Marigold Cottage, 176, Shortwood Road, Bristol, BS16 9PH

This is the kind of cottage that gives you a little bit of country life without asking you to give up the convenience of Bristol.

Set on the Bristol side of Pucklechurch, there are countryside views out front, village life close by and, behind the house, a surprisingly generous west-facing garden that becomes a big part of how you live here.

There is space to work, grow vegetables, eat outside or spend a summer evening with friends, while indoors the fireplace and wood burner make it a very different home when winter arrives.

Parking for two cars sits directly in front of the cottage, and once inside, the lounge is the room the current owners naturally gravitate towards.

It is generous enough to accommodate both living and dining space, but the fireplace is really at the heart of it. In summer, the room stays noticeably cool when the temperature climbs outside.

Come winter, the wood burner takes over; sofas, a fire going and a real Christmas tree have made this the owners' favourite time of year here.

The kitchen is bright and very much part of everyday life.

Mornings often start here with coffee looking out towards the garden, while evenings tend to involve cooking from scratch before sitting down to eat.

Beyond it, the extended dining area adds useful extra space and flexibility.

The current owners have partly used it for storage, but it could just as easily become a more defined dining room, hobby space or somewhere for children to spread out without taking over the lounge.

Upstairs are two bedrooms, including a comfortable main bedroom and a second double currently used as a spare room, alongside the bathroom.

Both bedrooms are similarly quiet, while the bathroom and kitchen are the rooms that catch some of the best natural light.

The house has also had some worthwhile investment during the current ownership.

A completely new roof was fitted in 2021 and the boiler was replaced in 2025, while both bedrooms, the kitchen, dining room and lounge have been redecorated. Then there is the garden.

West-facing, mature and much larger than you might expect from the front, it gets the sun from around lunchtime and through the afternoon and evening.

It has been somewhere to grow vegetables, watch the birds, eat dinner outside and host summer barbecues, with enough room to find a sunny spot or some shade depending on the time of day.

Despite its size, the garden feels private, with established planting giving it a softer, more settled feel.

At the far end is the garden room, and for someone working from home this could be one of the most useful parts of the property.

The current owner works from here regularly, with the desk positioned to look back through the garden.

BT broadband has worked reliably with the help of a booster, and the room works throughout the year too: Doors open in summer, with a wood burner or heater when it gets colder.

It has also doubled as somewhere for sewing and other hobbies once the working day is finished.

Living here also means you can make proper use of Pucklechurch rather than simply having a village name in the address.

The current owners walk in the local woods, head to The Old Dairy for coffee and cake, and use the village pubs for food and drinks.

Friday night pizza from the van at The Star has become something of a ritual. And that is probably where Shortwood Road finds its niche.

You can have countryside outside the window, woodland walks, a big garden and village life, while remaining on the Bristol side of Pucklechurch with the city and surrounding suburbs still within easy reach.

It could make sense as a first home with room to grow into, for someone working from home who wants more space around them, or for a downsizer who isn't ready to swap a proper garden and useful extra space for something smaller.

For the current owners, it is the things that have become part of their routine that will be hardest to leave: The fireplace in winter, the garden they have put so much work into, walks through the woods, their neighbours, summer barbecues and the annual Christmas party.

It's a home that has given them a little slice of rural life without feeling cut off from everything else