The nearest thing you'll get to a beach house in London: this four-bedroom Georgian home for sale that's right by the water's edge

Think of the riverbanks of London and you immediately bring to mind the embankments, the gleaming monuments of stone that came as part of the transformational sewage system installed by the Victorian engineers.

Head just a few miles out from the centre of town, and everything changes — and by the time you get to Kew, Chiswick and Richmond, things look very different. Trees and parks feed right down to the water, and stretches of sand appear when the tide begins to go out. It's not quite a rural idyll, with bridges carrying railway lines and dual carriageways criss-crossing the water, but it feels a world away from what lies further east.

Right at the heart of this lies a spot called Strand-on-the-Green. Once a medieval fishing village, it's now a historic conservation area right on the river, sandwiched between Chiswick and Gunnersbury Park, and looking across the water to Kew. A few of the homes here are literally on waterfront, and one of them happens to have come up for sale. It's probably the nearest thing you'll find to a beach house in London; the asking price, via Knight Frank, is £2.5 million.

This four-bedroom home is originally Georgian, but has been extended and updated over the years to get it to its current layout over three floors. On the lower ground floor you'll find two bedrooms plus a huge playroom — over 32ft long — which currently houses a pool table and a fine collection of Lego models.

Above on the ground floor you'll find the front sitting room with that beautiful view of the river, another reception room, and a huge kitchen-diner that stretches deep into the back of the house, leading via french windows into the garden.

On the first floor are two more bedrooms and a good-sized family bathroom, as well as access to the storage in the eaves. While £2.5 million is a lot in the national context, in this postcode you're getting a lot for your money. And on top of that, given that the house came up for auction in December but didn't sell, there's probably scope for discussion over the price.

All this brings us to the caveats. This has been a much-loved home for the current owners, who've been here more than two decades, but as the pictures show there is now work to be done. And no matter how much decorating you'll do, you'll have to be happy living in house that overlooks, and is overlooked by, Kew Railway Bridge.

The final issue is proximity to the river, which is both the house's biggest selling point and biggest question mark: you (and your surveyor) will have to satisfy yourself that when high tides or flooding come to this part of London, the house will stay sound and dry. Don't be too worried — the buildings here seem to shrug off all sorts of conditions — but expert advice is, as always, recommended.

For those who are happy with all that, it's a lovely-looking house in a great position, in a neighbourhood with a wonderful, vibrant community life — plus you'll get to sit on your sofa and spot the seals playing in the Thames.

For sale via Knight Frank with a guide price of £2.5 million — see more details.