When you buy a new home and are having a viewing around your potential new abode, it's very, very unlikely the estate agent will suggest that after looking at the garden it is then the time to have a look around your own island too.
But when this substantial sea view home does change owners the details will include a small chunk of rock that is not attached to the home but that is also part of the sale. Yes, this house on the Isle of Anglesey comes with its own little island; and it is awesome.
Only accessible by foot at low tide the island is called Ynys Tobig and is about 0.25 of an acre. With its own tiny beach, cute cliffs and then mainly rock and shrubbery at its peak, it is a tiny slice of Wales to own that is a unique addition to this property purchase.
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Mainly only accessible by foot at low tide, the estate agent selling the island says there are also particular positions on the island that would allow for certain boats to land at higher tides. Once you have landed, or anchored, there are hints and clues for you to uncover and discover, like an explorer landing at an uncharted island, that there was in the past a bothy, a basic shelter, located at the top of the island.
The island protrudes out from the sparkling blue water of the Menai Strait just off the Isle of Anglesey coast, north of the town of Menai Bridge. It is one of a collection of five little islands, one of which actually has two homes built within its landscape, and at a better standard than a basic bothy. Find out more about that here.
The remaining four members of this locally famous five family of islands are called Ynys Faelog, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Ynys Gaint, Ynys Castell and Ynys Y Big, which also has an SSSI status attached to it. The whole of the Menai Strait, including this cute island that comes with the big house on the mainland, is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
At some point, obviously, when the tide is low, you will have to return to reality and return to a major and exciting potential renovation project waiting for you on the mainland at the end of a very quiet, dead-end residential road.
The house that comes with the island is a substantial abode that can also offer a surprising six acres of undulating land consisting of lawns and shrubs, woodland and water features such as ponds and even a mini lake, that are maybe equal in excitement to exploring the island.
The land stretches from the front door towards the coast with a mesmerising sea view to the Menai Bridge and the start of the Snowdonia National Park as the visual destination on the horizon. And to pick up supplies for your island adventure, the centre of the coastal town of Menai Strait is within walking distance.
There'll be an adventure waiting back at the house too because the potential to expand the property and put your own mark on it is probably more than you realise when you arrive.
The first thing to notice is the first-floor terrace that is a delightful addition to the home, offering a perfect, elevated position to make the most of that instantly mesmerising view and to peruse your six acres of land at your leisure.
The agent states that although the house is set across two floors, the current owners use just the top floor, with a garage and multiple storage rooms and an integrated garage on the ground floor.
But with the addition of a staircase, the lower floor could easily accommodate additional bedrooms and living space. The agent estimates that subject to planning and building regulation consent, this could potentially increase the house from a two bedroom to a five-bed.
Or a whole new level of living could be established on the ground floor - allowing another generation of the family, older or younger, to live on-site and yet have their own independence via a self-contained floor of the house, subject to planning consent of course.
The first floor is full of surprises and unusual character, from the ceiling beams that span the high, sloping ceilings in the reception rooms to the kitchen, bathroom and utility room fixtures and fittings that span the interior design eras.
There are two ways to enter the home, from the main entrance hall or via a rear door and lobby that takes you past a duet of handy storage cupboards and through the very funky purple plum-toned units of the utility room that look super stylish and thoroughly modern.
Into the kitchen and into a light and bright room with a kitchen painted a soft sage green that connects to the world of nature showcased by the bay window at the end of the room. At this prime panorama spot, you will find a breakfast table and chairs that offer a delightful start to any day, whatever the weather, looking out over the beautiful landscape.
Into the dining room via the adjacent main entrance hall and past a cloakroom and, again, a bay window with a central picture window ensures the view is the main, initial draw in here. But don't forget to look up and admire the somewhat surprising beamed, double-height ceiling supported by beamed walls.
The house currently has two bedrooms, both of which are a generous size and can join the view party, that the other rooms also attend, with their own large windows. The two bathrooms have a modern decor that brings in some classic interior design features such as metro tiles that are currently very 'on trend' as well as warm wooden floors underfoot as you step out of the bath in one, or the double shower in the other.
Overall the interior design in this well-loved house is perfectly comfortable with areas of modern colours and areas where a new owner might enjoy bringing their own personal style to the spaces. If the ground floor storage rooms were given the go-ahead by the planning department, the renovating and updating would surely begin at ground level and work its way up.
There's a quiet study home office at the rear of the house, off the dining room, before the spacious and substantial lounge engulfs you in views and character, offering more beams but also a robust stone chimney breast and fireplace, plus a vast ceiling beam above.
This huge beam is joined by a network of smaller beams that suggest that is the core of an older home that has been updated through the years or that an owner somewhere along its history has created a cottage-style interior to harmonise with the countryside landscape outside.
The lounge runs from the front to the back of the house and has a bay window that is the most perfect place for a couple of big armchairs to soak in the sea view and garden scenery that is one of this home's biggest selling points, but not the biggest one of course - that is surely the island of Ynys Tobig.
The house with the space, the potential, the land, the view and that awesome island is on the market for £850,000 with Fine & Country, call their Heswall branch on 0151 305 6956 to find out more. And don't miss the best dream homes in Wales, renovation stories and interiors, join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter, sent to your inbox twice a week.
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