Waterside holiday homes: demand soars in UK staycation hotspots such as Cornwall, the Cotwolds and New Forest
More of us than ever are staying in the UK for our holidays and while Covid is certainly a factor, this trend began long ago.
The sheer beauty and variety on offer at home is impossible to ignore and while the weather might not always be perfect, demand for UK second homes has soared post-lockdown.
Here are three options for anyone who likes messing about on the water.
Homes for sale near the Cotswolds lakes
Ninety minutes from London, Cotswolds Water Park has 170-plus lakes in a 40-mile radius.
Watermark is a 520-acre residential estate south of Cirencester, with 360 homes and six lakes offering water-skiing, wake and paddle boarding, sailing, cable-skiing and fishing.
Resale property starts from £250,000 for a small three-bedroom terrace house of about 900sq ft. New lakefront homes are priced up to £1.7 million.
“The location, the facilities and the security on offer are what bring our buyers here,” says Mark Brown of Watermark. “We have always been popular with second home buyers from London for the escapism we offer and as people’s lifestyle is changing our buyers are increasingly spending more time here.”
Lockdown has increased demand significantly.
“It has been phenomenal,” says Brown. “Since lockdown lifted we have sold 10 off-plan homes and have no resale homes currently available at all.”
An off-plan three- or four-bedroom detached house of 2,000sq ft with gardens costs £650,000 with no stamp duty payable.
Surfing on the North Cornish Coast
More of us are getting on a surf board every year, says Sport England.
While we might not have the swell to rival Hawaii, the north coast of Cornwall, and Newquay in particular, has a regular crowd of wetsuit warriors carrying their boards out into the Atlantic.
Two off-plan schemes in Newquay by Stephens & Stephens are for sale. Overlooking Fistral Beach, five contemporary four-bedroom townhouses, over three floors and ready next spring, are £735,000.
Nearby Cliff Edge has 39 one-, two- and three-bedroom open-plan apartments claiming a “Mykonos meets Ibiza” design, with underground parking and overlooking Tolcarne Beach.
Prices start from £195,000.
Sail Away to New Forest
Historic Lymington in the New Forest district, all cobblestone alleys and bustle, is on the coast between Bournemouth and Southampton.
From the pretty harbourside of this Hampshire port town you can watch as ferries cross to the Isle of Wight.
London is just over two hours away with the final part of your drive through the forest itself, with its wild horses and seemingly endless woodland.
“Lymington is all about sailing,” says Andrew Grice, associate director of Spencers New Forest estate agents. “It has a pretty Georgian high street and regular Saturday market, and is excellently set up for sailing life with a deep-water harbour, two marinas and two sailing clubs.”
Top demand and top prices are south of Lymington High Street closest to the water, where residents can stroll to the marina and pubs. A three- or four-bedroom detached Victorian house there starts at £800,000 and prices rise rapidly.
“Recent sales include a two-bedroom semi-detached Victorian house of 968sq ft with garden for £550,000 and a beautiful modern waterfront home for £2.1 milion where you could push your dinghy into the water from your garden gate,” says Grice.