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.
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.
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.’
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.’
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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