Chances to live nearby beautiful and picturesque nature reserves

Lockdown fatigue has led many to take the first opportunity to “get away from it all”, only to find that thousands have had exactly the same idea.

The fact is that people need a change of scenery, a chance to get some exercise, and an opportunity to reconnect with the Great Outdoors.

We often take the natural world for granted, but once we’re deprived of contact with it, we feel its call all the more loudly, it seems.

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted many of us to reassess our lifestyles - how we work, where we live, and what we do with our spare time - and finding the space and opportunity to be outside, somewhere beautiful, has emerged as one of our greatest needs.

There are some fortunate people, though, who have this privilege all the time, and some of the luckiest are those who live near nature reserves.

As a reader of this newspaper, chances are you don’t live too far away from your nearest nature reserve - there are plenty in our area - but you could always move nearer, and for many people, being able to take a short stroll from your back door to one of these extraordinary places is to live on the edge of very heaven.

The following homes are all just an amble away from a local nature reserve, and are all currently for sale.

Holme Farm is a detached farmhouse near Bramham, five miles south of Wetherby. Now in need of a full refurbishment, it has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, utility room, study and three reception rooms. In addition, there is a garage and paddocks to the rear extending to 2.38 acres. It is also near Hetchell Wood Nature Reserve, whose mix of woodland, grassland, crags and wet flushes provide refuge for several rare species.

Jasmine Cottage is a semi-detached period property overlooking the village green at Staveley. It has three bedrooms, a house bathroom, dining kitchen, utility room and sitting room. The ground floor also features a garage conversion that has created a study which could be reverted back to a garage if required. Outside, there’s a garden, brick storage shed, and garden store.

It’s also just a short stroll away from Staveley Nature Reserve, a superb wetland site lying close to the River Tutt, where otters and several orchid species are often spotted.

Finally, the Old Smithy at Copt Hewick, near Ripon, is a former blacksmith’s cottage and workshop built around the 1670s. A true two-up, two down, it has two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs and a dining kitchen and reception room on the ground floor. Fully modernised, it has kept its open fireplace and exposed beams, but also has remote-controlled solar-powered skylights, making it bright and airy. Outside, there’s a small courtyard garden and off-street parking.

The cottage is also close to Ripon City Wetlands, which were created from the footprint of a working quarry and are a thriving home for a range of species, including bitterns, avocets, little ringed plovers, kingfishers and otters.