Why everyone loves a home with a view of the river

Anyone living in a house by a river may not have been quite sure of late what kind of view they’ll wake up to in the morning - slow-moving 
water slipping by in the sunshine, or a rapid torrent supercharged by heavy summer downpours.
13 Waterside, Knaresborough - £495,000 with Hopkinsons, 01423 501201.13 Waterside, Knaresborough - £495,000 with Hopkinsons, 01423 501201.
13 Waterside, Knaresborough - £495,000 with Hopkinsons, 01423 501201.

In truth, either outlook sounds fine if you just love water views – which most of us do.

In fact, living by the water – sea, lake or river – has been popular since our ancestors crawled out of it aeons ago. For most of our evolution it was a matter of life and death, but now – perhaps because we’re hardwired by millions of years of adaptation – it’s simply very desirable.

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So sought-after are water views that properties that command them also command a premium. In central London, homes within sight of the Thames typically cost between 30 and 50 per cent more than their view-obstructed equivalents (there’s a four-bed apartment on the 35th floor of 1 St George’s Wharf currently on the market for £15,000,000, if you’re interested in Thames views).

Ouseholme, Thorpe Underwood - £650,000 with Carter Jonas, 01423 523423.Ouseholme, Thorpe Underwood - £650,000 with Carter Jonas, 01423 523423.
Ouseholme, Thorpe Underwood - £650,000 with Carter Jonas, 01423 523423.

In Paris and Sydney, the premium is even greater, but in New York which has the luxury of two rivers, the price-tag is more manageable.

In our area, homes with river views are also highly sought-after, but – as in the Big Apple – the premium is more affordable, perhaps because we have so many rivers to live beside, including the Nidd, Wharfe, Skell, Washburn, Laver, Crimple, Swale, Ure and countless becks.

The River Ure becomes the River Ouse where Ouse Gill Beck joins it in the Vale of York, and one of the very first houses any downstream travellers will see is Ouseholme, a detached timber-clad house about half a mile from Thorpe Underwood.

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It has four bedrooms, a house bathroom, downstairs shower room, sitting room and large open-plan kitchen and living room, which opens out onto a raised decking area with views to the river.

6 Glasshouses Mill, Glasshouses - £445,000 with Nicholls Tyreman, 01423 503076.6 Glasshouses Mill, Glasshouses - £445,000 with Nicholls Tyreman, 01423 503076.
6 Glasshouses Mill, Glasshouses - £445,000 with Nicholls Tyreman, 01423 503076.

Outside, there are parking areas to the front and side and a wood store, as well as lawned gardens with direct access to the river, where there are full fishing and mooring rights together with a pontoon.

The river and the rocky cliff that Knaresborough Castle perches on were the very reasons for the settlement’s location, and the Nidd still plays a vital role in its communal life. The properties that line it are much coveted by summer visitors, and few more so than 13 Waterside. This cottage, at the foot of Water Bag Bank, has two bedrooms, bathroom, living room and open-plan living kitchen, with steps up to the external utility room. To the front of the property is the south-west-facing terrace, which has a fantastic entertaining space with a stunning view of the viaduct and river.

Finally, in Nidderdale, 6 Glasshouses Mill is a three-bedroom house that forms part of a Grade II listed Georgian mill complex. This was used to produce flax, then hemp and then rope, some of which may have been made for the Titanic. As well as the bedrooms on the first and second floors, the property has a large open-plan kitchen and living/dining room, and, outside, an allocated parking space, patio and garden.

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