Buyers have always liked the area of Kent between Ashford and Tenterden and with the high-speed rail link making journey time into London a fleeting 37 minutes, it can only get hotter.

Faggs Farmhouse in Ashford Road, Bilsington, is described as dating back to the 16th century, and extended in 1817. It is Grade II listed. The oldest part at the back was originally a hall house, which has retained the character of the older house with its exposed timbers, mellow brickwork and old fireplaces.

It sits in about one and a half acres in a Kent Special Landscape Area, opposite a site of Nature Conservation Interest, just to the north of Bilsington.

The property has recently been much improved, with the upgrading of the electricity, the fitting of a new kitchen with limed oak units and an oil-fired Aga, new oak windows and the refitting of the bathroom.

Accommodation includes drawing room, sitting room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, boot room, cloakroom/shower room and utility room, five bedrooms and a bathroom.

With a small garden to the front, the main part of the garden lies to the north and west of the house, mainly lawn, with a terrace beside the kitchen door, fruit trees and a play area, largely enclosed by hedging.

A paddock lies to the north of the house with a separate right of way into it from the road.

Nigel Maclean, a partner of Calcutt Maclean Wood, said: “Faggs Farmhouse is a lovely family house with plenty of character, a large garden and a paddock. It is in rural surroundings, yet only five and a half miles from Ashford.

“It is also only a short drive down the M20 to the Eurotunnel terminal, where, in another 35 minutes, you could be in France, on your way out to dinner.”

The house is on the market for £595,000. For more details contact the agent, Calcutt Maclean Wood, on 01223 812060.