generally 19th or early 20th-century lodges and cottages that were once offices or accommodation for park staff. Having outlived those uses, they are now rented out as attractive long-term homes.
One example to let right now is Hampton Court Gate Lodge. The three-bedroom home was formerly the gatehouse, and then the park police station, and comes with its own private gardens. The rent is £2,950 per month.
London’s royal parks — Hyde Park, Green Park, Regent’s Park, Greenwich Park, Kensington Gardens, Richmond Park and Bushy Park — let a number of these properties between them, ranging from studio flats to four-bedroom houses with private gardens. Perks include keys to the park gates and free gardening.
But it’s not just London’s parks that offer such homes. Outside the capital, there are large numbers to let in public and private parks across the country. The National Trust alone has hundreds to offer.
‘Park properties can appeal to people who are looking for a location with a difference — one with plenty of natural beauty, a sense of freedom and space, and historic character,’ explains James Fuller, the National Trust’s head of estate management.
Many old private park estates have lodges, cottages and converted stables to let. Richard Forsdyke has lived in a gatehouse to the private Cornbury Park estate in Oxfordshire, for more than 20 years. The three-bedroom home was built around 1900 from yellow Cotswold stone and is a good kilometre from the nearest neighbours.
‘It’s the gatehouse to the part of the park that encloses the deer herd,’ says Richard. ‘So as I go out of my front door I have a deer park in front of me. I divide my time between London and here, and when I’m in London, I’m on a busy main road. The difference in atmosphere when you have the Wychwood forest, which has been there for 1,000 years, with deer roaming around is very distinct.’
‘The only downside is that the house isn’t for sale — I’ve been so happy here, I just hope I can stay another 20 years.’ While the image of someone moving to a country park estate may be that of a family leaving town life behind, that’s only half the story, says Marishelle Gibson, from estate agency Country House Company.
‘Park estates appeal to a huge variety of people,’ she says. ‘There are young couples moving out of London because they want the rural way of life and to live in a beautiful environment; but also a lot of older people downsizing who want somewhere with a more contained house, and where the gardens are maintained.’
And there’s security too: when the park gates are shut, residents can go for a country walk, but are closed in. And there can be bragging rights thrown in. When friends come to visit, they arrive through the big park gates to get to your home. All at a cut price.
‘You get a lovely house in a really exclusive environment but you’re only paying £1,800 a month.’