Simon and Sian Tucker are bringing up their boys in the spacious barn conversion they call home where Oliver, Charlie and Freddie have learned to ride bikes on the extensive paving around the house and sow seeds in the vegetable patch created by their mum.

Oliver was just a year old and Sian - clerk to Beckermet with Thornhill Parish Council - expecting Charlie when the Tuckers moved in eight years ago, looking for extra space for the new arrival who was joined by Freddie three years ago.

Simon said: "We had been living in Whitehaven in a lovely property but we knew with Charlie on his way that we would need a bit more space so we went searching and found the barn conversion in Wilton.

"It was developed about 11 years ago so we were the second owners and I think we were attracted by its character.

"It is next to the old farmhouse and is a Cumbrian barn with that feature where the cattle would have come in on the middle level and with another level at ground floor at the back so it’s actually three levels.

"The walls are 2ft thick which is great to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. There were also lots of wooden beams put in during the conversion.

"Some were taken from ships that were in the Whitehaven area 300 years ago, with inscriptions on a few of them – I have no idea what they say or what they mean.

"Other beams were from the original farm. This was Townend Farm which was always operated as a dairy and sheep farm and dates back to the late 17th century, 1690s I think. So our house has the benefit of being relatively new but with all the character of it being 300 years old."

The property has an impressive entrance hall with vaulted ceiling and split-level staircase leading to a 28ft open-plan living area with balcony and wood-burning stove complemented by an en-suite bedroom and contemporary bathroom.

On the first floor is a superb galleried landing with two bedrooms and a Jack and Jill shower room and there are another two bedrooms, one currently used as a study, and a cloakroom leading off a hallway from the large farmhouse kitchen on the lower-ground floor.

"This is a tremendous living space and has to be my favourite room," said Simon, who works for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. "With a young family we’re very keen that we eat together so we’ve got a big table in the middle, the boys do their homework and it’s a real family space."

The views from the house are stunning: "We’re very lucky that the lounge and the top windows give such wide-ranging views," said Simon.

"We can just about catch the very southern edge of Dumfries and Galloway on the right-hand side and we can see the whole of the Isle of Man over St Bees and the Egremont valley."

Outside the property is block paving to front, back and side providing parking for up to six cars. The Tuckers have fenced off an area at the back where Sian has located her vegetable patch, and the gardens, which are very manageable, also have a wood store, large lawn, patio area and garage.

"We will really miss the location of Wilton, it’s so quiet, idyllic and countrified - just an amazing place to bring up a family yet only five minutes from Egremont and 10 minutes to Whitehaven," Simon said.

He and Sian have put the house on the market because their sons are moving schools: "We wouldn’t we moving otherwise and I genuinely mean that," he said. "The house is amazing, it’s a beautiful space and we don’t really want to move but we are putting the boys' schooling first."

Wilton Mews, Wilton, near Egremont, is for sale at £345,000 from PFK Estate Agents, tel. 01946) 695535.