Those looking to escape the rat race and thrown themselves into, er, the hobbit race will be delighted by this home on the market.
The idea of hiding away in a comfortable home, safe from the world, is a romantic ideal for many of us. Lockdown will no doubt have cured many of that notion, but for those who’ve particularly enjoyed that sensation of homely cosiness, a house is on the market which will help you hold on to that feeling for years to come.
The property in question really is a home fit for a hobbit: a partly-subterranean house tucked away in the corner of The Old School House, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, currently for sale at £2m.
Pod Hollow, as its known, was designed not as a permanent space but instead as unusual guest accommodation: billed as ‘the only habitable hobbit hole in the world’ it’s a delightful dwelling big enough for a family of four in a woodland setting, designed and built ‘in consultation with Tolkien experts’.
We’ll be honest and admit that we’re not entirely sure what becoming a Tolkien expert entails — our instinctive feeling is that it probably involves more literature and learning to speak ridiculous made-up languages than architecture or interior design.
But the experts have clearly found a winning formula, since it seems that fans of the classic fantasy books have been queuing up to book a stay. Income (pre-lockdown) from Pod Hollow and the six other cabins and pods within this 4.5-acre site was apparently in excess of £150,000 per year, making this a very attractive lifestyle business — as well as a beautiful place to live.
The huge 19th century main house itself is also striking and attractive — not least for that idyllic woodland setting — with five bedrooms and an impressive sitting room with high ceiling, plus a newer annexe that includes a sun room.
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