An exceptional, award-winning coastal house, surrounded by immaculately restored historic grounds.

Location

The Island’s rich landscape is said to be geologically the most varied county in the UK — a microcosm of the South of England.

Extensive forests and panoramic downlands, are set against a patchwork of farms and idyllic villages — all bounded by 100km of glorious coastline, from the soft sands of the south, to the secret wooded estuaries of the north-east.

The Island provides unrivalled opportunities for leisure activities, both on land and sea. Known for its path network giving easy access for walking, riding and cycling in idyllic countryside, and for a wide range of aquatic sports in the bays of its coastal waters. The historic town of Cowes, home of the Royal Yacht Squadron, and host of ‘Cowes Week’, is arguably one of the most renowned sailing venues in the world.

Transport links to the Island are good, with car and passenger ferries from the Portsmouth terminal going to Ryde and Fishbourne. London is easily accessed via the A3, and fast trains run from London Waterloo directly to Portsmouth Harbour station, a journey of approx. 1 hr. 10 mins. Alternative crossings depart from Southampton and Lymington.

Local airfields cater for the landing of helicopters - London flight duration approximately 30 mins.

Description

Few coastal properties enjoy such a spectacular, yet discreet, location as Haddon Lake House. Set in seclusion amongst two acres of immaculately restored and designed gardens, Haddon Lake House is an exceptional contemporary dwelling found in the benign Undercliff microclimate of the Isle of Wight.

This superb coastal home marries design-focussed modernity, with its sanctuary landscape of lake, woods and walled garden - once memorably described in print as a “miniature Lost Garden of Heligan in a magical seaside setting”. Impressive cliffs form a sheltered, secret landscape, orientated towards the south, to create sea-influenced warmth where ‘subtropical’ planting thrives.

LOCATION
Haddon Lake House sits secluded within the Undercliff, a designated AONB, some 650m from the beach at Binnel Bay. The exceptional peace and tranquillity of the setting makes the house both the perfect family home and weekend coastal retreat.

The house is situated on a private road that is approached in a westerly direction from the village of St. Lawrence, 4 km to the south-west of Ventnor.

THE HOUSE
Combining a glorious lifestyle with privacy, the house offers ample leisure spaces within the gardens for entertaining, plus access nearby to a secluded and inspirational natural coastline.

Designed to deck out over the impressive lake, the house itself spectacularly unites architecture with the landscape by appearing to float on the water. Both garden and house have been widely featured in national and international media, winning awards both for architecture and landscape.

ARCHITECTURE
Haddon Lake House, stylistically a contemporary ‘boathouse’ with Japanese influences, embraces modernity, while being acknowledged for its impressive build quality aligned with green credentials.

The interior, filled with light and the reflections of the water, employs a cohesive palette of natural materials and glass surfaces. English limestone, wood cladding and decking, slate, soft organic paint colours, and limed-oak flooring, are the keynote materials, all producing a uniform aesthetic with mellow textural themes. These natural materials tie the whole structure to its environment, producing a cool, contemporary building that blends seamlessly with its landscape.

THE BOATHOUSE
The Boathouse is a recently and stylishly converted detached single-storey barn, adjoining the walled kitchen garden. The Boathouse enjoys an superb elevated location on the site, with views over the landscape from its deck.

The accommodation features :
• Spacious open-plan living/dining room/kitchen with limed oak floor. The kitchen being fully equipped with all built-in appliances and double sink.
• Bedroom one, with skylight and feature limestone floor, built-in wardrobe, en-suite bathroom with shower attachment, toilet.
• Bedroom two, skylight and limestone floor, built-in wardrobe, en-suite shower room, toilet.

THE GARDEN TODAY
The restored garden is one of many atmospheres, design themes and rich contrasts, facilitated by carefully managed transitions, offering a diverse range of experiences that belie the site’s scale.

The centrepiece is the early Victorian walled kitchen garden, reconstructed from scratch, complete with period greenhouse, potting shed and quadripartite access paths arranged in a decorative potager design.

Adjoining the walled garden is a quietly contemporary courtyard that acts as a contrast to the robust planting in the potager, and to the profusion of the adjacent ‘subtropical’ borders.

To the west of the house, the gloriously tranquil one-third acre lake is enhanced with a gravity fed Victorian fountain, and unfailingly watered by incoming springs passing through an enchanting species-rich woodland.

THE COURTYARD
The courtyard, a plein-air relaxation and entertaining extension of the house, is a cool contrast to the lush, but low-maintenance, ‘tropical’ borders, where a diverse array of plants, including tree ferns, gingers, cannas, olives, and agaves, echo the exotic Victorian garden.

Acreage: 2 Acres

This property is no longer available

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5 bedroom detached house for sale