Country Life early property pages 28th June 2023

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The best countryside apps

Living in the villa: what the Romans did for us

Beefy beetles and where to buy in Europe

Pedestal Desk in Crotch Sycamore

Another beautifully madedeskfromcrotchsycamoreveneers broken up with adetailed black line. The desk has 4lockable drawers, 8intotal, fine rope carvingand half columnseither side of the kneehole with aveneered modesty panel.

£6,355

£3,180

Width: 152.5cm |Height:76.2cm |Depth:76.2cm NATIONWIDEHOMEAPPROVAL SERVICE | BESPOKE COMMISSIONSUNDERTAKEN OVER 1,000 ITEMS OF EXCLUSIVE CLASSICAL FURNISHINGS IN STOCK

Over 200 clearance items available at www.brightsofnettlebed.co.uk

Sapperton, Gloucestershire

4bedrooms |4bathrooms |4reception rooms |2bedroom cottage |Home office/studio |Car port with electric charging points Approximately 1acre |Freehold |EPC F|Council Taxband G

Asensational andbeautifully presentedcountry home with secondaryaccommodation in an enviable Cotswold village

Kemble 5.5 miles(London Paddington from 73 minutes) |Cirencester 6miles| Tetbury9 miles

Guide price £3,800,000

Knight Frank London &Cirencester peter.edwards@knightfrank.com

020 4502 8544

knightfrank.co.uk

Winners of the Best Customer Focus Award in 2023

rupert.sturgis@knightfrank.com 01285 895776

NASH, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

Price: £1,950,000

5 Bedrooms | 3 Reception Rooms | 4 Bathrooms | E EPC

A Georgian farmhouse with a detached converted barn and outbuildings in two acres with countryside views. The property has been sympathetically refurbished throughout and offers 3000 sq. ft. of contemporary living space over three floors. Two of the reception rooms have doors to the landscaped gardens which wrap around the property and include terraces, an orchard, and a natural pond.

Michael Graham Stony Stratford

Stuart Headland 01908 307300

Michael Graham London

Richard Banks 0208 092 1888

michaelgraham.co.uk

michaelgraham_living

23

Appin, Argyll and Bute

8bedrooms |7bathrooms |3reception rooms |Doublegarage |Wood store|Stone bothy|Steading |Formal gardens

4acre paddock |Far-reaching views overLochCreran| Approximately 11.46acres |EPC D|Freehold |Council Taxband H

An attractive lodge with stunning sceneryset at the head of Loch Creran.

Port Appin 8miles |Oban17miles|Glasgow104 miles

Offers over £1,600,000

Knight Frank Edinburgh

tom.stewart-moore@knightfrank.com

knightfrank.co.uk

Winners of the Best Customer Focus Award in 2023

0131 516 6328 Your partners

Remarkable London equestrian estate

Mill Hill, London NW7

Mill Hill EastTube Station (Northern Line): 2.2 miles, Mayfair: 9miles

Countryliving in London -Arareresidential andequestrian estate uniquelysituatedwithin aLondon postcode.Unlistedperiod mansion house, 5receptionsrooms, 7bedrooms, 5bathrooms, pool house with indoor swimming pool, tennis court,1 bedroom staff flat, lodge cottages, garage with flatabove,garages, ponds, formal gardens, 14 stables, crosscountry course,6-furlong gallop,polofield, all-weatherarena boarded forpolo and pasturepaddocks. Freehold |CouncilTax Band =F-H |EPC =D-E

About 103acres| Offers in excess of £20 million

Discover more

Savills National Farms &Estates 02045872573 louisa.batterbury@savills.com

Savills St Johns Wood 02045872223 slindsay@savills.com

Savills London Country Department 02045872443 cholborow@savills.com

Stephen Lindsay

Crispin Holborow

Louisa Batterbury

Surrey,Chiddingfold

GuidePrice £3,500,000

Afine period countryhouse with separate cottage setinahighlydesirable location with

spectacular views

Haslemere: 5.5 miles, Godalming: 6.7miles, Guildford: 12 miles

Hall |Drawing room |Dining room |Study|Kitchen/breakfastroom|Family room |Utilityroom|Principal bedroom 4Further bedrooms |2Family bathrooms |Separate2-bedroom cottage |Outbuildings |Glasshouse |Tennis court Gardens and grounds |Paddock

About 7.41 acres

TomShuttleworth

Country Department 02075912213

thomas.shuttleworth@struttandparker.com

JenetteSoulsby

HaslemereOffice 01428661 077

jenette.soulsby@struttandparker.com

Eythorne: 1.4miles, Dover: 6.2miles, Canterbury:13.9 miles, Central London: 74 miles

Grade II listed6-bedroom farmhouse with supporting buildings providing additional accommodation |Walled garden and former village hall with greatpotential |All set in wonderful parkland setting |Astunning former Kennel complexwith wonderful indoor riding school offering superb scope fordevelopment (some with planning permission) |Portfolio of 17 residential properties providing aconsiderable income Matureparkland and woodland |127 acres (51ha) of arable land

About 352.48acres (142.64 ha) in total |For saleasawhole or in elevenlots

Will Banham

South EastEstates &Farm Agency

07818 237049

will.banham@struttandparker.com

/struttandparker@struttandparker

Liza Howden

National Estates& Farm Agency 02075912214

liza.howden@struttandparker.com

Imposing palladian stylemansion

South Weald, Essex

UpminsterStation: 4.8 miles (London Fenchurch Street from 22 minutes)

An elegant and classically-styled country house dating from the early19thcentury andsituatedtothe southofthe delightful village of South Weald 4receptionrooms, 5ensuitebedrooms, indoor lowergroundswimming poolcomplexwithshowerroom,steam room andjacuzzi/hot tub, detached 2bedroom cottage,detached coachhouse with stables andgroomsflat,equestrian facilities including stableblock, coveredyard, tack room, ménage,storesand landscaped formal gardens. Freehold |CouncilTax Band =H| EPC=D-G

About 26 acres| Guide £7 million

Discover more

TimPhillips

Savills London Country Department 0204586 6316 tmphillips@savills.com

Stephen White

Savills Chelmsford 01245960 220 swhite@savills.com

Adjoining Queenwood Golf Course

Ottershaw, Surrey

FairoaksPrivateAirport: 1.1miles, Central London: 28.3 miles

Queenwood House is oneofthe most important andimpressivemanor houses in North Surrey,overlooking theseventhand eighth fairways of one of themosthighly regardedGolfCoursesinEurope.6 reception rooms, 6bedrooms(2ensuite)2family bathrooms, gym, cinemaroom, tennis court, outdoorswimming pool, private driveway,4 garages, adjoining 3bedroom cottage and landscapedand level gardens.

Freehold |Council TaxBand =H| EPC =F

About 15.74 acres | Guide£6.95 million

Discover more

Savills London Country Department 07807999 872 tkearney@savills.com

Savills Weybridge 07870999 142 sashwell@savills.com

Trevor Kearney

Simon Ashwell

Idyllic Marlborough Downs

Uffcott, Wiltshire Swindon Station: 6miles, Marlborough: 9miles AnthonyCoaker Savills

Beautifullysituatedcountry house with landand stabling, locatedonthe edge of an unspoilt hamlet 3reception rooms, 5bedrooms,5bathrooms, study,orangery,separate cottage, outbuildings, stabling, garaging,maturegarden and paddocks. Freehold |CouncilTax Band =G| EPC =E

About 6.5acres | Guide £2.5million

Atantalising prospect

Wighton, Norfolk

Wells-next-the-Sea: 3miles, Burnham Market: 7miles Ben Rivett

Gloriously positionedfarmhouse overlookingthe Stiffkey Valley,withanexceptionalrange of traditional outbuildings,all within minutes ofthe NorthNorfolk coastline. 3receptionrooms, 5bedrooms, 3bathrooms, self-contained annexe,detached cottage, significant range of barns, hard tennis court, frontage to the River Stiffkey,formal and informalgardens. Available as awhole or 4lots.Freehold |CouncilTax Band =G

About 6acres | Guide £3 million

Savills Norwich

01603385 504

brivett@savills.com

HOLYWELL BAY, NORTHCORNWALL

St Agnes 9miles• Cornwall AirportNewquay 11 miles• Mawgan Porth12miles– alldistancesapproximate

Setonthe headland at LiggerPoint in an outstandingposition between Holywell Beach andPerranSands; ameticulously renovateddetached5bedroomed GradeIIListedformerMineCaptain’s houseand 1bedroomed annexe.

Entrance hall,sittingroom, kitchen/breakfast room,diningroom, utilityroom, laundryroom. FirstFloor: 4bedrooms, family bath/showerroom.

SecondFloor: principal bedroom, shower room/wc. Annexe: living room/kitchen, double bedroom, en-suite shower room/wc.

Outside: coastal gardensand grounds approaching1.6 acreswithprivate gatedaccesslinking to thecoast path andbeaches.

Freehold Sole Agent Offersaround £2,250,000

FULMER, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

GUIDEPRICE £5,500,000 FREEHOLD

[5 bedrooms] [5 receptions] [5 bathrooms] [2 bedroom detached cottage]

An imposing countryestaterecentlyconstructed (along with thecottage)using green oakand an energysaving design that is setinprivatelevel groundsofover8.5 acres.The propertyis only 22 milesfromcentral London and6miles from theM25.Tax band Hand A. EPCA

01753307677GERRARDSX@HAMPTONS.CO.UK

JOINTAGENTS WITH STRUTT&PARKER

CLAPHAM,

WEST SUSSEX

GUIDEPRICE £5,750,000 FREEHOLD

[5 bedrooms] [4 bathrooms] [4 reception rooms] [Luxury detachedbuilding][Approximately3acres]

Auniqueand exceptional architecturallydesigned masterpiecelocated within theenviableSouth DownsNationalParkand setingardens beautifullydesignedby award-winning Chelsealandscape architects. Finishedtoanexactingstandardand approaching 9000 sq ft including abeautiful independentbuildingand staff/guest apartmentoverthe triplegarage.Council TaxBandH.EPC:B

01242801868CHICHESTER@HAMPTONS.CO.UK

SOULDERN,OXFORDSHIRE GUIDEPRICE £1,900,000 FREEHOLD

[5 bedrooms] [3 reception rooms][2bathrooms] [Outbuildings][Grass Tennis Court]

Abeautifulcountry housewithstunninggardens,set in aprivateposition. Theproperty benefitsfromagrass tennis courtand outbuildings. Ideallylocated forthe Cotswolds, London andBirminghamvia road (Jct 10 M40) andrail. TaxBandG.EPC tbc

01869866925DEDDINGTON@HAMPTONS.CO.UK

WOOTTON, BEDFORDSHIRE £1,750,000 FREEHOLD

[4 bedrooms] [3 receptionrooms][5.5acres]

Occupyingalovely semi-rural position in aprivateand quietlocationclosetoamenities,Tithe Farm is abeautifully presentedfamilyhomeof5020squarefeet, datingback to the17th/18th century. EPCexempt. TaxBandG Hamptons Harpenden 01582803990

WHEATHAMPSTEAD,HERTFORDSHIRE GUIDEPRICE £2,500,000 FREEHOLD

[5 bedrooms][3reception rooms] [5.29acres]

An imposing Grade II listed Victorian Residence offeringspacious well-proportioned accommodation setin5.29 acres witha detached cottage or office suite, adjoiningstoreroom andviewsoverthe LeaValley.Tax Band G HamptonsHarpenden 01582803990

MARKYATE, HERTFORDSHIRE GUIDEPRICE £2,500,000 FREEHOLD

[6 bedrooms][5bathrooms] [5 receptionrooms]

Alovelycountryproperty with partsdatingback to 16th andearly17thcentury,set within 1.6aresoflandscaped grounds, with aself-contained annexe,garaging, large terraceand Koipond.EPC exempt.Tax Band G Hamptons Harpenden 01582803990

WARGRAVE,BERKSHIRE £4,500,000 FREEHOLD

[5 bedrooms] [3 bathrooms] [4 receptionrooms]

Acontemporary, beautifullyappointedhomewithfive bedrooms, situated in an idyllicsetting on thebanks of the RiverLoddon,close to theWargraveand Shiplake reachesofthe RiverThames.Council TaxBand: H. EPC: C Hamptons Henley:01491 818587

PRINCESRISBOROUGH, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE GUIDEPRICE £1,850,000 FREEHOLD

[5 bedrooms] [2 bathrooms] [3 receptionrooms]

An impressiveperiodfamily home with asense of history andset in adiscreetlocationwithcountrysideviews and 1.35 acresthatincludeslandscaped gardens, an orchardand outbuildings. TaxBandG.EPC F Hamptons Great Missenden 01494 857812

WARGRAVE,BERKSHIRE £3,500,000 FREEHOLD

[6 bedrooms][2bathrooms] [2.21acres]

Amodernised homethatenjoysa stunningsecludedpositiononthe banks of theRiver Loddon with an integrated annexe,surround terrace, maturegrounds andriverside views. TaxBandG.EPC E Hamptons Henley 01491818587

HANG HILL,HERTFORDSHIRE

£1,950,000 FREEHOLD

[4-5 bedrooms] [4 bathrooms] [5 receptions] [DetachedAnnexe-large partyroom,2double bedrooms, 2bathrooms]

An attractive family home with adetachedannexe in atruly stunninglocationclosetoTring.Locateddown anothrough countrylanewithfar reaching countrysideviews. CouncilTax G. EPCExempt.

Hamptons Great Missenden 01494 857812

RUSCOMBE,BERKSHIRE GUIDEPRICE £2,350,000 FREEHOLD

[5 bedrooms][2bathrooms] [4 receptionrooms]

Ahandsome detachedresidence surrounded by mature groundsconvenientlylocatedfor theElizabeth line with farreachingviews andover3600sqftofaccommodationoverthree floors.Tax Band H. EPCF

Hamptons Maidenhead 01628 873618

Thelux�y homet�r seri�

INSIDE ALUXURY £2.75 MILLION COUNTRYSIDE BARN

Salters Barn is anexceptional home with aluxury contemporary design, sat within the prestigious, private Wardens Hall Estate.

Boasting 3acres of gardens and grounds in abeautiful,unspoilt countryside setting, this is theideal sanctuary for lovers of the great outdoors.

The stunning property offers 5,000 sq. ft. of unique living space including asubstantial split-level reception space, five bedrooms, alarge, gravelled courtyard, abespoke kitchen, wine cellar, garage and ahome gym.

guide price £2,750,000

Contact: 01245 979777

EPC: E| Tenure: Freehold | Council Tax: G

Watch�e t�r

Head Office

119-121 Park Lane, Mayfair,London W1K 7AG

Tel: +44 20 7079 1515

parklane@fineandcountry.com

fineandcountry com

Hasfield, Gloucestershire

6bedrooms |4bathrooms |3reception rooms |Garden|Tennis court|Formerstables,workshops &stores

Approximately 1.75 acres|EPC E|Freehold| Council Taxband G

An imposing Victorian home occupying an enviable and tranquil position within the Hasfield Estate,overlooking the Severn Vale and with views towards Cheltenham and the Cotswolds.

Hartpuryvillage 2miles|Ashleworth village 2miles |Gloucester train station 7miles(London Paddington from 120 minutes)

Guide price £2,000,000

Knight Frank Cheltenham

tom.banwell@knightfrank.com

01242 806824

knightfrank.co.uk

Winners of the Best Customer Focus Award in 2023

23

Santon, Isle of Man

4bedrooms |4bathrooms |5reception rooms |2bedroom guest cottage |Equestrian arena |Paddocks |Tennis court

Approximately 19 acres |Freehold

Ballarioghyn is afabulous modern interpretation of aGeorgian style mansion house built in 1992, enjoying spectacular distant southerly sea views

Convenientlylocatedfor good access to Douglas Airport, King William's College &Buchan schools

Offers in excess of £7,000,000

Knight Frank London Chrystals

james.crawford@knightfrank.com

020 3930 2523

knightfrank.co.uk

Winners of the Best Customer Focus Award in 2023

shane@chrystals.co.im 01624623778

REF :P OD012287 181

23

Donnington, Berkshire

5bedrooms |3bathrooms |4reception rooms |2bedroom cottage |Integralgarage |Various stores

Gatedaccesswith private drive &parking |Gardens |River frontage |Approximately 0.91 acre |Freehold |Council Taxband G

Abeautifully presentedand private Grade II listedproperty with wonderful gardens and river frontage to the River Lambourn,within walking distanceofNewbury.

Newbury1 mile (London Paddington from 45 minutes) |Hungerford 9miles

Offers in excess of £2,500,000

Knight Frank Hungerford

mark.potter@knightfrank.com

01488 758437

knightfrank.co.uk

Winners of the Best Customer Focus Award in 2023

REF :H NG070027

Your partners in property

23

Turriff, Aberdeenshire

5bedrooms |3bathrooms |4reception rooms |Steading &farm building |45acrespasture |4 acres roughgrazing 114acresmixed woodland |420m salmon fishing |Deerstalking |Approximately 174.35acres| EPC E|Freehold|Council Taxband F An amenity estate with salmonfishing and forestry in the heart of Aberdeenshire with woodland creation potential.

Turriff 5miles| Huntly 14 miles|Aberdeen Airport 33 miles

Offers over £1,200,000

REF :E DN012284344

knightfrank.co.uk

Winners of the Best Customer Focus Award in 2023

Knight Frank Edinburgh tom.stewart-moore@knightfrank.com 0131 516 6328 Your partners in

23

Craigesk,Midlothian

6bedrooms |4bathrooms |4reception rooms |Detachedlodge cottage |Parking for 5cars |Cellars |Tennis court|Outbuildings

Garden &terraces| Approximately 1.8acres |EPC G|Freehold |Council Taxband H

Asubstantial countryhouse with secondaryaccommodation in amature setting, within good reach of Edinburgh

Eskbank 1.4miles |Dalkeith 2miles|Edinburgh city centre 8miles

Offers in excess of £1,300,000

Knight Frank Edinburgh

edward.douglas-home@knightfrank.com

0131 516 6328

knightfrank.co.uk

Winners of the Best Customer Focus Award in 2023

REF :E DN012293339

REF :T NW012125958

Matfield, Kent

5-6 bedrooms |2-3 bathrooms |4-7 reception rooms |1bedroom annexe |Convertedbarn |Swimming pool| Ponds |Garaging Paddock |Approximately 14.48acres|Freehold |Council Taxband G

This wonderful Grade II listedfamily house offers well-proportionedand impressive family accommodation with fantastic views

Matfield 1.4miles |Brenchley 2.6miles

Guide price £2,245,000

Knight Frank TunbridgeWells simon.biddulph@knightfrank.com

01892 888494

knightfrank.co.uk

Winners of the Best Customer Focus Award in 2023

Your partners in property

Penny Churchill

Trailing clouds of glory Property market

The romantic appeal of the past hums through three historic country houses

ATMOSPHERIC stone ruins scattered around the English countryside bear witness to the lost wealth and power of England’s medieval monasteries, yet lovers of all things ancient remain fascinated by houses built after the Dissolution using precious stone retrieved from former monastic buildings. Three historic country houses currently on the market highlight that enduring appeal.

linked by ‘a raised, covered passage from the church to the edge of the churchyard’. The church was rebuilt in medieval times before being replaced in 1861 with a new, 14th-century-style building, using stone from the old church.

Towards the end of the medieval period, the Stroud valleys became famous as a centre of the woollen cloth industry following the arrival of Walloons from Flanders and, later, Huguenots from France, including the Paul family, who owned Woodchester Mill and lived at The Old Priory, among other places. According to parish records, the former priory was rebuilt in 1512, although its Historic England listing describes it as ‘a large country house, built circa 1580 on the site of an earlier Norman manor house, with extensive alterations in the 18th century, c. 1830 and c. 1870’.

Above and right: The Old Priory in North Woodchester, Gloucestershire, is Grade I listed, with medieval monastic origins

For sale through Ed Sugden of Savills country department (020–7016 3780) and Lindsay Cuthill’s Blue Book Agency (07967 555545) at a guide price of £7.85 million, Grade I-listed The Old Priory stands in 85 acres of glorious gardens and grounds on the edge of the south Cotswold village of North Woodchester, between the popular market towns of Nailsworth and Stroud.

Little remains of the original priory that, according to the Victoria County History, stood on the north side of the 12th-century parish church of St Mary, to which it was

Known as the Manor until the late 18th century, the house was originally built on two storeys with an attic. The upper floor became the piano nobile in the 18th century, to which was added a 19th-century tower on the north side of the original H-Plan. It has much late-16th-century panelling on both main floors. The entrance hall was remodelled in about 1830 and a gallery added on the south side with a timber balustrade. Some Victorian work was later removed, restoring the interior to its present lateRegency Gothic appearance.

Long before the Normans came, the Romans occupied this part of Gloucestershire between the early 2nd and late 4th centuries. In 1793, the Gloucestershire-born antiquarian Samuel Lysons rediscovered a Roman villa dating from AD 325 on the site of the churchyard and former priory. Its most famous feature was a vast mosaic depicting Orpheus charming all forms of life with his lyre. Although the villa is no longer visible above ground, some Roman bricks can be seen in the old church, with stone Roman culverts in the wall around The Old Priory grounds.

The present house, which retains its historic H-plan layout, has been beautifully restored by the current owners during their 20-year tenure. It offers some 9,550sq ft of well-planned accommodation, including an impressive vaulted entrance hall, a large family kitchen and various domestic offices on the ground floor, with three fine reception rooms, a library and a study on the raised piano nobile. A wing of the first floor houses

A Roman-inspired infinity pool in The Old Priory’s 85 acres of glorious grounds. £7.85m

The Old Priory’s magical gardens have been restored and reimagined

a spacious principal bedroom suite and a further en-suite bedroom, with access to a ‘secret’ Victorian tower room on the second floor. The opposite wing houses three further bedrooms and bathrooms.

Further living space is available in the restored, three-bedroom Stable Cottage (very popular as an Airbnb) and a range of period

outbuildings could be adapted for residential use, subject to planning consent. The pretty, two-bedroom Priory Lodge, currently let, is available by separate negotiation.

The Old Priory’s magical gardens and grounds have been restored and reimagined by the present owners and a plantsman’s sure touch is evident throughout. Enchantment

abounds around the lake, the Victorian spring water garden, the kitchen garden, orchard, woodland walks, formal lawns, immaculate herbaceous borders and the pièce de résistance, the spectacular and secluded Romanstyle infinity pool—a gracious nod to The Old Priory’s ancient heritage.

Camilla Elwell of Savills country department (020–7016 3718) is overseeing the sale, at a guide price of £4.25m, of one of Wiltshire’s most delightful historic manor houses, the Grade II*-listed Baverstock Manor, which sits in 18 acres of gardens, grounds and paddocks in the tiny hamlet of Baverstock, a mile east of the village of Dinton and seven miles west of Salisbury, within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB.

Local records reveal that, in 968, King Edgar of Mercia donated 300 acres of land at Baverstock to nearby Wilton Abbey. The original house at Baverstock was built in the 1500s by the Abbess of Wilton as a retreat house, which later became the Manor. It stands on the site of the medieval Mary’s Well, a holy well reputed to cure diseases of the eye that attracted many pilgrims to Baverstock. The well was fed by three

Property market

springs, two under the house and one across the lane, which overflowed into the winterbourne east of the house and thence to the River Nadder, as they do to this day.

According to its listing, the picturesque Tudor house, built mainly of dressed sandstone under a tiled roof, was significantly enlarged in the 17th century, when it passed to the Penruddocke family of Compton Chamberlayne, and was restored by Mrs Benett-Stanford of nearby Pythouse in the 1930s. It retains a wealth of period features, including stone mullioned windows and handsome stone fireplaces.

Owned by the same family for the past 80-odd years, and now in need of updating, Baverstock Manor offers some 6,000sq ft of accommodation on two main floors, including an entrance hall, four reception rooms, a study, studio, flower room and kitchen/ breakfast room on the ground floor, with a large principal bedroom suite, eight further bedrooms and three bathrooms on the first floor. Included in the sale are a pretty, threebedroom stone cottage, stone outbuildings, a stable yard and barn and amenities including a swimming pool and tennis court.

Over in north Kent, there’s no denying the monastic credentials of Grade II*-listed Boxley Abbey in the Kent Downs AONB near Maidstone, a medieval abbey precinct of more than 21 acres that surrounds the present Boxley Abbey House with a mile-long medieval wall.

According to its listing, the house incorporates part of the west range of the once-great

is one of Wiltshire’s most historic manor houses. £4.25m

Cistercian monastery, founded in 1146 and dissolved in 1538. In recent years, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) and Historic England have done much to help preserve this important site, notably the magnificent, Grade I-listed 12th-/14th-century barn, originally the abbey hospitium or guest house, which was restored and re-roofed in 2012.

After the Dissolution, the property passed to the politician and poet Sir Thomas Wyatt, who built a large Tudor house among the abbey ruins. That house was much reduced in size in about 1820, when it acquired its present Queen Anne appearance; the south wing was added about 100 years ago, when extensive, mostly walled gardens were established

in the ruins of the abbey cloisters and buildings. Since 1890, Boxley Abbey has been owned by the Best-Shaw family, who lived elsewhere on the estate before moving to the present house after the Second World War.

Currently for sale through the Canterbury office of Strutt & Parker (01227 473700) at a guide price of £2.25m, Boxley Abbey House, which now needs renovation, provides 5,107sq ft of pleasant family livingspace in the main house, including four reception rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room, seven bedrooms and three bathrooms, with further accommodation in the three-bedroom south wing and the two-bedroom Boxley Abbey Cottage.

Above and below: Baverstock Manor, set in 18 acres near Salisbury,

Powys, £1.7 million

They say an Englishman’s home is his castle, but prospective buyers of Bronllys Castle in Bronllys, near Brecon, can go one further. The property, as well as containing a main house (currently set up as two apartments), a two-bedroom cottage, a two-bedroom coach house and a two-bedroom converted barn, also comes with an ancient motte-and-bailey castle. The gardens and grounds extend to some 13 acres and the Georgian main house is listed Grade II*. The castle is located strategically (should you wish to repel any unwanted visitors), near the crossing of the Llynfi River, and is a Cadw Scheduled Ancient Monument, being deemed one of the best-preserved 13th-century stone towers typical of the Welsh Marches. The land and houses provide ample living space, as well as potential for holiday-let revenue. Knight Frank (01905 746884)

James Fisher

Gwynedd, £800,000

Having been in the same family for the past 50 years, Gilrhos is a traditional stone Welsh farmhouse situated in nine acres of gardens and woodland in a sublime private location. Recently, the property has been the subject of an extensive refurbishment and modernisation project, which has brought this period home howling into the 21st century, as well as retaining plenty of its rustic charm. The three-bedroom house boasts hot-and-cold running everything, with a highlight being the charming farmhouse-style kitchen. A larch-clad extension to the side adds a distinctive appeal, as well as more space. Gilrhos is near Lake Bala on the eastern side of the Snowdonia National Park and it is highly unlikely that the views will ever get old. If that wasn’t enough, the house has been heavily insulated, fitted with LED lights throughout and benefits from an air-source heat pump, meaning that it is as sustainable as can be. Strutt & Parker (07919 128326)

The western nation

Wales is a jewel in the crown of the United Kingdom. These five properties take full advantage

Powys, £1.45 million

At the end of a sweeping rhododendron-lined driveway, near Newbridge-on-Wye, you will find the imposing manor house that is Brynwern Hall. With 16 acres of gardens and pastureland, the property also benefits from some 5,300sq ft of living space over two floors, which translates to six bedrooms and plenty of room for entertaining. It was built in 1886 to designs from architect Clifton Rees Mogg. The reception rooms on the ground floor, particularly, benefit from large windows, high ceilings and tremendous amounts of natural light. The gardens and grounds are extensive, with lots of lawned areas, woodland and pasture, and the River Wye is less than half a mile away. The Brecon Beacons and Eppynt Mountains are within an hour’s drive. Savills (01952 239500)

Powys, £1.75 million

With almost 25 acres of gardens and grounds on the edge of the Welsh Marches with views over the Shropshire plains, Melyniog Hall is a delightful Grade II-listed Georgian country home on the outskirts of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain that has been occupied by the same family since 1939. The main house offers four floors (including a cellar) and seven bedrooms, with plenty of reception rooms on the ground floor, making this a great place for entertaining. The grounds also boast a two-bedroom cottage and a wealth of outbuildings, ripe for development and conversion with the necessary consents. The gardens consist of lawned areas, paved areas for entertaining, herbaceous borders and shrubs and an arboretum planted to attract butterflies and birdlife. Two orchards produce a variety of fruits, too. Knight Frank (01743 664204)

Pembrokeshire, £1.75 million

Occupying a south-facing position high above the banks of the Western Cleddau river near Haverfordwest, Boulston Manor is a sublime, seven-bedroom home laced with character and charm. The property, which boasts some 47 acres of land, was specifically designed to take in the sweeping views of the river and surrounding countryside. Inside, the house is beautifully presented, with the ground-floor reception rooms being a real highlight. Outside, Boulston Manor benefits from 27 acres of parkland, with a further 20 acres of woodland, meaning that space is not an issue. Furthermore, outbuildings include a detached threebedroom cottage (currently let), an unconverted school house and a wedding barn. Country Living Group (01437 616101)

International

THE STYLE OF SLIM AARONS

Second-home destinations for a jet-set life

Jewels of rural Umbria

Is Portugal Europe’s best-kept foodie secret?

PAGE 134

The architect of Lanzarote

PAGE 124

Exquisitegolf front residence

Quinta do Lago,Portugal

Faro International Airport: 10.56 miles

Stunning villa at the forefront of contemporary architectureisa‘onceinalifetimehome’and investment.3reception rooms, Italian Archlinea kitchen,6/7 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms,dressing room, library, homeoffice, breakfast area with morning terrace, lift, wine room, homecinema, outside bar, art studio, heated saltwater swimming pool, gym,saunaand steamroom, staff accommodation, 5car garage,terraces, seaviews and gardens. Direct privateaccesstothe Quinta do Lago South course.Freehold

About 1.5 acres| Guide €24.5 million

Magnificent 1930s villa

LakeMaggiore, Italy

Milan Malpensa Airport: 42 miles

Stunning lake-facing propertywith agatehouse, guesthouse and pool in an impressive, beautifullyplanted park. 6reception rooms, 8bedrooms (4 en suite),4further bathrooms, billiards room,vaulted cellar,spa area, gym, swimming pool, gatehouse, garden and grounds. Freehold

About 2.1acres | Guide€6.9 million

NEAR TODI,UMBRIA, ITALY

€1,750,000 FREEHOLD

Renovated5,920 sq ft fivebedroom hillside villaset in nearly 5acres with panoramicviews,olive grove, portico, pergolas, pool,office&cinema room.Ref JKIL

+44(0)20 39189635 international@hamptons.co.uk

ROYALWESTMORELAND, ST JAMES, BARBADOS

US$2,900,000 FREEHOLD

Luxurious6,000 sq ft fivebedroom villawithannexe,sea views, privateterraces, outdoordining, wetbar &private pool within an exclusiveresortresidence. Ref 3061

+44(0)20 39189635 international@hamptons.co.uk

PORT DE POLLENSA,MALLORCA, BALEARIC ISLANDS, SPAIN

€940,000 FREEHOLD

Frontline1,216 sq ft threebedroom apartment, close to marina &amenities,withprivate86sqftterrace looking outoverthe Bay. Sold part furnished. RefA2207

+44(0)20 39189635 international@hamptons.co.uk

MOUGINS, COTE D’AZUR, FRANCE

€2,850,000 FREEHOLD

Elegant,2,906 sq ft authenticbastide-style home with six bedroomsincludesanindependentapartment &poolin privatesetting nearRoyalGolfdeMougins. Ref3620

+44(0)20 39189635 international@hamptons.co.uk

The best master of Italy

As we celebrate the quincentenary of Perugino, the artist who set the stage for the Renaissance, Mary Miers explores the beauty of the region in which he lived and worked

IN the Umbrian capital of Perugia, smart-suited accountants emerge from Gothic doorways. Young executives drop by Madonna della Luce for a lunchtime prayer. A design studio occupies a vaulted undercroft, Max Mara a Renaissance palazzo The captivating fusion of ancient and modern is what makes Umbria, and Perugia in particular, such an attractive place to live. Yes, Monte Castello di Vibio may feel a little over-neat, the shops in Assisi too touristy (although pilgrims have been buying St Francis souvenirs for 800 years), yet there’s nothing precious about the way life continues among

Above: The terraced Umbrian town of Assisi. Left: The Adoration of the Magi, 1504, by Pietro Vannucci or ‘Perugino’

the medieval fabric, nothing jarring about the escalators stitched into steep slopes alongside worn stone steps. The juxtaposition is encapsulated in Perugia’s Via dei Priori, which cuts down from one of the great Gothic town halls of Italy between towering medieval houses bridged by flying buttresses. Here, the independent butcher, grocer and electrical shop squeeze in between porticos, chapels and secret alleyways.

Built on a series of rocky spurs, Perugia is a city of layers spanning 2,000 years. Descend beneath the cathedral cloister into a labyrinth of ancient structures and walk along a subterranean road scored with Roman wheel ruts. Just when you think you’ve grasped the layout of the acropolis and its temple, medieval brickwork crashes into

Jewels of rural Umbria Assisi

Presided over by Rocca Maggiore, medieval Assisi was built over Asisium, terraced up a spur of Monte Subasio. The finest Roman survivals are the pedimented façade of the Temple of Minerva in Piazza del Comune (site of the forum) and a (now subterranean) house with exquisite bird frescos. Since 1250, the town’s principal focus has been the double-decker Basilica of St Francis, who was born here in 1182. His life inspired great painters—Cimabue, Giotto, Martini and Lorenzetti—to decorate the interiors with frescos of unrivalled significance to the story of Italian art. Assisi’s other great basilica is dedicated to Santa Chiara, friend and follower of St Francis and founder of the Poor Clares. Continuing the Franciscan theme is the Porziuncola Museum on the plain below, where the order was first based.

Città della Pieve

The setting of this unsung gem perched above the Chiana valley near Tuscany is straight from a painting by Perugino, who was born here in about 1450. Unusually built of brick since the 13th century, its peaceful streets invite wandering, with charming shops and cafés and views from the encircling walls. Perugino’s legacy includes the Duomo’s Madonna in Glory altarpiece and Baptism of Christ and the Oratorio di Santa Maria dei Bianchi’s The Adoration of the Magi, a fresco of 1504 preserved with two of his letters found in 1835. Hotel Vannucci is an elegant villa built by Vittorio Emanuele II’s daughter, who eloped here with her lover.

Gubbio

Heading north from Perugia through hills dotted with oakwoods and olive groves backed by the Monti Sibillini, Gubbio (above) comes into view as a series of gleaming terraces on Monte Ingino, surmounted by a fort and the hilltop basilica of Sant’ Ubaldo (accessible by cable car). The city where

St Francis tamed a wolf was founded as Iguvium in the 3rd century BC and preserves the astonishing bronze Iguvine tablets of the Umbri, unearthed in 1444. It later came under the rule of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, who was born here in 1422 and commissioned Martini’s Renaissance remodelling of the Palazzo Ducale, with its beautiful courtyard of grey pietra serena. The Festa Dei Ceri (with pagan origins) is held on May 15 (the eve of St Ubaldo’s feast day), its most famous spectacle the annual race to carry heavy wooden floats up Ingino.

Spoleto

Strategically sited on the Via Flaminia, Roman Spoleto survived an attack by Hannibal in 217BC and by 580 was established as an important duchy. The town’s attraction today is its air of faded grandeur, with steep cobbled streets lit by old-fashioned lamps leading to squares lined with peeling palazzi and proper, useful shops. The Duomo is one of the loveliest in Umbria, with eight filigree rose windows, a mosaic and two pulpits adorning its pink-and-white façade and an apse frescoed with the final masterpiece of Filippo Lippi (d. 1469). Founded in 1958, Spoleto’s world-famous music and opera Festival of the Two Worlds is held in late June.

Spello

Encircled by a mile of Augustan walls (still with intact towers), this picture-postcard town climbs uphill from the arched gateway of Roman Hispellum to the 1320 monastery at its summit. Running up its spine between narrow streets of pink-and-white stone houses bedecked with flowers is Via Cavour, flanked by notable civic and religious buildings and opening out into two charming piazzette. Santa Maria Maggiore, with its late frescos by Perugino, houses an exquisite cycle by his pupil/partner Pinturicchio, who also painted the splendid altarpiece in Sant’ Andrea up the road. More by the 13th–16th-century Umbrian School of painters is found in the Pinacoteca Civica.

Country Life International

an Etruscan wall, setting off in a different direction. (For outstanding remains from Antiquity, visit the Archaeological Museum in the cloister of San Domenico.) Later layers include the bulwark of the papal fort, Rocca Paolina, with medieval Via Baglioni, still a busy thoroughfare, subsumed within.

Created above it after the fort was destroyed is Piazza Italia, surrounded by grand buildings of the Risorgimento, and the Carducci gardens looking out to five hill towns and the distant Apennines. This is the view enjoyed by Sina Brufani (www.sinahotels.com/en), Perugia’s only five-star hotel, which was opened in 1884 by Giacomo Brufani, pioneer of Umbrian tourism. A favourite of the British, who stopped here en route to Rome, it’s still a bastion of old-world grandeur, albeit with a glass-bottomed pool.

Properties for sale

Spoleto, €5.5 million (about £4.77m)

This 12-bedroom former monastery dates back to the 5th century. Surrounded by an established Holm oak woodland, the property has been sympathetically restored and finished with local Umbrian resources and boasts hill views, an outdoor pool and a panoramic rooftop terrace.

Romolini, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate (00 390 57 578 8948; www.christiesrealestate.com)

True to its medieval spirit, Perugia is renowned for annual festivals, including one of the oldest in the country, Sagra Musicale Umbra (September) and the international Umbria Jazz (July). Home of the famous Perugina Baci, it also hosts Eurochocolate, the world’s largest chocolate pageant (October). But the big celebration this year is the quincentenary of the Umbrian Renaissance master Pietro Vannucci (1450–1523; www.peruginocinquecento.it).

‘Perugino’ absorbed the lessons of Piero della Francesca, trained in Verrocchio’s Florentine workshop alongside Leonardo, worked with dazzling success in the Sistine Chapel and taught Raphael. Known for blending figures and landscape in spiritual compositions harmonised by light and colour, he was the first to convey the essence of the Umbrian landscape in oil paints.

You’ll find his works in many of the region’s churches and in Perugia’s National Gallery of Umbria (https://gallerianazionale dellumbria.it), which has recently reopened after a major programme of improvements. The collection complements Perugino’s frescos in the audience chamber of the Collegio del Cambio, an outstanding Renaissance addition to the Palazzo dei Priori, where the gallery is based.

Perugia, €1.9 million (about £1.65m)

This beautifully restored 16th-century, five-bedroom farmhouse sits in five acres of land and offers panoramic views of the Umbrian countryside. Just over six miles from Perugia, the main residence is complemented by two one-bedroom cottages and a 46ft by 16ft swimming pool. Savills (020–7016 3740; www.savills.com)

Città di Castello, €995,000 (about £864,000)

Surrounded by lavender beds and a variety of roses and shrubs, including rosemary, sage and thyme, that create a Mediterranean atmosphere, this eight-bedroom property comprises two dwellings, a beautifully land-scaped and heated saltwater pool with sun terrace and just over an acre of land. Knight Frank (020–3967 7126; www.knightfrank.co.uk)

Perugino trained alongside Leonardo, worked with dazzling success in the Sistine Chapel and taught Raphael

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Idyllic Beachfront Villa, Cephalonia

Slim, rich and famous

EVEN if you’ve never stayed at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France, you’ve likely seen a photograph of it. One photograph in particular, taken in the height of summer in 1976. There’s a swimming pool in the foreground—blasted out of basalt rock—bronzed figures in various states of undress around it and a white, lowslung Art Deco building with rounded corners in the background. To the centre left, there’s a diving board jutting out above a Frenchnavy ocean.

The hotel still exists—one of the most famous in the world—as does the diving board. The pool, too, albeit much updated. The photographer is sadly no longer with us. He was known as Slim Aarons. Over the course of a six-decade career, he documented, in his own words, ‘attractive people who were doing attractive things in attractive places’.

Ironically, George ‘Slim’ Aarons, would not have described himself as a jet-set

photographer. Born in October 1916, on the east coast of the US, Aarons cut his professional teeth as a photojournalist in the Second World War, shooting for Stars and Stripes and Yank magazines. After the war, echoing many of his colleagues, he looked for work inside the burgeoning television and magazine industries.

‘It was an alumni association of sorts,’ says his daughter, Mary Aarons, who sometimes doubled as her father’s on-set assistant. ‘They depended on each other for referrals and LIFE magazine was huge. He shot a lot for them, which took him to Hollywood and Broadway, shooting celebrities and then that led to more.’

Aarons’s charm helped to propel him in the right direction. He made friends in high places, including fellow photographer Lord Snowdon and Princess Margaret, photographing the latter in Mustique. He also travelled extensively in Europe, portraying royal families and aristocrats, often in front of their family seats, as well as designers, celebrities and

movers and shakers, on cliff tops, beaches and boats. When Aarons was commissioned to photograph the House of Liechtenstein, he took his daughter with him. She recalls him refuting one of the royal woman’s attempts to put on a ballgown: ‘He said: “No, I want you to look natural.” He made me go to her bedroom with her and she undid her hair and we picked out a simple, block-print dress—he got a really nice picture.’ Not, it should be noted, without some hilarity. The family were, and still are, prolific art collectors with a particular penchant for Peter Paul Rubens. ‘They were moving their collection from one part of the castle to another,’ explains Ms Aarons, ‘so when we were shooting outside, all the Rubens were being walked past us!’

The pool at Eden-Roc, France, features in arguably one of Slim Aarons’s most recognisable images and one of photographer Stuart Cantor’s all-time favourites

One of the most famous photographers of the 20th century, Slim Aarons captured the post-war jet set, but his images belie a desire to document, says Rosie Paterson

Artist and actress Domiziana Giordano, author Francesca Sanvitale, Dino Trappetti and Umberto Terrelli tuck into a real feast in front of Capri’s iconic Faraglioni rocks. Aarons worked extensively on the Italian island, a magnet for the rich, titled and famous since Antiquity

Country Life International

There is an obvious dichotomy between how Aarons saw himself, and what he set out to do with his work, and how he and that same work is viewed today. ‘He was a journalist, a hardcore journalist, and he considered himself a journalist,’ says Ms Aarons. ‘His magazine spreads had big captions; the photographs told stories… they described the who and what and why.’ Nowadays, although still revered, perhaps even more so, his images—widely circulated on social media—have lost some of their context. They’ve been copied and shared and printed without their counterparts, without their captions—and thus, without their stories. To look at only one, when his entire archive totals millions (it was acquired in full by Mark Getty in the mid 1990s), is tantamount to a crime.

Antibes, €27 million (about £23m)

Set on the waterfront overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, this seven/eight bedroom villa enjoys an infinity pool, generous terraces, a private dock and a boat house. Built in 1912, the property’s list of previous guests includes Pablo Picasso (who is rumoured to have painted the walls in salons and bedrooms) and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Knight Frank (020–7861 1139; www.knightfrank.co.uk)

Capri, €11.8 million (about £10.1m)

In the late 1950s, Aarons travelled to England, on an assignment for the British Tourist Office. He photographed, among others, Earl Mountbatten of Burma and his wife, Lady Edwina Mountbatten, and the then Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. England was still reeling from the effects of the Second World War and Government coffers were low, but, viewed through Aarons’s rose-tinted lens, the country’s historic and fashionable aristocracy centre stage, it looked enticing. Storied and well to do. Better than it actually was. Naturally, the Tourist Board made all the necessary arrangements.

Aarons’s portrait of the Hon Desmond Guinness, author, co-founder of the Irish Georgian Society and part-heir to the Guinness family fortune, and his two children (with Princess Hermione Marie-Gabrielle von Urach) is perhaps the photographer’s most striking taken in the British Isles. The image is closecropped; the trio sit shoulder to shoulder in close proximity; the bookcase visible behind them is blurred, but you’d likely never notice because Guinness, the son of Diana Mitford, had inherited the famous Mitford eyes— a pale and piercing glacial blue—and duly passed them on to his own children.

The portrait’s composition is unusual— in the majority of Aarons’s other work a beautiful landscape, manicured garden or grand house serves as a backdrop; a person, or group of people, pose in the foreground, sometimes eating, riding or snorkelling or doing any number of activities characterised by the idle rich. Sometimes, a secondary

Cannes, €8.5 million (about £7.3m)

This 17th-century nine-bedroom château is surrounded by more than seven acres of landscaped parkland within the forest of Valbonne. Conveniently within walking distance of the medieval village, the property also enjoys a 164ft filtered lake (currently used as the main pool) complete with waterfall and sandy beach.

Groupe Mercure (00 33 61 552 1461; www.groupe-mercure.com)

person or group of people are caught in between. For Stuart Cantor, a fine-art photographer whose work is often compared to Aarons, it is exactly this—the composition of Aarons’s photographs—that stops him in his tracks. ‘For me, that is my “inspiration”, his photographic composition is always perfect… The other thing is, he is shooting on film, not a digital camera, so he didn’t know what photos he had taken until he got home and processed it.’

Designed by the Italian engineer and writer Edwin Cerio, this ninebedroom neo-Classical villa enjoys exceptional views across Marina Piccola. Two outdoor terraces offer the perfect spot for alfresco entertaining on this glitzy Neapolitan island. Italy Sotheby’s International Realty (00 390 67 925 8888; www.sothebysrealty.com)

Although captured in a tumultuous era, pockmarked by civil unrest on both sides of the Atlantic, Aarons’s imagery pulls at our nostalgic heartstrings for a time that was also defined by more glamorous means of travel and living— at least for those who could afford it. Did he buy into it? Perhaps not—he once inscribed a book of his own photography to protégé Jonathan Becker with the words: ‘Dear Jonathan, Remember, it’s all bullshit. Best as always, Slim’— but few can argue with its enduring allure.

The photographs told stories... they described the who and what and why

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European-style Estate, stone Manor House. 8± AC,6 BR, 5.4BA. 7garages, pool, views

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Whitsett,NC | $1,750,000

Holly Gateisalovingly restored historic home surrounded by exquisitegardens.

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Not so Lanzagrotty

IT was the actor and presenter Michael Palin who dubbed the island ‘Lanzagrotty’ (he has since apologised); the truth is that Lanzarote has never been grotty. Far from it. Of all the Canary Islands, it’s widely regarded as the most chic and lies firmly on the map of art and design lovers, thanks to a wave of creative boutique hotels, as well as venues, gardens and homes built by the 20th-century artist, architect and environmentalist César Manrique.

The grottiness that Palin—and the leader of the island’s local government, María Dolores Corujo (who afterwards said her words were misconstrued)—are alluding to is, in fact, limited to a very small part of the island, home to the main tourist hotels in the resorts of Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise and Playa Blanca. There is only one high-rise hotel, the Gran Hotel & Spa, and it’s all a far cry from the pints-for-breakfast scenes that litter the mainland’s coastline (although, for those who suffer from that level of thirst first thing, there are outlets where this can be quenched).

Lanzarote’s landscape is bleakly beautiful: lunar-like in the south, lush and wild in the north. It was declared a World Biosphere Reserve in 1993 for its spectacular volcanic terrain, depth of history and agriculture, and abundance of flora and fauna. Much of the topography is the result of eruptions that took place in the early 18th century, when the Spanish government considered evacuating the island forever. The legacy is a series of geysers and blackened surfaces of Timanfaya National Park and the fertile valley of La Geria—the island’s wine region.

One man is credited for the fact that the island hasn’t been ravaged by mass tourism. Born in the capital, Arrecife, in 1919, Manrique was the son of a food merchant and a grandson of a public notary. His father bought a parcel of land in Caleta de Famara (a haven of windsurfers today) and built a house next to the ocean that is said to have had a lasting impact on the young César. He later recalled that the image of the five-mile-long beach framed by 330ft-tall cliffs was engraved on his soul ‘as something of extraordinary beauty’.

An aesthete from a young age, Manrique became an early advocate of sustainable tourism. He successfully campaigned to protect Lanzarote from the sort of overdevelopment suffered by some of the other Canary Islands during the explosion of mass tourism in the 1960s and 1970s. A detailed visionary, his interventions even stretched to encouraging laws passed against advertising hoardings alongside the roads and burying electricity cables. ‘I want the tourist to find a beautiful, not a destroyed island,’ he said. Fortunately, the local government listened.

The intervention of one man has had a lasting impact on the Canary Island of Lanzarote, turning it into a living artwork, finds Arabella Youens

Getty; Manuel Caraballo Callero

Enduring influence: the Jardín de Cactus created by César Manrique at Guatiza, Lanzarote

A place in the sun

Nazaret, €7.5 million (£6.45 million)

Born from a creative collaboration between César Manrique and Venezuelan multidisciplinary artist Jesús Rafael Soto, LagOmar is a beautiful oasis carved into a volcanic vestige that was once inhabited by actor Omar Sharif. Divided into three plots, Complex LagOmar spans 72,355sq ft. Plot 1 encompasses the villa, common areas and private pool; the second plot offers income opportunities from the restaurant, exhibition cave and the cocktail bar, La Cueva; and the third plot enjoys two tennis courts. Last subject to an extensive restoration in the 1990s, LagOmar offers an exciting opportunity to purchase one of the most emblematic architectural works on the island.

Madrid Sotheby’s International Realty (00 34 91 904 1929; www.sothebysrealty.com)

In hindsight, Manrique’s approach—to highlight and preserve the natural beauty of the island—was at least half a century ahead of its time. The local government agreed that no new buildings should reach higher than a palm tree and homes should be whitewashed and have blue, green or brown shutters depending on whether they faced the sea, trees or mountains. Against the dramatic landscape scattered with date palms

Manrique overseas

1945 Travels to Madrid to study at the Art School of San Fernando and graduates as an art teacher and painter

1964 Moves to New York on the advice of his cousin, Manuel Manrique, a psychoanalyst based in the city, and lives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan—home to artists, journalists and Bohemians. Here, he makes friends with fellow artists Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock and has paintings exhibited at the gallery of the influential art dealer and consultant Catherine Viviano on East 57th Street

1966 Returns home to Lanzarote to help set the pace and strategy of development on his island

and dragon trees, the monochrome contrast is rustic and beguiling.

His interventions didn’t stop there, however. Manrique helped create and curate many of the island’s cultural attractions and public works of art, which can be spotted at traffic junctions and roundabouts to integrate pieces with the natural environment. Each is distinctive and extraordinary. One of the clearest and most striking examples of his ability to harmonise art with Nature is the subterranean cultural centre known as Jameos del Agua. When the actress Rita Hayworth visited in 1974, she declared it ‘the eighth wonder of the world’. Manrique used the inside of a volcanic tunnel, formed 4,000 years ago, to create an auditorium.

La Geria, €2.4 million (£2.065 million)

Situated in Lanzarote’s protected landscape of La Geria, this luxurious estate enjoys mountain views of Guaticea to the west and Mina to the east. Built in 1979 on a plot of 157,907sq ft, the 16-bedroom, 16-bathroom villa is enhanced by a separate two-bedroom bungalow, a sauna, gym, tennis court, swimming pool, stables and an outdoor school. Engel & Völkers (00 34 92 806 1610; www.engelvoelkers.com)

rules he held sacred, according to the International Friends of César Manrique.

One of the many names who came to Lanzarote was the Egyptian actor Omar Sharif. He was there to film The Mysterious Island, an improbable tale about a group of escaped prisoners travelling in a hot-air balloon to a remote island, in the early 1970s. Sharif was said to be so captivated by what he found that he decided to buy a house named LagOmar.

According to local lore, however, only two days after he’d bought the property, the British developer Sam Benady, who had paid for the build, challenged the keen gambler to a game of bridge—and Sharif promptly lost the house. Built in an old volcanic rock quarry with wood salvaged from shipwrecks off the coast, the building is now a museum, featuring photographs of both Sharif and Benady playing cards.

His home, El Taro de Tahiche, was carved out of a similarly inventive imagination: this time, it was a group of volcanic bubbles that formed the starting point. It played host to several artists and celebrities during his lifetime and is now a museum and gallery, the César Manrique Foundation, featuring pieces from his own collection. Beyond performing an educational and cultural role, the foundation also engages in battles against those who violate the planning

Further Manrique sites include the Cueva de los Verdes, a cave created by a volcanic eruption 4,000 years ago and featuring a series of walkways that take visitors below sea level. Another is the Jardín de Cactus, which was sculpted from the bowels of a disused quarry in 1990. Specimens line the black lava pathways, resulting in a sort of a maze with no centre.

Manrique died in a car accident in 1992, at the age of 73. By then, his architectural influence stretched across other Canary Islands in the form of several viewpoints. When he first spoke to others about the beauty of his native island, everyone laughed, he said. ‘Lanzarote was like a work of art without a frame. I put it on, showing its real value.’

Lanzarote was like a work of art without a frame. I put it on, showing its real value

Getty; Manuel Caraballo Callero

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BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS -TRUNK BAY, TORTOLA

Villa Vue: Spacious, Modern home on 1.4 acres near Trunk Baybeach. Main house with three bedrooms, Guest cottage with twobedrooms. Pool,sun deck, pergola, Manicured Landscaping.

US $3,950,000 +1 284 541 6861

EMERALD PROPERTIES BVI www.emeraldpropertiesbvi.com

USA-NEW YORK,NEW YORK

Understated Elegance –A ContemporaryMansion lies behind ahistoric façade.A masterpiece designed by Roger Ferris and just ahalf blockfromthe Metropolitan Museum of Art.

+1 917 701 3907

US $95,000 per month

BROWNHARRIS STEVENS www.bhsusa.com

USA–NEW YORK,NEW YORK

Luxurylivingwith sweeping views at the Baccarat Hotel Residences.An unparalleled lifestyle ~enjoy the privacy and exclusivity of the Residences combined with the hotel’s5-star amenities. Moments from MoMA, Fifth Avenue and Central Park.

+1 212 317 7705

US $7,995,000

BROWNHARRIS STEVENS www.bhsusa.com

USA-NEW YORK,NEW YORK

Perched high in the sky overlooking Central Park, this home boasts EXTRAORDINARYpark views. Located in the heartofthe Upper East Side on Madison Avenue just one block from Central Park.

USA–NEW YORK,NEW YORK

Exceptional reimagined 2bed/2 bath Penthouse in iconic Manhattan building. 9’5” ceilings. 6” wood plank floors.Wood burningfireplace,Chief Kitchen,centralA/C and terrace.Gym,playroom,private gardens, garage

+1 212 906 9214

US $3,200,000

BROWNHARRIS STEVENS www.bhsusa.com

US $3,750,000

+1 212 317 7705 BROWNHARRIS STEVENS www.bhsusa.com

USA-NEW YORK,NEW YORK

KeytoGramercyPark -the onlyPrivate Park in the city! ArtDeco,three level, maisonettewith2 beds/3.5 baths and 17’ ceilings. Fullservice building with state of theart gymand roof terrace and library.

US $7,995,000

+1 212 906 9214

BROWNHARRIS STEVENS www.bhsusa.com

Email info@mayfairinternationalrealty.com Webmayfairinternationalrealty.com

lineHook,and sinker

For those that love to sail in style, Holly Kirkwood rounds up the most luxurious properties for sale across the Mediterranean

Croatia, €3.85 million (£3.3m)

Villa Prestige is an exceptional contemporary villa in a peaceful location near Rogoznica. A charming seaside town, home to Croatia’s top marina, Marina Frapa, Rogoznica is a magnet for visitors keen to explore the first-class sailing found in this part of the Adriatic. With a modern, open-plan aesthetic, the ground floor boasts a large kitchen, dining room and living room, plus an inner garden downstairs. This level also features a wellness area and a gym; the three large bedroom suites are on the first floor. Outside are terraces with a heated pool, an outdoor kitchen and dining area and a mature garden. The grounds continue down to the waterline, where there is direct access to the sea and a small private mooring.

Sotheby’s International Realty (00 385 91 602 7672; www.sothebysrealty.com)

Montenegro, €3.85 million (£3.3m)

With frontline views out across the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site (and super-yacht hub) of Kotor Bay, this spectacular four-storey villa comes with its own private mooring. Located just outside the town of Perast, the villa boasts seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms; outside, a fantastic outdoor kitchen is situated next to the large heated pool and three separate terraces showcase some of the most impressive scenery to be found anywhere in the Mediterranean. Savills (020–3664 9887; www.savills.com)

Tuscany, €690,000–€1.365 million (£593,000–£1.17m)

Extending down the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea from Cecina to Tarquinia in Lazio, the Maremma coastline is known for its wonderful sailing, which includes the spectacular Tuscan Archipelago. Marina di Scarlino is a sophisticated boutique development featuring 36 chic, modern apartments with wide panoramic terraces and views to the island of Elba. Properties range between one and three bedrooms and the resort features a pool, a private beach club, high-end shopping and waterside cafés and restaurants. The marina itself is known as one of the most sheltered in the Mediterranean. Knight Frank (020–3640 7048; www.knightfrank.com)

Mallorca, €14 million (£12m)

Properties with direct sea access and a private jetty rarely come to the market on the island’s sought-after southwest coast, making this handsome waterside villa a real find. Located near the Club de Vela in Port Andratx, its accommodation has been beautifully designed to make the most of the water views: the spacious living room leads into the kitchen and there is also a separate dining area and bar. The villa also boasts six well-appointed bedroom suites, multiple terraces offering sun and shade and pretty gardens with views across to the harbour. Engel & Völkers (00 34 97 167 4780; www.engelvoelkers.com)

Corfu, €7.5 million (£6.45m)

Perfectly placed to explore the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, Corfu remains a popular location for buyers who sail and Emerald Bay, on the north-east coast, offers not only direct frontage onto a white-pebble beach, but also a rare private mooring. Sitting between the bays of Avlaki and Kassiopi, this traditional-style villa has spacious living areas and a generous state-of-theart kitchen. Huge picture windows showcase superb water views and there are several wellappointed terraces. Each of the five doublebedroom suites boasts brilliant sea views and the lower-ground level has a gym and a home cinema. Outside are a guest cottage, an impressive lap pool and fragrant landscaped gardens.

Sotheby’s International Realty (00 302 10 968 1070; www.sothebysrealty.com)

Ibiza, €11.4 million (£9.8m)

This smart hill-top estate in Cap Martinet is a secluded retreat with a resort feel and one of the finest marinas in the Balearics—Marina Botafoch—just around the corner. With chic and comfortable living spaces and an easy indoor-outdoor flow, the house comes with plenty of options for entertaining. The infinity pool and terraces make the most of the views, and the gardens and grounds come to more than 3½ acres, offering total privacy. There are two master suites—one with a private terrace at the top of the house—and four generous guest suites. Engel & Völkers (00 34 97 131 1336; www.engelvoelkers.com)

Cyprus, €9.6 million (£8.25m)

The longer sailing season and quieter shores of the eastern Mediterranean have a dedicated following for a reason and Cyprus is an excellent base from which to explore Greece, Turkey and the Levant. Located within the Limassol Marina, this classically inspired villa boasts 5,425sq ft with light-filled open-plan living downstairs, four bedroom suites and seven bathrooms, plus an expansive roof terrace with far-reaching views. Outside are a swimming pool, jacuzzi and not one, but two private berths. Limassol offers a fullservice marina with superb amenities, including fine dining and Bond Street-style shopping. Sotheby’s International Realty (00 35 79 907 9202; www.sothebysrealty.com)

RELOCATING TO GUERNSEY?

Guernsey offers relocators a safe and secure lifest yle, no capital taxation and annual maximum tax caps available bytax statute as follows:

• OpenMarketCap of £50,000. Available forthe first four yearsofG uernseyresidence. Requires thepurchase andoccupation of an open market proper ty within1 2monthsoftax residence Thepurchase must generate minimumdocument duty of £50,000 (proper ty cost of £1 .4m)

• Foreignincometax cap of £1 50,000.This is fornonGuernsey source income only.G uernsey source income remainssubject to 20% tax. Guernsey bank interest is notconsidered Guernseysource.

• Annual tax cap of £300,000 A global cap utilised by individual s with substantial G uernsey Source income

• The“standardcharge”. This is currently £40,000 perannumand is availablebyelection in placeof worldwideincome disclosure,for those whoare broadly,not fulltimetax residentonthe island. As well as theheadlinetax caps above, othersignificant taxincentivesfor arelocator mayinclude:

• Ability to claimdouble taxreliefinG uernsey forUK corporation taxpaid, whereshareholdercontrolof theUKcompanyisinG uernsey.

• Abilit y to receive UK dividends exempt from UK and potentially G uernsey taxation

• Abilit ytoreceive UK pensionincome, potentially includingalifetimeflexibledrawdownthatissolely taxableinG uernsey

• Abilit ytomitigate UK capitalgains taxongains madeuponthe disposal of certainUKassets. Thereare many taxconsiderations arelocatormight liketoconsider.The highly experiencedand qualified taxteamatLTS ,who canadvise upon allaspectsof Guernseyand UK tax, wouldbedelighted to hear fromyou.

LUXUR YH OLIDAYH OME OWNERSHIP

IT’S one minute past noon, on a crisp Lisbon spring day, and the queue outside Cervejaria Ramiro is already winding down the street. It’s been a city legend since 1956 and you can see why—the seafood is some of the finest you’ll eat anywhere; tiny local prawns, delicately striped, briefly boiled and eaten whole; clams cooked with fistfuls of garlic, the flesh sucked from the shell, every last scrap of oil mopped up with great hunks of fresh bread; vast Carabineros prawns, blood red in hue and as big as my fist; percebes—or goose-necked barnacles —twisted out of their leathery, lizard-like skin to reveal the sweetest pink flesh. And, for pudding, sobremesa Ramiro, that great Lisbon steak sandwich, slathered with sweet

Blistering barnacles

mustard. Revered it may be—and rightly so. But it’s entirely unpretentious, too, with televisions blaring live football in the corner and cold beer on tap. Just like Lisbon. And Portugal herself. Modest, understated and utterly, utterly bewitching.

I’ve always found Lisbon to be the most civilised of cities, the air flecked with sea salt and, in summer at least, the scent of grilling sardines. It may be the pure brilliance of the light, giving those terracotta roofs and pastel-hued houses a distinctive incandescence. Or the fact that this is a city built for walking, despite the steep, cobbled hills. Around every corner is another seemingly undiscovered gem, ‘your place’, such as Taberna da Rua das Flores in Bairro Alto,

A triumph of pork and sensational seafood, Portuguese cuisine is vibrant and enchanting, says Tom Parker Bowles

a long and tiny room with a daily changing menu and ever-present queue. Or Sol e Pesca, housed in an old fishing-tackle shop, which specialises in tinned seafood. Miss Can is also great. You may feel like a brave pioneer, a taste-maker, but believe me, you’re always the last to know. And that’s exactly the way I like it. Not so much following the herd, as being certain you’ll eat well. Mediocrity has the shortest of shelf lives.

Breakfast is a short stroll across Praça Luís de Camões, at O Trevo—a bifana pork sandwich, heavy on the mustard and chilli oil, and a small beer. Then perhaps another. Then a bit of shopping—tinned seafood at Conserveira de Lisboa and Loja das Conservas. And books, at Livraria Ferin, open for nearly

Where to buy

Lisbon, €4.4 million (about £3.8m)

Located in the heart of Chiado and close to the bohemian neighbourhood of Bairro Alto, this five-bedroom property enjoys views of the Tagus river and Castelo de Sao Jorge. Spread over two floors, this light and airy apartment benefits from high ceilings throughout, a large kitchen and two garage spaces.

Savills (020–3664 9887; www.savills.com)

Colares, €4.7 million (about £4.1m)

Close to the golden sands of Praia Grande, Praia da Adage and Praia das Maçãs, this five-bedroom house enjoys mountain and sea views, just under an acre of private land and a swimming pool.

Knight Frank (020–7861 1109; www.knightfrank.co.uk)

two centuries, where you can pick up good translations of Luís de Camões and Fernando Pessoa, those two great Portuguese poets, as well as whatever eating guide seems up to date at the time. Before lunch at Bairro Do Avillez, perhaps, one part of chef José Avillez’s ever-expanding empire, a paean to the beauty of Portuguese produce. Or Gambrinus, which was probably born old school in 1936, the year of its opening, with its wood panelling, stained-glass windows and thick red carpets, where the

waiters wear burgundy and the boiled prawns taste sublime.

Dinner might be at Cantinho da Paz, a Goan place where the pork vindaloo is the one upside of Portugal’s colonial past, fusion of the very finest kind. Or piri-piri chicken at A Valenciana. Or Casa da Índia for a bowl of açorda alentejana soup and some grilled prawns. It’s not all about Lisbon. Of course it’s not. If driving up to Porto, in the north, make sure you stop off in Mealhada, a town famed for its roast suckling pig. There are plenty of

places to choose from, but I like Rei dos Leitões, where the crackling is as brittle as glass, the flesh sweet and the gravy suitably robust. Porto is a little more subdued than Lisbon. ‘In Porto, we work,’ goes the old saying, ‘in Lisbon, they dance.’ Or: ‘We make the cash, they spend it.’ The stone may be grey, but there’s beauty here, too. In the Art Nouveau, Belle Époque wonder of the Majestic Café or in the tripas à moda do Porto (the inhabitants of Porto are often known as tripeiros, tripe eaters) at Mosaico de Sabores, tripe cooked with white beans, tomato and blood sausage.

Sounds baroque, tastes divine. For those of baser appetites, the glorious francesinha sandwich at Bufete Fase—a monolithic block of bread, crammed with steak, sausage, ham and chorizo, then draped in melted cheese, barded with bacon and surrounded by a spicy tomato sauce. Booze food, of the finest kind. That’s the thing about Portugal. Something for every taste, wallet, whim and desire.

All those miles of coastland mean all that peerless seafood, whereas, inland, you’ll find cured meats (and the Portuguese are pork masters), cheese and wine the equal

A taste of Portugal: arroz de marisco (prawn and shellfish rice)

This is a classic Portuguese shellfish dish and comes from Nuno Mendes’s Lisboeta, a book that is a fitting tribute from that great Lisboan chef to the great city of his birth.

Serves 4

Ingredients

5tbspn olive oil

2 banana shallots, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and finely chopped

Smoked paprika, to taste

Sea-salt flakes and ground white pepper

A bunch of coriander, leaves and stalks finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Half a long red chilli, finely chopped

4 ripe plum tomatoes, coarsely grated

200g short-grain white rice, preferably Portuguese carolino, Japanese sushi or Spanish bomba rice, rinsed according to the packet instructions

600ml fish stock or water

40ml white wine

20 mussels, cleaned

20 clams, cleaned

16 large king or tiger jumbo prawns, shelled and de-veined

A squeeze of lemon juice

Extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Piri-piri oil, to serve

Method

Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots, onion and fennel and cook gently for 10 minutes, or until soft. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Add the coriander leaves and stalks, garlic, lemon zest and chilli, then cook for a few minutes, or until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes. Increase the heat to caramelise the tomatoes a little, for extra flavour. Add the rice and cook for a few minutes to toast it. Add the fish stock or water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until almost cooked, about 15–20 minutes.

of anywhere on earth. The older I get, the more I find myself drawn to Portugal, a country drenched in saudade, that nostalgic ‘presence of absence’, the yearning for what was once there. ‘Even when you have everything,’ a Portuguese friend once explained, ‘you don’t. You’ll find it in our music, fado, and smell it in the air.’ As an occasional resident, however, I disagree. I may know nothing, but I know I’ll eat well. From the moment I arrive, a grin is plastered wide across my face. At the thought of a hundred joyous feasts long passed and the hundreds more to come.

A few minutes before the rice is ready, add the white wine and tip in the mussels and clams. Cover with a lid and shake a few times. Cook for 3–4 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Discard any unopened shells.

Taste the rice for seasoning, keeping in mind that the mussels and clams will add extra salt. Add the prawns to the rice and cook for a few minutes until they turn pink. Stir in a squeeze of lemon juice, a little extra virgin olive oil and the coriander leaves. Serve in shallow bowls and don’t forget the piri-piri oil!

Getty; Alamy

WITH itspalm-fringed, sugarsand beachesand crystalclearwaters, thePlatinum Coast of Barbados is oneof themostsought-after locationsinthe world. Forpropertyhunters,itticks allthe right boxesfor asecondhome:reliably excellent weather, incredible naturalbeauty, fantastic airlift, greatamenities andanoutstanding qualityoflife. This exclusivestretch of sand is home to thefinest restaurants, bars and shoppingonthe island,whereassome of themostexpensivehomes in theworld can be foundsubtlyset back from thesea.And locatedinaprime position on this coveted coastlinesitsSaint Peter’sBay,aluxury family resortofferingprime beachfront properties at extremely competitiveprices.

Locatedjustoutside Speightstown,Saint Peter’sBay is an establishedleader in affordable beachfront luxury in Barbados. Afirm favourite with families,the resort

offers three-bedroomresidencesand afivebedroompenthouse with magnificentwater views, generous open-planlivingareas and luxuriousbedroomsuites. Outside, expansive terraces featuretheir owndiningand relaxation spotsand more spectacular oceanviews. Everypropertycomes fully furnishedand readytogo: allyou need to pack areyourswimsuits andsuncream.

SaintPeter’s Bayis famousfor its community feel andexcelsinproviding amenitiesfor allagesand stages of life, from toddlers to great-grannies.Many owners choose to invite two, three or even four generationstovisit together forthe chance to makememoriesthatwill last fora lifetime.The resort itself is abeautifullyappointed andhugely privateenclave with itsown beachfront pool andjacuzzi, fullyequipped fitness centre,children’s play area andchicbeachfrontrestaurant. Thereare watersportsonoffer forall ages, andthe resort’swater taxi is afamiliar sight, zippingguestsupand down thecoast throughoutthe day.

Theresidencesare ashort walk from the historic centre of Speightstown,where visitors canexplore thebustling marketsorpick up some freshfish forsupper. Theresortisalso within easy reachofworld-class golf,poloand game fishing.You don’thavetogofar to see thelocal wildlife either—guests canswim with theturtles in thebay on theirdoorstep. Representing fantasticvalue,Saint Peter’s Bayisone of thefew developmentsleftin Barbados with beachfront property starting at £1.35million.Pricesrange from USD £1.35million to £1.925million,withasignature penthouse on offerat£4.3 million. Owner benefits include an optional rental programme, alongwithpropertymanagementand other conciergeservices, allofwhich make owning therecompletely hassle free

Formoredetails,telephone 00 12 46 836 1166 or visit www.spbliving.com

Roomswithaview:theexclusiveSaintPeter’sBayresortoffersaffordablebeachfrontluxuryontheCaribbeanislandofBarbados

Youdon’t have to go fartosee thewildlife–guests canswimwith theturtles in thebay