The Islands at Cookham Dean, Berkshire is something else. This idyllic waterside haven — for sale through Hamptons International at £4.5m — is at the upstream end of an ancient royal fishery dating back to Tudor times.
For sale (and reluctantly so) for the first time since the 1970s, this mini estate on the Thames comprises the original part of the house built by Sydney Pitt in 1898, a cottage and more than five acres of land and islands. The area it sits in is known as ‘The Wind in the Willows backwater’, located about a mile downstream from Marlow. At the top is Kenneth Grahame’s boathouse, where the author was introduced to the river and boating by his uncle, the curate at Cookham Dean Church.
The approach to the house via a pair of wrought-iron gates is a step back in time, as is the main entrance, set beneath a turret with heavy double doors opening onto the oak-panelled reception hall with its open fireplace, stained-glass window and panelled ceiling reminiscent of a Victorian hunting lodge.
The hall opens onto the main ground-floor rooms, some of which are set at quirky angles that enhance the originality of its design.
The drawing room and dining room, interconnected by a pair of double doors, have magnificent large bays with leaded light windows, offering magical views across the balcony and river, edged with water lilies, to the steps onto the first island.
Next to the dining room is the library, where an outside spiral staircase leads down to the original wet boathouse below. Also on the ground floor is a split-level kitchen/breakfast room and a study overlooking the river, with the master suite and three more bedrooms on the first floor.
A timber footbridge over the river leads to the two islands from which the property takes its name, the larger of which, at 4.5 acres, was laid out as spectacular pleasure ground when Mr Pitt bought the original boathouse and land to create an unusual private house with fishing and boating facilities.
Other amenities include a croquet lawn, a heated swimming pool and a dry boathouse with a winch and slipway.
-
Eat our local cheeses or lose our local cheeses, warns Neal's Yard DairyEngland has a rich tradition of fine local cheeses. Put down the cheddar, and protect some of our heritage dairy.
-
Six beautiful homes around the world, from Portofino to Provence to Palm BeachAn exquisite villa tucked into a hillside? A A breathtaking apartment created to make you feel like you're flying through the endless blue skies?
-
Six beautiful homes around the world, from Portofino to Provence to Palm Beach
An exquisite villa tucked into a hillside? A A breathtaking apartment created to make you feel like you're flying through the endless blue skies?
-
An idyllic home where the forest meets the sea, for sale for the first time in over half a centuryLittle Aston is a graceful, charming home with superb gardens and its own orchard, as well as some of the south coast's most beautiful areas right on its doorstep. Penny Churchill takes a look.
-
'Just look at those stairs. Just as an art form, they are bewitching, like the shell of a nautilus': The lure of buying a stairway to heavenIt seems like madness to buy a house purely because you fall in love with the staircase — but sometimes, they are simply so beautiful that it's impossible to resist. Toby Keel takes a look at some glorious examples of staircases we've seen in Country Life in the last couple of years.
-
A one-of-a-kind waterfront estate with two private beaches is for sale on the same storied American island that Jackie Kennedy, the Obamas and Princess Diana have all visitedBeach Farm on Martha’s Vineyard — a favourite summertime holiday destination with prominent American families — is a perfect melding of New England and Scandinavian design styles.
-
The architect who created the MI6 building only designed a tiny handful of houses — and one of them is now up for sale in one of London's most bucolic spotsSir Terry Farrell designed the beautiful, light-filled, T-shaped Drum House in Petersham, with gardens laid out by John Sallis Chandler, who has won multiple RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medals.
-
'True waterfront homes are finite... miss one and it could be years before you see another like it again': Why the best waterfront property always hits the spotThere’s no denying the appeal of waterfront property, which now sells for some 51% more than its inland equivalent, finds Knight Frank. Annabel Dixon explores the shore.
-
19 charming homes for sale, from picture-perfect cottages to beachside retreats, as seen in Country LifeThis week's selection of some of the best homes to come to the market via Country Life this week.
-
Tim Burton is selling the house he shared with Helena Bonham-Carter, a sublime home on the Thames that comes with three private islandsMill House in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, might just be the perfect English country home.
