Would you like to live in this big windmill by the seaside in Norfolk? Of course you would
Cley Windmill is one of Norfolk's great coastal landmarks and it could soon be yours. Would you continue to run it as a guest house, or turn it into a glorious private home?
It’s a question we have all asked ourselves. ‘If you could live in a big windmill, by the seaside, would you do it?’ Surely, there can only be one answer, which is: yes. Who wouldn’t want to live in a big windmill by the sea? It is surely the very essence of the English ideal.
A well-tended and spacious garden accompanies the windmill. A garden party here would be worth the price all by itself.
Here is a big windmill by the sea that you could live in, if you like. It is in Cley-next-the-Sea, and it is for sale with Strutt & Parker for the very reasonable sum of £2.65 million. There are, as you might expect, lots of nice views from the windmill, and Cley is one of the county’s better seaside villages, as you can discover by reading Patrick Galbraith’s essay on learning about the lives of the people who live there.
You might say that £2.65 million is a bit of cash for a windmill, but the property is so much more than a windmill. Over the entire complex, nine bedrooms (all en-suite) can be found, with six within the iconic mill, and three further rooms in the outbuildings and courtyard.
The property in its current form is used as a guest house and wedding venue, with plenty of local recognition and repeat business, making it a great opportunity to buy a business and hit the ground running. But I would buy the windmill to make it my home, because I have always wanted to live in a windmill and this is a hypothetical situation where I can do what I like.
The property has been carefully restored, renovated and modernised by its current owners to create a chic, comfortable, rustic and luxurious feel, combining the Grade II*-listed tower’s fascinating history with all the modern conveniences that any self-respecting 21st-century windmill owner would want. Can a windmill be considered a turnkey property? If any can, it’s this one.
The situation sees the windmill within 0.6 acres of gardens right next to the River Glaven and looking out across the marshes to the North Sea beyond. All around you is the Norfolk Coast National Landscape, with the lashings of wildlife and scenery within view in every direction from the tower. All definitely worth getting in a spin over.
The property comes with a mooring on the River Glaven, which runs past the garden.
