Oak Tree Cottage is a charming white-washed property in the sought-after village of Wetheral which is being sold by Colin Whiteside to pursue a self-build dream.

"For quite a few years I have done properties up, older properties, and tried to enhance what was there sympathetically," Colin said.

"Now I would like to build a house myself from scratch from the plans and I thought it would be best to move into rented accommodation - be a cash buyer to get the place I want."

Colin is originally from Dungannon in County Tyrone and arrived in Wetheral by way of Riyadh where he trained showjumpers for the king of Saudi Arabia.

He made the decision to try to find a house here after visiting for a wedding.

"I stayed the night in the Crown, went to the paper shop in the morning and decided that if I ever got the opportunity, I would buy a place in Wetheral," he said. "Since then I’ve bought about three other places in Wetheral that I’ve done up."

Alongside this property development business, Colin has also run Sunrise Blinds from his conservatory.

"I intend to carry on running this and am in the process of moving to premises on Warwick Road in what was the old carpet shop," he said.

Oak Tree Cottage is an old property - Colin thinks it dates from the late 1800s - and has character features like cruck beams and period ceilings, combined with modern fittings.

When Colin moved in he completely overhauled the property, stripping the house throughout, taking the plaster back to the walls and putting in a new roof and floors.

"I stripped out the joists and did away with a bedroom and converted that to a dining room. The place was basically taken back to the bare bones, rewired, re-plumbed and then refurbished," he said.

What he created is a blend of old, with beamed ceilings and window lintels married with contemporary features.

There is a central dining hall with stairs to the first-floor bedroom, an inner hall and the living space to the rear of the property.

This includes a large sitting room with fireplace and multi-fuel stove and two windows giving views of the front garden towards the centre of the village.

The modern fitted kitchen has units in dark wood and bespoke cabinets and the room features underfloor heating, as does the large conservatory which also has a private aspect over the back garden.

Oak Tree Cottage has three bedrooms, one a dormer. A double bedroom at the front has fitted wardrobes and an en-suite, there is a second double bedroom, a bathroom and the double bedroom upstairs has an en-suite shower room.

Colin said: "My favourite room is the living room because it’s got a big wood-burning stove and it’s lovely having the fire on."

Externally is a front lawned garden and driveway access to parking at the back of the property, where there is a private garden with walls and fences, a large patio area and garden. Beyond the wall are mature trees.

"At the front are easily maintained gardens and the yard at the back can take three vehicles; the garden here is another low-maintenance garden," said Colin.

"Wetheral is an absolutely beautiful little village. I’ll miss the fact that the house is so central, one house away from the local shop. The Crown hotel and leisure club and Fantails Restaurant are here too, the Wheatsheaf pub is just up around the corner.

"I would eventually like to move back into Wetheral but you’ve got to follow your dreams and do things when you’ve got the chance to do them.

"I’ve always wanted to build my own house so I’ll take it from there. You can get a little too stagnant being in one place and things can stay the same. Sometimes you’ve just got to throw something different into the mix."

Oak Tree Cottage, Wetheral, is for sale at £435,000 from Hayward Tod, tel. 01228 810300.