The Old Rectory has a lovely rural setting in a secluded valley within the North Pennines and is a sizeable and historic property with huge potential.

It has a striking position right next to a church, with the fells as a backdrop and the River South Tyne nearby.

Julian and Anne Whitlock have lived in the Old Rectory for four years, carrying out extensive renovations and upgrading their home which is full of character. It has four reception rooms, four bedrooms, large garage, stables, outbuildings, a lawned garden and fruit trees and bushes.

Julian explained how he and Anne, who are both retired, discovered their home after living in France for 12 years - although actually spending more time attempting to circumnavigate the globe on their yacht Freewheel.

"We originally came from the south east but knew that the overcrowding and pace of life there would no longer be acceptable," he said.

"We had spent many holidays with our family in the north of England and loved both the friendliness of the people and the better quality of life.

"High tourist traffic made a lot of Lake District too busy and other parts where tourism didn’t reach were far too remote. A couple of properties in the Eden Valley appealed but we were concerned about flooding and the lack of walking from a house in its own grounds, straight on to open countryside, which we had enjoyed in Brittany.

"By extending our search area slightly we saw a photo of the Old Rectory and were impressed by its appearance. A Google Earth search and street view and we fell in love immediately."

The Whitlocks then took a trip out to the area and their fate was sealed: "Our first viewing coming from Alston took us beside the South Tyne. The views opened out as we approached the property with the purple-headed fells all around and we knew we had at last found what we were looking for."

The property was in sound condition but needed significant updating but as the couple had done this with all their previous houses, this presented no problems.

"We set about upgrading and renovating it, putting in, among other things, new double glazing, shutters, gates, radiators and heating systems, bathrooms and a new kitchen while retaining the beautiful Aga," Anne recalled.

A section of the Old Rectory dates back to at least the 1700s and its foundations may be even older as the original church was built in the 11th century with a major extension 1913 to an unusual German style.

As well as upgrading the accommodation, the Whitlocks also worked on the garden, adding to the extensive shrubs and flowers and constructing some raised beds for fruit trees and soft fruit bushes.

"Sitting on the terrace or in the garden looking up or down the valley is a soul-lifting experience," Julian said. "The only sounds are the birds, the lambs and the occasional toot from across the river where the narrow gauge heritage train runs.

"We have a lovely neighbour and Alston has all the day-to-day facilities one needs, plus probably one of the best medical/GP services in the country.

"Why would we ever leave? In truth we are very conflicted but are missing sailing so much and realise that at our age we have to make the decision to once again set off before we are too old to do so.

"The Old Rectory needs to be lived in and not locked up for months at a time so we are reluctantly putting it on the market and hope to find a buyer who will love and look after it as we have."

The Old Rectory, Kirkhaugh, Alston, is for sale at £495,000 from Hayward Tod. See here for more details.