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Quickly nipping to the shops for a pint of milk isn’t an option for whoever buys this Oxfordshire home.

Alan de Enfield

By Alan de Enfield
in General Boating

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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

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Cottage on Oxford canal up for sale at £400,000 - but you'll need a boat to get to it (msn.com)

 

Cottage on Oxford canal up for sale at £400,000 - but you'll need a boat to get to it

Story by Jessica Lindsay • 5h ago
 
 
 
image.png.fda063556123c9dfcdd6150b680537df.png
 
The off-grid home offers a retreat from the rat race (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
The off-grid home offers a retreat from the rat race (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro

Quickly nipping to the shops for a pint of milk isn’t an option for whoever buys this Oxfordshire home.

That’s because the Grade II listed cottage, currently on sale for £400,000, has no access for cars and can only be reached on foot by the canal towpath or by boat.

Thankfully, the current owner has included their 33ft narrowboat in the sale, and the vessel can also be used as extra guest accommodation.

Deep Lock Cottage, located alongside the Oxford Canal near the village of Somerton, features two bedrooms and a 64ft mooring, with far-reaching views of the idyllic countryside.

The property offers an off-grid retreat, with water supply from the canal, electricity produced by a wind turbine and generators, and bottled gas that’s used for cooking.

Heating and hot water is coal-fired via the multi-fuel stove in the sitting room working alongside an immersion tank.

 
 
It’s only reachable by towpath or boat (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
It’s only reachable by towpath or boat (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro
 
Original features can be seen throughout (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
Original features can be seen throughout (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro
 
Heating is provided by a stove in the living room (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
Heating is provided by a stove in the living room (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro

Dating back to the 19th century, the former lock keeper’s house was bought by the current residents – who have since renovated and updated it – over a decade ago.

It comprises 811 sq ft of accommodation, with a kitchen, sitting room, study and boot room on the ground floor, and two bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor.

Lush gardens surround the property on three sides, and there are also several store rooms and sheds for added storage.

 
 
The current owners have thrown in a narrowboat (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
The current owners have thrown in a narrowboat (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro
 
The cottage has two bedrooms (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
The cottage has two bedrooms (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro
 
It’s been lovingly renovated over the last 15 years (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
It’s been lovingly renovated over the last 15 years (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro

As for the interiors, the cottage has been decorated in a quirky, rustic style, with exposed brickwork and wood beams adding to the countryside feel.

‘The house was a complete wreck when the vendors bought it at auction 15 years ago. They have spent a lot of time and effort transforming it to what it is now,’ commented Alison Wenham, from marketing agent Fisher German.

‘Their daughter was born at the house, she’s now 15. They have loved being remote when she was younger but now she wants to go out and do things and they need to be somewhere more convenient.’

 
 
Electricity is supplied to the home via wind turbines and generators (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
Electricity is supplied to the home via wind turbines and generators (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro
 
There’s plenty of outdoor space to enjoy (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
There’s plenty of outdoor space to enjoy (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro
 
It’s ideal for those looking to get away from it all.
It’s ideal for those looking to get away from it all.© Provided by Metro

Talking about the practicalities of life in the cottage, she said that the family use the narrowboat, Dilly, ‘all the time’.

Alison explained: ‘They get their shopping delivered to the bridge, which is half a mile away. The driver rings them when he gets there and they pootle up in the boat to get their shopping.

‘Same with delivery drivers and there is a postbox on the bridge so the postman doesn’t have to go all the way to the house.

‘Their rubbish they have to take on the boat down to the marina once a week. It’s little things like that which people probably take for granted.’

 
 
Gardens and a few sheds make up the outside (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
Gardens and a few sheds make up the outside (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro
 
Deliveries can be picked up at a bridge half a mile away (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)
Deliveries can be picked up at a bridge half a mile away (Picture: FisherGerman/BNPS)© Provided by Metro

However, they are able to utilise the extra space that Dilly offers when people stay over, and the isolated location hasn’t put off potential buyers so far.

‘We have had interest from a huge range of people – downsizers, Londoners looking for a weekend bolthole, people looking to turn it into an Airbnb, artists, record producers, families,’ said Alison.

She continued: ‘In the daytime in the summer you might get boats coming up and down the canal in front of the house, but in winter you are very much by yourself.

‘It’s a really nice part of the world. It’s remote but not totally in the middle of nowhere.’

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10 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Where the 'original thread' doesn't come up under the forum search using "canal side house for sale"

 

No excuse, a public stoning is called for here, nothing less.

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Tim Lewis Veteran

Tim Lewis

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2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Sorry - have not seen a 'houses for sale thread'.

 

I have done a site-search for 'houses for sale' and it only brings up this thread.

 

 

Posted a month ago under the 'Another Canal Side Property For Sale' Thread

 

 

cottage.jpg

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30 minutes ago, Ange said:

I'm wondering how they empty their loo? Presumably because they're off grid they're not on mains sewers, if they've got a cesspit how does it get emptied?

 

Im open to correction but if they have a septic tank system like the ones in rural France they can go for years without needing emptying. That said of course it still begs the question of how it does get emptied when needed.

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enigmatic Rising Star

enigmatic

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33 minutes ago, Ange said:

I'm wondering how they empty their loo? Presumably because they're off grid they're not on mains sewers, if they've got a cesspit how does it get emptied?

Put cassettes on boat, head down to Elsan point. Sorted!

 

 

If this one can fetch 400k, there must be some money in the other off grid shells of lock cottages on the South Oxford...

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Tonka Veteran

Tonka

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14 minutes ago, enigmatic said:

Put cassettes on boat, head down to Elsan point. Sorted!

 

 

If this one can fetch 400k, there must be some money in the other off grid shells of lock cottages on the South Oxford...

It hasn't sold yet

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BilgePump Rising Star

BilgePump

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"Talking about the practicalities of life in the cottage, she said that the family use the narrowboat, Dilly, ‘all the time’.

Alison explained: ‘They get their shopping delivered to the bridge, which is half a mile away. The driver rings them when he gets there and they pootle up in the boat to get their shopping."

 

Not sure about deliveries in their area but around here, if a driver left shopping unattended for collection, it would have disappeared before the recipient could have even left the house let alone turned the key in the boat.

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Posted
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5 minutes ago, BilgePump said:

"Talking about the practicalities of life in the cottage, she said that the family use the narrowboat, Dilly, ‘all the time’.

Alison explained: ‘They get their shopping delivered to the bridge, which is half a mile away. The driver rings them when he gets there and they pootle up in the boat to get their shopping."

 

Not sure about deliveries in their area but around here, if a driver left shopping unattended for collection, it would have disappeared before the recipient could have even left the house let alone turned the key in the boat.

 

Supermarket home delivery drivers do not normally leave groceries unattended. They will arrange a rendezvous at a location and meet you to hand the groceries over. You leave 'special instructions' in your order.

 

The challenge will be to get it all back down the tow path  if it's a large shop. You would definitely need some sort of cart or trolley if it was a big shop.

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BilgePump Rising Star

BilgePump

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Just now, M_JG said:

 

Supermarket home delivery drivers do not normally leave groceries unattended. They will arrange a rendezvous at a location and meet you to hand the groceries over. You leave 'special instructions' in your order.

 

The challenge will be to get it all back down the tow path  if it's a large shop. You would definitely need some sort of cart or trolley if it was a big shop.

It was the bit about the driver ringing them when 'he' arrived. Can't imagine many being happy to wait for someone to 'pootle' half a mile down the cut to meet them.

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