Take advantage of our wonderful woodland with these properties

A YouGov poll in the summer found that lockdown had had a marked impact on buyers’ priorities when looking for a new home. A third (32 per cent) said having a garden was now more important to them than it was before, and one in four (26 per cent) said that living near to parks or nature had increased in importance for them.

As a result, homes that have both these things are now more sought-after than ever.

Gardens are fairly common, especially away from our inner cities, but living close to nature is a rarer privilege, afforded mainly to those living in villages and on the fringes of our towns. But in our area there are pockets of woodland even in the heart of some of our communities, and properties that back onto these natural green oases have a rarity value that propels them into “life goal” territory.

Once installed, you can even branch out into shinrin-yoku, the Japanese art of “forest-bathing”, which is widely believed to yield psychological benefits including a reduction in stress levels and an increase in feelings of well-being.

These properties don’t come onto the market all that often, so when they do it’s wise to pounce if you can afford to.

The following three houses all have woodland accessible from the bottom of their gardens and all of them are currently for sale.

Within sight of the Majestic Hotel and just up the hill from Harrogate Convention Centre and the Royal Baths, 10 Spring Grove is so close to the heart of the action that the woodland at the end of its garden comes as complete surprise. The semi-detached house has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, entrance hall, kitchen diner, living room and snug, as well as an office, studio and plenty of storage space in the cellar. Outside, there’s a back garden, off-street parking and private woodland with barbecue area.

In Knaresborough, the aptly-named Woodlands is a large colonial-style house in arguably the best position on Lands Lane. It has a versatile layout, but is currently configured to have, on the upper ground floor, four bedrooms, a bathroom and shower room, kitchen, utility room, dining room with balcony, conservatory and sitting room which extends through to the south-facing sun-room.

On the lower ground floor, there are several large spaces, including a games room, garaging and store rooms, plus a self-contained two-bedroom suite with private access, which could be ideal for a dependent relative. Outside, there’s an elevated sun terrace with views over the gardens beyond, which extend through woodland to the River Nidd and include boating and fishing rights.

Back in Harrogate, 40 Hookstone Drive is a detached house just along the road from St John Fisher High School and round the corner from St Aidan’s High School; Hornbeam Park railway station is just a few minutes’ walk away. The house has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large entrance hall, kitchen, utility room, integral single garage, and three reception rooms.

Outside, there’s plenty of off-street parking, plus a good-sized back garden with its own small area of woodland, which backs onto Hookstone Woods.