For much of the last two decades, bungalows have quietly slipped out of fashion. Overshadowed by those glossy new build developments, three storey townhouses and open plan ‘modern living’, they became seen by many as somewhere only your granny lives rather than an aspirational home move.

When Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, many experts predicted serious problems for the UK housing market. Forecasts warned of falling house prices, reduced buyer confidence and a prolonged slowdown in property transactions. Yet a decade later, the story has been very different.

For some homebuyers, the kitchen is the deal maker. For others, it is the number of bedrooms, the school catchment or the distance to the railway station. Yet for a sizeable group of buyers, the garden matters just as much as the house itself. Across Stevenage and its surrounding villages, there are 297 homes with large gardens.

The Blackwater property market can often feel far more active than it really is.