When you live most of your adult life in a place as small as the United Kingdom, you start to think you know every place and every thing. That is, of course, an absurd idea, but working here, you do often find yourselves in the realm of the absurd. Thankfully, this country is so dense and diverse, that there is plenty still to be discovered. For example, I had never heard of the seaside village of Lelant in Cornwall, but having looked at some pictures, I think it might now be one of my favourite places.
I might just be saying that because I was completely taken in by Ven Ayr, in (you guessed it) Lelant, next to St Ives, which is for sale with Lillicrap Chilcott for £2.25 million. More often than not, the houses that float across the Country Life Online Property Desk (CLOPD) in this part of the world are targeted as ‘vacation homes’, but this looks like somewhere you would never dare leave.
Ven Ayr is unlisted and designed in the Arts-and-Crafts style, both things we love here at the CLOPD. It comes with six bedrooms, and over 5,400sq ft of living space in total, which includes three reception rooms, a study, a ‘sun room’ with sublime views of the surrounding landscape.
The interiors have also been recently renovated and restored to a very-high standard, with soft pastels on the walls, a George Robinson kitchen. Outside, a detached garage block offers up space to park your car, as well as two separate spaces — one is a gym, the other a games room.
Lelant itself obviously has all the amenities you could ever need within walking distance, including sublime beaches, while the tourist favourite town of St Ives is a few miles to the north.
Ven Ayr is for sale for £2.25 million. For more information and pictures, click here
A £6.5m super-prime home in Devon: The 'best of both worlds' seaside home right across the water from Devon's most expensive town
Thalassa is a home that enjoys glorious sunsets, delightful beaches, privacy and seclusion — yet is close enough to the action
Credit: Alex Winship/The Family Office, UKSIR
Once the home of the Elgin Marbles, now a luxury four-bedroom apartment in Mayfair and yours for £26.25 million
A host of historical figures have made their homes at 149 Old Park Lane, from Rolls Royce to Royal Family
Credit: Knight Frank
A five-bedroom home that's a mile south of Farnham and a mile north of the South Downs
White Lodge quite literally offers the best of both worlds and is a tremendous example of the English country home.
Credit: Savills
A wildly dramatic clifftop home built by the man who escaped the Cornish tin mines to become an international diamond trader
The beautiful home of Porthledden is a classic tale of local boy made good — but Francis Oats didn't get to
-
Neil Armstrong and Sir Edmund Hillary’s joint adventure to the Arctic that you've never heard about and what its re-creation can tell us about the state of EarthIn 1985, Neil Armstrong and Sir Edmund Hillary adventured to the North Pole; 40 years later, their children re-created the expedition.
-
Nuthall Temple: The Palladian masterpiece that was blown up to make way for the M1Every Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: Where are the new Cotswolds?The appearance of American Vice President J. D. Vance in the Cotswolds is a sure sign that they're saturated, but where else can you escape to that has the same charm?
-
19 outstanding country homes, from £450,000 to £20 million, as seen in Country LifeA spectacular country house in Yorkshire and an enormously impressive Channel Islands retreat are among the stand-out homes on the market this week.
-
Three homes down by the Thames, perfect for those who love messing about on boatsThis summer’s scorching temperatures will no doubt have endorsed the perennial appeal of Thames-side houses with frontage and private access to the river. Penny Churchill and Toby Keel pick out some prime examples.
-
A pavilion, pool and pleasure gardens at this Devon country house 'with not another building in sight'Ebberly House is a majestic country house in Devon built by one of John Soane's pupils — and as it comes to the market, it's a place Penny Churchill knows well.
-
Take over the world or throw a great big party on this private fort for sale in PembrokeThorne Island, dubbed the British Alcatraz, has been a £2 million labour of love. Now it could be yours.
-
The perfect summer house? A country home, beach house and rural escape rolled into one in a prime spot in SussexIf there's a finer house than Grangewood House in which to enjoy the summer, we'd love to see it. Penny Churchill takes a look.
-
A six-bedroom modern masterpiece mere minutes from Europe's best golf courseVilla Stern catches the eye with its distinctive design, and is imbued with luxury inside and out.
-
Everything the light touches… The London penthouse for sale that will make you feel like a kingThe Observatory in London’s Fulham boasts 360-degree views of the capital.
