Built in 2002 in a tucked away spot on the northern edge of the village, Bankside House is so-called because the garden backs onto a former railway embankment that used to carry the line for the Somerset and Dorset Railway. The house is one of a pair of attractive family houses built of mellow red brick under a tiled roof, with hard wood framed and integrally double glazed windows and good levels of insulation. It has been the much-loved and well cared for home of the current owners for the past 17 years and today the house is immaculately presented both inside and out. The house has a north-east/southwest axis and catches the light throughout the day from early morning through to the evening and the north-east facing rear garden means that the house stays cooler in the heat of the summer. The sitting room has windows on two sides to catch natural light throughout the day, including a set of French windows that open to the conservatory and overlook the garden. The room also has a striking, brick-built open fireplace containing a wood-burning stove. The kitchen/breakfast room is at the back of the house and overlooks the garden too. It has a large, integral dining area and is fully fitted with a range of units, twin electric oven and five-ring gas hob. The utility room adjacent to the kitchen leads through to an enclosed, glazed walkway that connects the house to the double garage. Upstairs are a total of five double bedrooms. The principal bedroom off the first floor landing has windows on two sides that look out south-west and south-east. It is therefore light and airy and incorporates a good-sized, walk-in wardrobe and ensuite shower room. Adjacent to it are the family bath and shower room and two further double bedrooms, one of which currently serves as a home office and has a lovely view of Hambledon Hill about a mile and a half away. In the roof space are two further double bedrooms, both with views of Hambledon Hill, separated by a useful storage room that could be converted to a bath/shower room relatively simply.

The house looks out at the front at a pretty pair of semi-detached cottages on the opposite side of Station Road, which leads eventually to a small industrial estate created from the land adjacent to the former railway station. The driveway entrance has a pair of wrought iron and electrically operated entrance gates and is shared with the neighbouring house. Immediately in front of Bankside House is a tarmac parking area with space for two to three cars and beside it is a double garage with electric doors that also incorporates a loft workshop that could easily be upgraded to a home office if required. A paved path leads down one side of the house before passing through an archway beneath a beautiful Clematis Montana before emerging into the charming and private rear garden. This consists of a central lawn fringed by richly stocked borders filled with roses, flowering shrubs and herbaceous perennials. Leading out from the conservatory is a paved terrace shaded by a fine, ancient apple tree that is one of only two remaining from the domestic orchard that used to serve a nearby period house. At the back of the garden is the railway embankment covered with mature shrubs and a mature ash tree.

Sturminster Newton 3.3 miles, Blandford Forum 5.6 miles, Gillingham 11.2 miles (Waterloo 2 hours), Dorchester 22.9 miles, Bournemouth Airport 23.4 miles. (Distances and time approximate).

Bankside House is tucked away on the edge of the village of Shillingstone, which is within the Dorset AONB and has a Co-op general store, two independent shops, C of E primary school (Ofsted rated 2 Good), church, pub, garage and cricket club. For broader requirements, the village is between the small town of Sturminster Newton and the market town of Blandford Forum, which has large Tesco and Lidl supermarkets. The locality also has good travel links nearby and an excellent range of schools from both the independent and state sectors including Hanford, Clayesmore, Knighton House, Bryanston, Milton Abbey and Port Regis, all within eight miles.