Six Hills Lane, Ab Kettleby

A brand newly converted four-bedroom character home with a story to tell. Set within Castle Stables on the Little Belvoir Estate, it occupies buildings that originally formed part of the stables and staff accommodation serving Wartnaby Castle, the estate’s principal house. The estate is understood to date from around 1839 and to have been established as a hunting facility, with these handsome brick-and-tile stable ranges forming an integral part of its original purpose. Nearly two centuries on, that heritage has been carefully preserved in a sympathetic conversion that pairs period charm with the eco credentials of a new build, creating a first-class family home of some 2,279 sq ft within an exclusive development of just five period conversions.
The setting is every bit as special as the architecture. Castle Stables enjoys an elevated position above the Vale of Belvoir, with far-reaching views across open Leicestershire countryside, yet it is far from remote. The small village of Wartnaby sits just to the south, and the neighbouring village of Ab Kettleby offers a primary school, village hall and public house, together with an hourly bus service running through to Melton Mowbray, Bingham, West Bridgford, Nottingham and Oakham. Melton Mowbray itself, the self-styled “Rural Capital of Food”, lies around four miles away with its full range of shops, supermarkets and secondary schooling, while the nearby A46 provides swift access to Nottingham, Leicester and the wider motorway network. Private education is well catered for, with Ratcliffe College, Oakham School, the Loughborough Schools Foundation and Grantham Preparatory School all within comfortable reach.
Inside, the ground floor has been designed around one superb open-plan living space that runs the full depth of the house. A lounge and cinema room sits at one end, flowing through a central reception and sitting area to a dining area and a beautifully appointed kitchen at the other, where blue shaker-style cabinetry, a large central island and quartz worktops combine with bi-fold doors that open straight onto the terrace. A separate utility room, a cloakroom and useful storage keep the practicalities tucked away. Completing the ground floor is a guest bedroom with its own en-suite shower room, ideal for visitors, older relatives or anyone seeking single-level living.
Upstairs, vaulted ceilings and dormer windows lend real character to the bedrooms. The master bedroom is a generous double with a stylish en-suite shower room, while two further double bedrooms are served by a second en-suite and a family bathroom with a freestanding bath. Throughout, the finish is of a high standard, with oak internal doors, contemporary sanitaryware and on-trend tiling and brassware in the bathrooms.
Behind the period features lies a home engineered for efficiency. An air source heat pump supplies underfloor heating throughout the ground floor, keeping running costs comfortably low without compromising on character. Outside, a paved terrace steps up to a generous lawned garden enclosed by timber fencing, while a detached, cedar-clad double car port provides covered parking, its timber finish sitting handsomely alongside the period brickwork. The whole sits within one of the Vale of Belvoir’s most sought-after estates.