Gransnet forums

Chat

A little bit different

(70 Posts)
grannyactivist Tue 04-Nov-14 11:35:26

Mention was made of visits to a sauna on another thread and it got me thinking. We have a home sauna (built by my Wonderful Man about ten or twelve years ago), our daughter has just bought a house that has a proper wine cellar, my mother in law has parking for about twelve cars on her drive and my mother has a newly completed tram line running past her house........does your home have any unusual or significant features that make it a little bit different?

kittylester Wed 05-Nov-14 09:56:27

I think it's very brave tosewsilver - what an adventure and one of my favourite places too! Err - when's the housewarming? wine

daffydil Wed 05-Nov-14 09:51:19

I rather envy Riverwalk too. I lived and worked in London for the first 22 years of my life and continued to visit regularly while my parents were alive. When I get off the train at Liverpool Street, I still feel that I have come home.

jinglbellsfrocks Wed 05-Nov-14 09:33:45

Going puggled! envy

jinglbellsfrocks Wed 05-Nov-14 09:33:09

No Riverwalk! I don't think you can complain! I'm a bit (envy) smile

jinglbellsfrocks Wed 05-Nov-14 09:30:55

Sewsilver, it is also very brave. flowers I wish you many happy years in your new home.

Riverwalk Wed 05-Nov-14 09:06:29

I'm very envious of those living in interesting houses. envy

I have a modern flat with no special features .... but do have a small private garden, am on the Thames in the middle of London surrounded by tons of interesting places, so can't really complain. smile

Sewsilver Wed 05-Nov-14 07:57:45

What a fascinating thread. My new house has a view from miles across the Peak District. It does mean that it's at the top of the hill which probably wasn't a very sensible buy for someone with mobility problems. In two weeks time I move out for a couple of months whilst the builders move in, or at least I hope they do. When I move back in I hope it will truly feel like my home. I'm fairly sure I'm boring everyone I know as I'm becoming completely obsessed with details of doorknobs,window frames , radiators etc. I wake up in the middle of the night wondering what on earth I am doing taking on such an enormous project. I think the answer is that it's a welcome distraction from grief.

kittylester Wed 05-Nov-14 07:17:12

I love this thread as I love houses. Nowadays, I think I would have become one of those people who finds new houses for people who want to move. I wouldn't care whether my business succeeded but I'd have a great time nosing around other houses!

Right move is my favourite app! blush

rosesarered Tue 04-Nov-14 20:30:12

Our house doesn't have any unusual features [except us!] in it, but we are surrounded by tall trees and next to an old church, so it's very peaceful.

henetha Tue 04-Nov-14 20:24:26

Mine is a mobile home which doesn't go anywhere. These days they are called Park Homes. It's in a beautiful country setting with trees all round.
And there is a stream running through my back garden. It's heaven here.
No traffic noise, just birdsong.

Marmight Tue 04-Nov-14 20:23:34

House is listed, mainly for its cornices but we have to go through hoops with Historical Hysterical Scotland if we want to do anything to the house. Views across Inchcolm Island in the Forth to Edinburgh. In winter, I can lie in the bath and look out down the Forth - not so easy in Summer when the trees are in full leaf.....gives the neighbours something to talk about blush

apricot Tue 04-Nov-14 20:11:56

I bought my house because it was the only one I could afford here, moving from a much cheaper area. It's listed, a two-up,two-down end of terrace labourer's cottage, has a filled-in well and the date on the chimney, 1820. It's not old enough to be interesting but I've created a beautiful cottage garden.

kittylester Tue 04-Nov-14 19:59:02

We are in a conservation area but thankfully not listed! We lived in a listed Georgian town house and it was a nightmare!

grannyactivist Tue 04-Nov-14 19:24:48

This is a bit like looking through your neighbour's net curtains isn't it? grin Now come on, own up - who has a swimming pool/lives in a listed building/is in a stately home/a two up two down terrace/has a coal hole/scary attic/inglenook fireplace......? So many possibilities. smile

KatyK Tue 04-Nov-14 19:16:46

jane - unfortunately being in a suburb of the inner city we have to have a high fence at the bottom of our garden as it is level with the towpath which can sometimes attract undesireables. We can see the canal and boats from upstairs but not downstairs but still it's lovely to hear them chugging by. My sister is luckier. She lives a bit further along the same canal in a road where the houses have gardens which have lawns sloping up onto the canal. They are not on the towpath side and have put seating there so they can sit directly on the edge of the canal. They were sitting in their garden one day in the summer and Timothy Spall and his wife floated by on a narrowboat. smile

J52 Tue 04-Nov-14 19:14:47

First floor sitting room with estuary views and 50 miles + westerly views of the Southern Uplands. Wonderful sunsets! Dark sky national park.
Unfortunately, we can only manage to live in it for part of the year at the moment. X

Greenfinch Tue 04-Nov-14 19:05:04

We have a large bathroom uptairs at the front of the house which faces across fields and we see some wonderful sunsets from there. We chose to have plain glass in the windows and not frosted so that we can experience this wonderful view while having a bath. If it is a windy day we can see the tops of the trees blowing and the clouds scudding across the sky. It is especially beautiful when the ducks and geese fly past in formation .I can (and do!)spend hours relaxing in the bath.

pompa Tue 04-Nov-14 18:17:40

We had a well in our back garden when the house was built. We asked the builder to make it safe so that we could make a feature out of it. After a few weeks, he informed us the is was in fact an old cess pit for a previous house that was on the site. I was filled in.
We did later discover a well in the front garden, but it was too close to the lane to keep. (our house was built on the site of an old brewery and was reputed to have 7 wells on the site.)

nannyfran Tue 04-Nov-14 17:54:23

If I come across any I'll be in touch, Gagagran! However I do hope you've checked the council website carefully. We, and many of our neighbours have been fighting a battle to prevent being completely surrounded by turbines for the last few years, and shall we say that many firms can be a little economical with the truth! Look into every possible reason why the area might be protected. The CPRE can be very helpful, or any organisation concerned with wildlife. Good luck anyway.

soontobe Tue 04-Nov-14 16:06:19

or should that be allsorts?

soontobe Tue 04-Nov-14 16:05:42

Nearby woods. I feel surrounded by trees sometimes.
When I first moved here, I used to run out in late evenings thinking someone was being attacked.
But it was the local wildlife getting up to all sorts.

Gagagran Tue 04-Nov-14 16:00:16

nannyfran I did ask the pet shop if they had any great crested newts or endangered insects I could buy and encourage to take up residence! (Answer - "no")

Unfortunately I am sure the council have done a wild life survey along with all the other ones they do - archaeology, minerals, water courses etc. and it has obviously passed their tests.

So until the dreaded day arrives we enjoy our lovely view and wildlife spotting and just have to accept that this is all driven by Central Government and their dratted targets. sad

ninathenana Tue 04-Nov-14 15:46:46

The sea is to the front but alas hidden by a 20' concrete seawall sad To the rear from upstairs we can see a lake and leisure facilities with hills behind.

All good but nothing out of the ordinary. However, it was originally a police house.

numberplease Tue 04-Nov-14 15:44:40

We also live on a canal bank, it`s at the front of the house, although, to be a bit like Kitty`s mum, we call it a RIVERbank! It`s not as pretty as when we first moved here, there are so many car owners now that the bank is always full of cars, access to the "river" is very restricted now.

Teetime Tue 04-Nov-14 15:29:51

kitty your house sounds fascinating! Ours is a bog standard four bed detached on a new development(not large enough to be called an estate). We back onto the railway and as we both like trains that's OK. At holidays and special times the Steam Trains come chugging past preceded by a distinctive whistle so we hang out of the back bedroom window and wave. One day I thought |I was seeing things when a London underground trian was stationary outside - it was a new one on its way down to London from Derby- fascinating to us Londoners to see our beloved tube in Melton Mowbray.