Property market

and water meadows, with further accommodation available in the nearby four-bedroom Stable Cottage.

Mark Merison of Merison Sporting in Devizes (07720 078253), which has access to some of the finest salmon and trout fishing in the UK, is overseeing the sale of his late parents’ house, where he has been closely involved with the fishing operation run for the past 31 years by river-keeper Chris de Cani, a local legend. The Bransbury beat enjoys a substantial stock of wild brown trout with no restocking needed, thanks to judicious and sensible over-winter feeding. There is also a small pond with four hides for flighting duck, predominantly mallard, but also gadwall and teal.

The adjoining meadows have been sympathetically managed to maximise biodiversity and are a riot of colour from native wildflowers from spring through to autumn. More than 40 different species of tree provide spectacular colour in both the woodland and meadows, which are a haven for a rich variety of wildlife.

Enthusiastic sailors will be whizzing down the motorways to Lymington in Hampshire, where Toby Turnage of Knight Frank (01590 630591) and Lindsay Cuthill of Blue Book (07967 555545) quote a guide price of £8m for the beautifully restored St Leonard’s Grange, which stands in almost 11 acres of immaculate gardens and grounds on the banks of the Beaulieu River, 3¾ miles southeast of Beaulieu.

Above: Historic St Leonard’s Grange stands in 11 acres of immaculate gardens and grounds near Beaulieu in Hampshire.

£8m. Right: An impressive backdrop to the property is formed by the Grade I-listed ruin of a 13thcentury chapel

The Grange was historically part of a network of outlying farms created to help support the monks of the Cistercian Beaulieu Abbey, founded by King John in 1204 and demolished by Henry VIII’s men at the Dissolution in 1537. All that can now be seen of the original St Leonard’s Grange is the romantic, Grade I-listed ruin of the 13th-century chapel that forms an impressive backdrop to the Grade II-listed main house, which dates from about 1700 and incorporates the remains of the medieval grange and its 16th-century successor, which was remodelled in the 19th century. The house was built during the reconstruction of 1900 of part ashlar stone and mellow red brick from the kilns in Beaulieu, with all the windows at the front having a sunny morning aspect with delightful views looking down to the Beaulieu River, where the current owners can see their yacht on her mooring. The house is a superbly comfortable family home, offering more than 6,000sq ft of accommodation on three floors, including five good reception rooms, a splendid family kitchen with exposed timbers (probably brought up from the Beaulieu shipyards), a spacious master suite, five further bedrooms and five bathrooms.

The price of buying in a conservation area, such as Bath, continues to rise