Most-viewed homes of 2020: Essex mansion and secluded London house among most popular UK listings

An Essex mega mansion in 52 acres and a Primrose Hill house with a "private park" are among the most-viewed homes on online property portal Rightmove this year.

In a year spent looking at our own homes — read: climbing the walls — and fantasising about other peoples' set-ups, it's no wonder that the properties to have piqued our interests are also the most glamorous.

And some are among the biggest, too.

Out of the thousands of properties featured on the site this year, the five with most online visitors range from a new-build mansion in the Surrey commuter belt to secluded Hollywood-style private home on top of north London's Highgate Hill.

Guide price around £20 million

In 52 acres of forests and landscaped gardens, this spectacular house for sale in Essex is "unlike anything ever seen in the area before" according to Matthew Sargeant of Presidential Estates who are marketing it.

Built five years ago for its current owners, the property appears as new — with four of the five bedroom suites having never been slept in.

The owners are spending increasing amounts of time abroad and, after an early transaction fell through at the beginning of the pandemic, are now open to offers in the region of £20 million.

Among interiors highlights are the 10-car underground garage with lift and turntable, plus a spa with indoor swimming pool and waterfall.

One for the next Charlotte Dujardin?

A state-of-the-art equestrian centre with 10 stalls and an Olympic-sized outdoor arena awaits — a little more than is required for just the weekend outing then. Particularly given you could probably hack for hours without actually leaving the garden.

"At around 20,000 square feet, it's like a hotel in a house," says Sargeant. "It's truly a one-off."

Price £28.5 million

This eight-bedroom detached home is a surprisingly new-look property built within the frames of a period house in A-list hotspot Primrose Hill.

"It's been totally refurbished," says Mark Pollack of Aston Chase. "In that it has been taken right back to the brickwork."

The chic north-west London village bordering Regent's Park has long been a celebrity favourite with Noel Gallagher, Sienna Miller, Daniel Craig and Lily James counted among past and current residents.

The home for sale in Elsworthy Road is thought to have been visited by Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales, and his future wife Wallis Simpson in the 1930s.

After a full renovation by property developer owners, who tasked The Apprentice's Linda Plant with giving it a dramatic 16-month interiors makeover, the home is now for sale for £28.5 million after being rented out for around two years at £20,000 a week.

Interiors highlights include an internal courtyard, framed by walls of glass, and walk-in wine cellar.

"It backs on to communal gardens landlocked by other suitably glamorous properties - so you've effectively got a private park of around 2.5 acres at the foot of your garden," says Pollack, "It really is the best of both."

Price £22,490,000

A seven-bedroom home in the prestigious St George’s Hill estate in Surrey – a regular fixture on lists of Britain’s most expensive streets and where residents have included Elton John, John Lennon and Tom Jones.

Enter through the domed hall, continue to the day rooms, semi-circular orangery and spa or ascend the striking staircase for two floors of bedroom suites, dressing rooms and a "galleried salon".

Back on the ground floor, sliding glass doors lead to a terrace with views over four acres of gardens.

Outside, there are staff flats and plenty of garages for a fleet of supercars.

Price £40 million

A secluded Hollywood-style super-mansion near Hampstead Heath.

The most expensive property on the list of most-viewed, the 10-bedroom private home is believed to have taken its owner - an Eastern European tycoon - more than 10 years to build, at a cost of £32 million.

A smaller house on the site was demolished and replaced by the glossy white modern home. A swimming pool and spa open on to the garden, while a glass lift rises through the centre of the house.

The property features a gym, a billiards room, tennis court and roof terrace with views over the gardens and nearby Hampstead Heath. There is also a separate staff lodge.

Set in two acres, the property is “not overlooked by a single window”, according to Lee Koffman, who is handling the sale for Sotheby’s International Realty UK.

“You walk in through the entrance gates and it’s 70 or 80 metres before you even get to the house, yet you can be in Hampstead Village in just minutes,” says Koffman.

Price £30 million

A 10-bedroom country estate in just over 30 acres of grounds in the Surrey commuter belt.

The colossal main house, spanning over 26,000sq ft, has six reception rooms, wine cellars, a bowling alley, swimming pool with spa, gym and treatment room.

There's also a home cinema, chef's kitchen, staff flat, a tennis court and a ballroom.

Plus two self-contained cottages, a lake and planning permission for stables.