A magical 16-acre beauty spot has gone on the market for £2.6million and comes complete with a sandy beach, restaurant and holiday cottages.
Unspoiled Lamorna Cove, Cornwall- one of the last remaining bays in private ownership – is best known for the post-impressionist artists who formed a Bohemian community there in the early 1900s.
Now the cove spanning about 15.75 acres along with its commercial car parks and restaurant is for sale in three lots with a total price tag of £2.6million.
The beach without the two cottages is a snip at just £1.45million.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Lamorna became popular with artists of the Newlyn School.
Unspoiled Lamorna Cove, Cornwall- one of the last remaining bays in private ownership – is best known for the post-impressionist artists who formed a Bohemian community there in the early 1900s
Cliff Cottage, pictured above, is up for sale for £695,000. Originally the ‘count house’ for the quarry, the house is built of granite in traditional Cornish style with three bedrooms and beautiful ocean views
The colony included Alfred Munnings, Laura Knight and Harold Knight.
The period is dramatised in the 1998 novel Summer in February by Jonathan Smith and adapted for the 2013 movie directed by Christopher Menaul.
Now the Bay is for sale and the agents say it would be a complete lifestyle opportunity for a lucky buyer.
‘It is only going to be sold to someone who feels the magic of the place.
‘If you arrive and you don’t feel the magic, don’t even get out of your car,’ vendor Roy Stevenson said.
Roy first visited Lamorna in the 1970s when he came to stay in the Lamorna Cove Hotel.
He was so enchanted by the spot that he bought a house here in the mid 1980s.
Breathtaking: The main bedroom at Cliff Cottage offers enviable views of the Atlantic Ocean
Cosy living space: The interior of Cliff Cottage is just as traditional as its outward appearance with a dramatic fireplace made from granite
Picture perfect: Sliding double doors in another reception room open out onto a balcony which overlooks the bay
He added: ‘As I spent time here the owner Mr Balsden used to say: ‘You love it here so much, why don’t you buy it?’
In the mid 1990s Roy sold his clothing business in Manchester and bought Lamorna Cove where he threw himself wholeheartedly into community life.
‘It needs someone with a passion,’ he said.
Running the cove has been a family affair for Roy involving his sister, daughter, son and until she passed away his mother.
Lamorna’s income streams include a restaurant with more than 100 covers inside and out, a boat facility, gift shop and gallery, boat and kayak hire, holiday lets, commercial space, and pay and two display car parks.
Nice spot: As well as a garden, the outdoor space features a patio with a fashionable glass fence which looks out to sea
The cottage is one of three lots up for sale with the beach in Lamorna Cove going on the market for £1.45million
The cove spanning about 15.75 acres along with its commercial car parks and restaurant is for sale in three lots with a total price tag of £2.6million
The cove offers a sandy beach at low tide.
‘We have evolved but slowly and we tried not to change it too much,’ he said.
‘My children are grown up now and it’s time for me to retire.
‘It’s time for someone else to take it on.’
Spanning about 15.75 acres, unspoiled Lamorna Cove is one of the last remaining bays in private ownership.
It’s for sale as a whole or in lots.
Here is how they are divided:
Lot 1: guide price £1.45 million – Restaurant, gift shop, pay and display car parks, kayak and boat facility, beach and slipway, mooring, and trademark. Two holiday apartments, Harbour View (two bedrooms) and The Lookout (one bedroom).
Lot 2: guide price £695,000 – Cliff Cottage, originally the ‘count house’ for the quarry. Built of granite in traditional Cornish style with three bedrooms and beautiful ocean views.
Lot 3: guide price £495,000 – Gilly Cottage is an end semi-detached property with four bedrooms and cove-side gardens.
Christopher Bailey from agents Knight Frank in Exeter, Devon said: ‘We are very excited to be marketing this unique property, which will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone.’