WORK brought John and Anne Patterson from the north east to south Cumbria and they have loved every minute of it. As they told SUSAN GOODSON, not only did they change areas, but their home was a change from their usual style

AFTER buying older homes which gave them something to work on, Anne and John Patterson decided enough was enough and they would go for a new build.

It is easy to believe when John says they love the area they moved to in 1990 and although they have lived in two houses here, they have never wanted to move away.

The house - 4 Abbots Vue, Backbarrow - is a three-bedroomed end of terrace, beautifully presented and maintained.

Inside is a lounge, modern dining kitchen, utility room, ground floor cloakroom and on the first floor is a family bathroom, along with three bedrooms and a partially-boarded loft.

Of the three bedrooms, the first has open views to the back while the second overlooks the front and the third has beautiful views. The property has off-road parking and gardens to the back, side and front.

Not only has the house they moved into after it was built in 2002 proved to be a great family home, but its location gives easy access to the Lake District, Kendal, the M6 and the Furness area.

John explained: “We just love the area and Backbarrow. We also love walking and are only minutes away from plenty of walks and close to the fells. Previously we had lived in a house on the other side of the river before moving to Penny Bridge while they finished building this.

“We went for a new build after deciding we had done enough renovating over the years, although we did make some changes once we moved in.

“We had a new kitchen put in two years ago with a built-in electric stove and hob, but before then we had changed things around, including putting the sink under the window which sees out over the back garden. This allowed us to put the dining table in the corner.

“We also had porcelain Lakeland slate put on the floor, which looks good but is also indestructible, very handy in a kitchen especially when we had two growing children at home.

“My son and I added built-in storage in one of the three bedrooms, while the second has built-in wardrobes."

However, with both a utility room and a cloak room down stairs, there is plenty of storage space for active people with lots of outdoor gear.

The utility, with space for a fridge freezer, gives access to the ground floor clock room and the back garden. There is a wonderfully spacious family lounge looking out to the front of the property with an Aga multi-fuel stove with wood mantle and black granite hearth as its focal point.

They also had oak engineered flooring put down and there are recessed alcoves and further understairs store space. Upstairs, the family bathroom has an over bath power shower, slate effect flooring and a further useful built-in cupboard.

Outside, John’s skills as an experienced landscape gardener came to the fore.

“They had just leveled the land off so I landscaped the grounds and put in a patio, laid the lawns with borders, flowers and shrubs,” he said.

There is also outside lighting, a water tap, wood store and oil tank.

The property has been a much-loved family home, but now the two children have grown up and moved away there is just the two of them in a three-bedroomed house.

However, they are not planning on moving far.

The house - 4 Abbots Vue, Backbarrow - is on the market with Home and Finance Estate Agents for £179,950.

For further details or to arrange a viewing please call the estate agent on 01229 870967 or drop into the Barrow offices in Dalton Road.