Thursday, December 13, 2012

Guaranteed Rent | Be there when the boat comes in: seaside property gems

Guaranteed Rent | Be there when the boat comes in: seaside property gems
http://bit.ly/TU4UNh
A seaside life, full of fresh air and fresher seafood, is the catch of the day, says Caroline McGhie Summer and salmon, lazy days and lobster, sunshine and crab — who couldn’t be looking forward to some of this? But to actually live in an area where there are still fishing boats tied up in the harbour, where crabs are brought in daily, and the fish merchant sells the freshest bream, gurnard, mullet, tiny shrimps and fat lobsters, is to enjoy the true taste of summer. The resurgence of seafood restaurants around the British coastline (Cornwall has Fifteen at Watergate Bay and Rick Stein in Padstow, for instance; Kent has Wheelers at Whitstable) has gone hand-in-hand with our increased appreciation of the seaside house. Smell the salt spray, reach for your surf board, take days on the beach and eat food straight from the ocean: it is a winning formula. Research from the Halifax shows that house prices in most seaside towns more than doubled in the past decade. “Seafood festivals and restaurants are part of the lifestyle that people want to buy into,” says Julian Bunkall, of Jackson-Stops & Staff in Dorset. “Food has become very fashionable, and seafood in particular.” The Old Harbour Master’s House, right on the quay, offers a stunning view of the 17th-century harbour, one of the prettiest in the country. “We overlook all the lifeboats and tall ships. We can see all the dinghies and boats coming in with lobster and crab that you can buy straight off the quay,” says the owner, Peter Vincent. The three-bedroom house is priced at £525,000 through Jackson-Stops & Staff (01305 774633). Also available quayside is a four-bedroom town house, which is currently used as two holiday-letting apartments. It is for sale at £450,000 through Palmer Snell (01305 773333). The highlight before the area’s Olympic “lockdown” is the Dorset Seafood Festival on July 7-8. Seafood dishes will be prepared, oysters shucked, Pommery champagne corks popped, and chefs — Mark Hix, Mitch Tonks, Ashley Palmer-Watts, Lesley Waters — will be out in force. The River Cottage’s forager, John Wright, will also be there, inspiring us all to gather food from the hedgerows and woods.... - Source

No comments:

Post a Comment