49 acres at borderland farm

A small farm set in idyllic countryside on the south Shropshire border with Wales is to be sold by public auction later this month.

The Riddings Farm at Newcastle-on-Clun, near Craven Arms, is being sold by Shrewsbury auctioneers Halls on behalf of Mr and Mrs Frank Whittal at The Three Tuns, Bishop's Castle, on Wednesday, March 26, at 6.30pm.

Halls have issued a guide price of £450,000 to £500,000.

Mr and Mrs Whittal, whose family has lived at The Riddings for 80 years, have decided move to nearby Bishop's Castle on their retirement from farming.

Located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the farm occupies an elevated, south-facing position.

The three-bedroomed farmhouse is flanked by a mixture of traditional and modern farm buildings, which have been used for housing livestock and horses and general storage.

The farm extends to 49 acres, with the land ring-fenced and bordered by a road along its north-eastern boundary and by a stream along its south-western boundary.

The land, which is located within the Clun Environmentally Sensitive Area and subject to a 10-year ESA Management Scheme, is divided into conveniently-sized fields, which provide good grazing for horses, cattle or sheep.

Part of the land is included in a wildlife site known as Riddings (Anchor) and there is also an interesting parcel of amenity woodland and coppice.

The farmhouse accommodation comprises an entrance porch, large kitchen, two sitting rooms with oil-fired and woodburning stoves, inner hallway, walk-in larder and bathroom on the ground floor and three bedrooms upstairs.

There are lawns and flowerbeds to the rear and one side of the farmhouse, which is approached by a tarmacadam drive from the council-maintained road.

The farm buildings comprise an implement store shed, sheep handling shed, three-bay storage shed, two-bay garage with a storage area, poultry house, cattle shed, stable, cow house, range and former cow house, playroom, traditional barn with a workshop and store shed and a two-bay Dutch barn.

Contact Halls' Welsh Bridge office in Shrewsbury on 01743 284777 for more information.