A beautiful Lyme Regis home for sale with spectacular sea views and a dash of old school romance

First impressions aren't always to be relied on, especially when it comes to property. In the case of Colway House, however, they're pretty useful. AS soon as we set eyes on the place, it looked like the sort of house you'd read about in a 19th century novel — and it turns out that its origins are straight out of the pages of Little Women, having been commissioned in the 1820s by a group of five sisters.

In subsequent years, the building has been expanded, improved and changed: it's been everything from a restaurant and hotel to a nursery school. As it stands on the market at the moment, it's an immaculate, six-bedroom home just outside the famously pretty town of Lyme Regis, and with wonderful views out to sea. It's on the market at £1.65 million via Symonds & Sampson.

The house is essentially arranged over two floors, plus a basement beneath. The ground floor has five reception rooms as well as a kitchen, with the lower floor having storage and a games room.

There's an en-suite master and five further bedrooms on the first floor, one of which is an L-shaped room that has often been used as a first floor living room to make the most of the views.

One of of those bedrooms is set up as a self-contained apartment, complete with its own kitchenette, shower room and cloakroom, with a studio and office below — it has its own entrance, but can also be accessed both via the kitchen and the upstairs hallway if preferred. In addition, the remaining bedrooms can also be configured slightly differently: the first floor has, in recent years, been split 50-50 between the family's bedrooms and a holiday let.

Should you need more accommodation, there is an option: the former coach house is presently used as a large garage and storage space, but plans have been drawn up to convert it into a holiday let. Buyers will need to do their homework, however, since planning permission is not yet in place, and there is a flat above the coach house garage which is under separate ownership.

The acre or so of gardens are mostly laid to lawn, and have a dreamy, summery feel wth a swing hanging from a tree, outdoor seating areas and, as you'll see from the pictures, a beautiful gabled veranda from which to admire the views.

Colway House is for sale at £1.65m via Symonds & Sampson — see more pictures and details.

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