In 1925 the local scholar Charles Henderson described St Mawes as “an ancient fishing town which in late years has assumed the different and more sophisticated character of a watering place”.
It’s not hard to see why this fairytale spot on the southern Cornish coast has become a favourite among the fashionable sailing crowd, or those who fly in by helicopter or hop on the train from London.
Tucked away on the Roseland peninsula, where the River Percuil meets the Fal estuary, St Mawes offers picture-perfect views that stretch to Falmouth Bay.
Frequented by members of the royal family, it has become so affluent that a St Mawes edition of Monopoly was released by Hasbro in 2012, with local businesses and landmarks taking the place of famous London streets. St Mawes Castle (one of Henry VIII’s best-preserved coastal artillery fortresses) replaces Bond Street on the board, while the Tresanton hotel takes the place of Mayfair. In real life, Olga Polizzi-owned hotel nestles among rows of cottages, a sailing club and millionaire-owned homes.
One such property is the Boathouse, built on the site of a 1930s boathouse originally belonging to the Bird family of custard fame. The present owner bought it to tear it down in 2004, enlisting the help of the architect Ross Edwards to construct a contemporary new home, making the most of the panoramic views.
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The owner has an engineering background and was “very involved” in the design and build process, according to Chris Clifford, the agent at Savills handling the sale of the four-bedroom house. “Sailing being very much at the forefront of their priorities, [the owners] keep a boat on the mooring in St Mawes, and launch dinghies and rib tenders from the property.
“It’s not uncommon to get water access in Cornwall, but to get access where you could actually launch and recover a substantial vessel is extremely rare,” he says.
The house is a dream for a boating enthusiast: St Mawes, Falmouth and the waters of the Carrick Roads are often regarded as the best you can get in southwest England — Ben Ainslie, Britain’s most successful Olympic sailor, hones his skills on the waters of the River Fal. You can go east to the Solent, west to the Isles of Scilly, or south to the Channel Islands and France — all from the Boathouse’s doorstep.
Two thirds of the house’s 5,100 sq ft of accommodation is living area, with the remainder dedicated to boat storage.
On the first floor, the vast open-plan living/dining/kitchen area is laid out for Riviera-inspired indoor/outdoor entertaining, making the most of St Mawes’s mild microclimate. The decor nods to the nautical; the room features American white oak joinery, skylights and a modern log-burner, with doors opening on to the balcony and two terraces, complete with a built-in hot tub.
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Two of the three bathrooms on this level open out to the terraces. There’s also a hall with an atrium, lift, cloakroom and snug.
The ground floor comprises the boat store, which leads to a tidal slipway (over which the property has a right of access), plus a workshop/fourth bedroom, utility room and office.
Its eco-friendly design means it is relatively cheap to run: an air-source heat pump powers the underfloor heating and solar panels on the roof provide electricity and hot water (backed up by a standby LPG gas tank).
Summers Beach is half a mile away, while Falmouth is about a 20-minute journey on the passenger ferry. You can enjoy local seafood and wine from the clutch of cafés, pubs and restaurants within walking distance, including the Idle Rocks, a five-star hotel and restaurant owned by David Richards, a champion rally driver and former chairman of Aston Martin, and his wife.
Cornwall was the UK’s most searched for region on the property portal Rightmove in 2020, and Clifford believes the Boathouse will not hang around for long because it has been used as a private home and so is not booked up with holiday lets. He says: “Quite a lot of property being offered to the market in Cornwall at the moment is holiday lets, and that means that they are already booked up for summer.”
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The Boathouse is on the market for £3.25 million with Savills
savills.com
Scotland: Follow the footsteps of Bonnie Prince Charlie
Rosemary Gallagher
Arisaig House is steeped in history. It is close to where Bonnie Prince Charlie first set foot on the Scottish mainland in 1745 and where, some 200 years later, the British Army trained assassins during the Second World War.
The Highland country house and estate is on the Road to the Isles in Lochaber, on the dramatic west coast. It is surrounded by 18 acres of land including an orchard and walled garden — reached by descending 70 steps — which produces everything from figs to asparagus.
The house’s rich past is evident everywhere. The beach where the prince is said to have landed is directly in front of the property, while in the basement there are bullet markings in a fireplace where elite wartime agents undertook target practice before setting off on undercover operations.
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The 18,679 sq ft property is vast, and includes a large entrance hall with a grand oak staircase, 12 bedroom suites, a billiard room, and four flats that could be let, as well as courtyard outbuildings with a clock tower.
While the public rooms have a traditional feel, with large windows, tartan fabrics and open fires, the bedrooms and suites have been modernised and decorated in light, neutral colours by the owner, Emma Weir, who bought the estate in 2010.
Weir grew up nearby in Kinlochmoidart but spent much of her working life in London. She returned to her homeland and was attracted to Arisaig House by its beautiful grounds and tennis court, and by the fact it could generate an income. She operated it as a boutique hotel until last February.
She says: “We didn’t have to do a lot of work when we bought the house. It just needed a little decoration and simplifying to make it more modern. We used plenty of Farrow & Ball paint, choosing colours that blend in with the Highlands, so lots of greens, greys and blues.”
Other improvements make the most of the house’s original features. The property was built in 1864 by the renowned British architect Philip Webb, before much of it was burnt down and rebuilt in the 1930s. Webb was a friend of the textile designer William Morris. “We had the Scottish architectural society up and we put the dining room back to how they said it would have been originally. It has panelled walls and Morris’s Strawberry Thief wallpaper,” Weir says.
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She also ripped out carpets to reveal wooden floorboards in the main rooms that the Astley family, who originally owned the house, had taken from their large yacht. These boards were restored to their past grandeur.
The estate also has four cottages and a bungalow, offering lots of potential for any new owners. The cottages have been renovated and the colour theme is again bright and neutral with modern furnishings and fittings.
Despite its rural location, the house isn’t too far from amenities and transport links. It’s close to the small village of Arisaig and eight miles from the fishing port of Mallaig, where you can sail to a number of islands, including Eigg, Muck and Rhum.
Weir has decided that now she’s over 60, it is time to bring her lifestyle business to an end and sell the estate, but there’s plenty she will miss. She says: “The view is amazing. It’s a big house, with a good, homely feel.”
Jointly marketed by Rettie and Savills. Offers over £2.25 million
savills.com
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