Is this the prettiest cottage in England? Dream home with remarkable sea views and all yours for £3million

• The house is perched on top of a cliff in Dorset with views of the Solent and the Needles
• Its owner says for years people have turned up at her door and tried to buy it from her
• Sandy Hollowood is now off to Australia and is selling what estate agents say is Britain's loveliest home

With its thatched roof, manicured lawn and floral gardens it is the epitome of the chocolate box cottage.
Only, the views outside are not that of an unspoilt countryside that goes on as far as the eye can see.
There are no winding country lanes nearby. Nor are there acres of undulating greenery.
Instead this sumptuous £3million property enjoys the most spectacular sea vistas imaginable.

Perfect? This chocolate box English village cottage in Dorset is up for sale with a £3million asking price

Perched on a cliff-top in Christchurch, Dorset, potential buyers need only turn 180 degrees from the rural idyll of the cottage itself to take in the stunning views of the Solent.
The unique combination means the four-bedroom detached property on Avon Run Road boasts the best of both worlds.

 

And for estate agents - never lost for a word or two - its sale is ‘a once in a lifetime opportunity’.
The cottage, which is just feet away from a sandy beach, has been owned for nearly 20 years by mother-of-two Sandy Hollowood.

What a view! The four-bed detached cottage is perched on a cliff-top at Christchurch, Dorset, and enjoys magnificent views of the Solent and the Needles, pictured from the bottom of the garden

Great location: The property is on an exclusive row of properties a stone's throw from the beach and sea

During her time there Mrs Hollowood, 56, has received and rejected several informal offers from wealthy people turning up at her front door.
But when her son and daughter left home she decided the time was right to downsize.
Her 27-year-old son, Nick, is emigrating to Australia with his fiancee and she hopes the extra money generated from the sale will pay for regular trips Down Under.
Mrs Hollowood said: ‘All the family have grown up and moved on and it doesn’t make sense for me to be rattling around a four bedroom house by myself.
‘I will be going to Australia to visit my son and this isn’t a house that should be left alone for long periods either.
‘It is a unique property. There used to be three thatched houses along this road but the other two have been pulled down and other houses built on the site.

Valuable: The cottage's owner says she is finally selling after a number of people over the years have knocked on her door and tried to buy it off her

Picture that: Imagine having this view over your garden fence... if you bought this property then you wouldn't have to

‘It is a beautiful country cottage in a beautiful seaside location - you really have the best of both worlds.
‘I have been very lucky to have lived here for 19 years.’
Mrs Hollowood said she would begin searching for a smaller house in the area but would not return.
The property is not grade listed and she fears whoever buys it may decide to tear it down in favour of rebuilding.
‘If whoever buys my house decides to knock it down and build something bigger in its place then that is their prerogative,’ she conceded.
‘That wouldn’t be my choice and I would not want to drive past it again because I want to keep my memory of it intact.’

Beautiful: The house is also full of original features that mean many people are not put off by its £3 million price tag

Stuart Mason, sales manager for estate agents Winkworth who are selling the property for Mrs Hollowood, said: ‘This is a once in a life time opportunity.
‘How often do you see what can only be described as one of the most attractive thatched cottages on a beach front with a truly fabulous sea view?
‘You will not find another thatched cottage on the seafront anywhere else.
‘It is the perfect combination of country and seaside living.’
The cottage has a lounge, dining room, study, four bedrooms with three having en suite bathrooms, a large conservatory and cottage gardens to the front and back.