The old adage about location, location, location' certainly applied when Jeannette and David McCrudden fell in love with The Whitehouse, a landmark property between Baildon and Hawksworth.

They also needed a lot of vision, as at the time it was still being run as a restaurant.

"It was definitely the location," says Jeannette. "We just fell in love with where it is. So private, yet just ten minutes walk from all the village amenities and with the most fantastic views from all the windows.

"We saw a lot of potential but wasn't just a case of converting it back into a home. It needed a lot of work."

That was four years ago and the couple, together with their son Lee, have spent most of their time there converting The Whitehouse into a home.

Jeanette has an old black and white photograph of The Whitehouse, which dates back to the early 1800s: "It used to do teas and you can see boat swings in the field at the side. It is where mill workers used to come for a day out... up to Shipley Glen and then on to The Whitehouse for tea. Of course since then it has been added to and grown quite considerably in size.

"Foolishly we decided to live in it while it was worked on. We sat down with our architect and looked at various options. It's bigger downstairs than upstairs because of an extension, so we had to figure out what to do with each room. We took everything back to the bare walls, created new rooms, rewired and replumbed.

"The most horrendous thing when we moved in was the state of the galley kitchen, so our first job was to demolish it and pull down another wall to open the whole room up."

Now it's a large, open plan space with dining area and day room with a lovely stone flagged floor, and spectacular views from two sides.

The ceiling beams have been exposed and there's a cosy stone fireplace with multi-fuel stove, while the kitchen now has an extensive range of base and wall units with granite worktops and integrated dishwasher, fridge and freezer. There's also a matching centre island, LPG double oven range cooker and recessed ceiling spotlights. This is a space flooded with light thanks to roof lights and mullion windows at the front.

The worst time during the renovations was when the roof was off. "It was absolutely glorious weather when the workmen should have been there, and absolutely pouring it down and blowing a gale when they actually did come!" Jeannette recalls.

Now on the ground floor there is a spacious hallway with cloakroom and twin glass bevelled doors leading to the lounge.

"We pulled the ceiling down and put in new trusses, so now the room is open right to the roof. The fireplace took some choosing. We looked at marble and stone, but decided in the end to go for an antique wood fire surround, the proportions of which suit the height of the room."

Another set of bevelled glass doors lead to the conservatory, which is currently used as a dining room.

"There was a conservatory there when we moved in, but it wasn't in a good state of repair so we had it demolished and rebuilt with a slightly different layout. Now it has almost 360 degree views, and every one of them is different.

"I think the conservatory is my favourite room in the house, because of the light. But on the other hand, I love the lounge with its almost full height mullion windows."

Also on the ground floor is a utility room with stone flagged floor and plumbing for an automatic washing machine, half-panelled walls and stable door leading to the front garden. There is also a cloakroom with wood panelling to dado height and a two piece suite.

The work continued upstairs, where there is a mullion window with window seat on the landing and four bedrooms.

The master bedroom has exposed beams, mullion windows with window seat, en-suite shower room with shower, glass wash basin and ceramic tiled walls, and every woman's dream... a dressing room with ample hanging rails and shelving.

Of the remaining three bedrooms, one has a mullion window with window seat, fitted wardrobes and exposed beams.

The house bathroom is the last word in luxury with ceramic tiled walls and floor, whirlpool bath, vanity units with inset sink and a wall mounted WC.

Outside, the old garage was demolished, a new double garage and driveway built, and decking put down where you can sit and enjoy the amazing views over the moors. Under the garage there is a workshop which could be put to a variety of uses. To the side is a small grassed paddock area, with a terraced garden with rockery and lawn at the front.

"What am I going to miss about the house? Enjoying it, now we've finally finished it," Jeannette laughs. "I'm also going to miss the location, which is semi-rural, yet it's not far from work and the village.

"I like this house because I like my privacy, yet I don't want to be shut off from all the things we needs like transport, shops and schools. This house fits us perfectly. It will make a lovely family home for someone else, because it's made a lovely family home for us."

The Whitehouse, Hawksworth Road, Baildon, is for sale for £650,000 with Dacre, Son & Hartley, Baildon, 0845 3474585