The Well House, Danehill

About this property

A writer's paradise found high on the Sussex Weald, a unique cottage perfect for inspiration and relaxation!

Let yourself escape for a few precious days to this wonderful and private setting high on the Sussex Weald. This could be a writer’s paradise, its location perfect for real inspiration. The Well House is a stunning conversion in Danehill of the building that sat over the well, deliberately unchanged on the outside but amazingly transformed on the inside!

The Well House will sleep two. It won’t suit everyone since the double bedroom space is accessed via a fixed wooden ladder, so for anyone with restricted mobility then it will not be suitable. It has a contemporary and bright living space with a traditional woodburning stove, and it is superbly equipped. There is a modern shower room with large walk in shower. The bedroom space upstairs is very compact and is just a space to sleep. There is a sofa bed downstairs so if the ambience appeals yet the wooden ladder does not then The Well House may still be for you.

Danehill and beyond

The Well House is located just off the 273 mile Greenwich Meridian Trail, a route that follows the line of the prime meridian as closely as it possibly can using public rights of way. This beautiful rural area contains miles of footpaths allowing every opportunity to enjoy the countryside without getting near to a public road!

The small village of Danehill is in an area of outstanding natural beauty in particular being only a short distance trom the Ashdown Forest that lies just to the east. There are also many visitor attractions as well as two resevoirs nearby, the Weirwood and Ardingly Resevoirs. Perhaps the most famous neighbour is the Bluebell Railway which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010 and runs from Sheffield Park to East Grinstead, taking the line to a total distance of twelve miles, passing through some of the most picturesque Sussex countryside that you will find. The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers and has the largest collection of steam engines in the UK outside of The National Railway Museum.

Right beside the station at Sheffield Park, Sheffield Park Garden is a magnificent informal landscape garden laid out in the 18th Century by ‘Capability’ Brown. Four lakes form the centrepiece of the garden. There are dramatic shows of daffodils and bluebells in spring, and the rhododendrons and azaleas are spectacular in early summer.

To the west Wakehurst Place is the National Trust’s most visited place, and home to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. It is a feast for the senses, Wakehurst features natural woodland and lakes, formal gardens, an Elizabethan house, and the 21st-century architecture of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank which contains conserved seeds from ten per cent of the world's plant species. Like Wakehurst Place it is open daily.

Immediately to the south of East Grinstead, Standen is hidden at the end of a quiet Sussex lane with breathtaking views over the High Weald and Weirwood Reservoir. The design of the house is a monument to the combined genius of architect Philip Webb and his friend William Morris. All the big names of the Arts & Crafts period are represented, including ceramics by William De Morgan and metalwork by W. A. S. Benson. The beautiful hillside gardens provide year-round interest.

A little further afield at Handcross, Nymans House and Gardens is another National Trust property and so similar in appeal to both Sheffield Park and Wakehurst Place, while the Ardingly Resevoir which nestles into the wooded hillside near to Balcombe offers many walks and the opportunity to watch watersports on the 198 acres of water. Do read more about all of these properties and attractions under “Places to visit” on our website.

Places to Visit

The Bluebell Railway

Wakehurst Place

Sheffield Park Gardens

Standen

What's On

Hickstead — June & July

The South of England Show — June

Local shop — Horsted Keyes 1.5 miles

Supermarket — Forest Row 3 miles

Restaurant — Danehill 0.5 mile

Pub — Danehill 0.5 mile

Mainline rail service from Haywards Heath — 7 miles for services to Gatwick Airport, London Victoria and Brighton.

Gatwick Airport — 15 miles