AN IMPOSING country home with its own miniature railway running around its garden is on the market for £1.395m.
Foxcombe House was built for Graham and Wendy Miles in 1999 and then eight years later railway enthusiast Mr Miles started building a track with the help of his son.
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The labour of love took him about three years and there is now 750ft of track running around the back garden, down the side of the house and with a loop in the front garden.
The five-bedroom property is in the pretty village of Sparsholt, Oxfordshire, and the railway has been at the heart of numerous village events.
The couple are now downsizing and will happily negotiate if the new owner wants to keep the railway track.
The five-inch gauge railway currently has a battery-operated locomotive and a steam locomotive that Mr Miles built himself, together with five wagons to carry passengers.
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There is a pretty summerhouse in the garden which serves as the station.
The couple’s grandchildren, aged ten and six, have also enjoyed running the trains around the garden.
Mr Miles, who is involved with various railway clubs, is planning to keep the steam locomotive he built, which is named Lily after his late mother.
He said: “I have always had a passion for railways, so when I retired the first thing I did was put an extension on the garage and built a model railway.
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This led to the idea of a garden railway.
“We laid the track in the back garden first, then an extension round the side of the house and a loop in the front garden.
“We’ve been here 25 years and have really enjoyed it.
“There is a really nice friendly crowd in the village.”
But if the new buyer is not interested in miniature railways, the train track, which has been well maintained over the past 17 years, was built in such a way that if it is removed it leaves behind gravel pathways.
The property has 3,446 sq ft of accommodation with an entrance hall, kitchen, utility, dining room, sitting room, drawing room, garden room on the ground floor, and five bedrooms and three bathrooms on the first floor.
Outside there is a detached double garage with an adjoining studio that could serve as a home office.
The village is three miles from Wantage and surrounded by glorious countryside with lots of walking, cycling and riding opportunities.
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Deborah Giacobbi from Savills, who are selling the property, said: “Traditional in style, this handsome house is at the centre of the village and just around the corner from the popular pub, with glorious surrounding countryside on the doorstep.
“The endearing garden railway runs around both gardens and would offer hours of endless fun for railway enthusiasts.”
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