As Rachel Stell says: “You can do anything with a house, but you can’t change its position. That’s why we fell in love with Bank House. It had fabulous views, and a rural feel, but with a nice community.”

That was 30 years ago, and Rachel and husband Vaughan have loved every moment of that time at Bank House on the edge of Micklethwaite.

“We were living in Bingley at the time, but knew we didn’t want to stay in that house, so we kept our eyes open until we found the perfect home.

“The house had a lot of character but we had to do a lot of work when we first moved in. We had to change it around inside, especially upstairs.

“The deeds we had went back to 1820, but they weren’t the first ones, so it’s probably much older. In the 1880s they built on the front, and it still had the old stone staircase at the back, which meant you had to go through the bedrooms to get to the bathroom. We left the stairs in, but they don’t go anywhere. Now it’s a storage cupboard and the stairs act as shelves.”

Rachel and Vaughan intended to live in the house while the work was being carried out. It was only supposed to take six weeks, but it was nearer six months.

“I was pregnant at the time and it was pretty awful. When the baby was born, we moved out and then moved back in again.”

They had a great deal of work done on the house, including putting an extension on the sitting room and adding a double garage, porch on the front and kitchen extension, with a bespoke conservatory added more recently.

The result is a gracious four bedroom family home that includes a cosy family room, formal dining room with stone fireplace, elegant lounge with marble fire surround, conservatory with wooden floor and spacious kitchen with lots of oak front base and wall units, oak floor and integral appliances. There is also a ground floor shower room which has plumbing for a washing machine.

Apart from the family room, all the ground floor rooms are dual aspect, which offers stunning views and ample natural light.

Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, all with built-in cupboards, and a recently refitted bathroom with contemporary suite and tiled walls and floor.

“My husband calls our home the roundabout house, because you can go from room to room in a circle, as each room has two doors,” Rachel says.

“It’s hard to say which is my favourite room, because after 30 years they all are. The dining room is lovely for entertaining with its open fire. It’s cosy in winter and feels warm and intimate, yet it’s a good sized room.

“The conservatory is fabulous any season. The sitting room is more formal, but has fabulous views and a lovely fireplace. All in all, it’s a lovely house for entertaining.”

Once the inside was done to their satisfaction, they turned their attention to the exterior.

“Vaughan and I got the gardens into shape. We had someone do a little landscaping and a friend used to come in and help because he loved gardening.”

The gardens seem to cocoon the house, with feature seating areas and levels lawns. They feel very private but have lovely views over the countryside which surrounds the house.

“It’s quite an easy garden to look after. Give it a good do in the spring and autumn, and it basically looks after itself. At the back is a lovely little private garden with fantastic views to the moor – it’s almost like an extension of the garden.”

The couple brought up two boys while they were living here. “The gardens were brilliant for them. They could go out of the little back gate and make dens on the moorland. It was a children’s paradise. It wasn’t on the road and it was near to the house, but they felt like there were in the wilderness.

“We’ve been very happy here. It’s a nice family house and, because it’s so light, whenever the sun is out, it streams into one of the rooms somewhere.

“There are only four houses here, and we’ve got lovely neighbours. While we all look after each other’s houses when people are on holiday, we aren’t in each other’s pockets.

“I’m certainly going to miss the views. The garden is always lovely to sit out in on an evening. You feel like you are in the middle of the countryside. I’m also going to miss the neighbours and village.

“But I can take my memories with me – of the boys playing cricket on the front lawn, the hedgehogs and birds that populate the garden, and how the Christmas tree looks in the hallway.”

Bank House, Micklethwaite, is on the market for £450,000 with Dacre, Son & Hartley, Bingley, tel (01274) 560421.