Skilmans House, Southwold

Suffolk. Sleeps up to 8

Skilmans House is a sprawling contemporary holiday home that stands proud on Skilmans Hill with gorgeous views across the marshes to Southwold Harbour and beyond. With four outstanding bedrooms, this wonderful property sleeps 8 guests in superb comfort. The harbour, shops and pretty beach huts of Southwold are just a short stroll away.
 
Southwold is a pretty quintessentially British seaside resort. With its Instagram worthy pastel-painted beach huts lining the promenade, a wonderful beach, amusements, an iconic pier and an excellent up-market range of shops and eateries, it is immensely popular.
 
The vast outdoor terrace of Skilmans House has been designed to make the most of the views from the house. The raised decked alfresco dining terrace is perfectly positioned so that you can dine with a view. The sunsets are gorgeous from this wonderful vantage point. There is also an outstanding outdoor corner sofa arrangement, the perfect spot for pre-dinner drinks or a read of the Sunday newspapers.
 
Skilmans House is a light-filled wonder. The living room is enormous. You can all stretch out and watch the equally huge television. The deep, comfy sofas are decorated with colour pop cushions, and the large bay window lets the light flood the room. The kitchen diner is a chef’s dream. The dazzling white and contemporary walnut kitchen is enormous with masses of cupboards and work surface, a fantastic range of appliances and a wine fridge. The first thing you will want to do is fill that! There is even a sofa in the kitchen so that guests can keep the chef company while they cook up a feast. Playful, brightly coloured chairs adorn the dining table, matching the bright cushions on the sofa. The kitchen diner is extraordinarily light with huge floor to ceiling doors by the dining area and huge apex windows and doors at the kitchen end, as well as Velux windows.  
 
Skilman House boasts four outstanding bedrooms which are spread across the ground and first floors. Downstairs, a delightful double bedroom opens directly onto the terrace where guests can pop out to the alfresco lounge area for a delicious morning cup of coffee and the first sniff of fresh sea air. Its ensuite bathroom sparkles and offers a wonderful dome shower head with LED lighting, sure to be a talking point. The remaining three bedrooms are situated on the first floor. Children will enjoy late-night chatter in the bunk room where there is plenty of room to play. There is another room with flexible sleeping arrangements. The zip and link beds can be set up as twins or a super-king bed. There is also another fabulous double room with a double bed and ensuite bathroom. The family bathroom, again in brilliant white, is luxurious and very contemporary. Skilmans House is very well appointed. You even have a jacuzzi bath. Be sure to take a glass of the chilled wine from the wine fridge up with you!

Southwold is a charming north Suffolk seaside town on the very attractive Suffolk Heritage Coast, between Aldeburgh and Lowestoft. It is as pretty as a picture with its landmark lighthouse, and pastel-painted beach huts lining the promenade. Its iconic pier was recently refurbished and is home to the House of Games, an electric light-filled arcade room that is very popular with tourists. There are bundles of energetic and interactive games to play with prizes to be won. You can wander along the pier, buying delicious Suffolk Meadow ice-cream as you go, to the famous Under the Pier Show, a somewhat crazy collection. The water clock is made from recycled copper water cylinders with a water show every 30 minutes. It is like a time gone by with sticks of rock and fish and chips. Southwold is home to the famous Adnams Brewery. You can tour the brewing rooms set just behind the High Street, adjacent to the town’s iconic lighthouse.
 
From the beach you may want to take a stroll crossing the River Blyth to Walberswick, exploring the trackbed of the old Southwold Railway along the way. Over a thousand acres of heath and marshland around Walberswick are protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You will find children crabbing by the harbour as well as fisherman’s huts where you can buy some delicious, freshly caught fish. Walberswick boasts tea rooms, restaurants, two pubs, an art gallery, village shops and some charming craft and gift shops.
 
Further down the coast, you can visit the wonderful town of Aldeburgh. Its famous resident, Benjamin Britten, is celebrated throughout the town with a wonderful sculpture on the beach. Aldeburgh is very pretty with pastel-coloured 19th-century homes and a delightful pebble beach. The fascinating Aldeburgh Museum is housed in the iconic Moot Hall, one of the UK’s most important timber-framed public buildings. It dates from the early 16th century and tells the history of Aldeburgh from the Anglo-Saxon period until today. You will hear about witches, smuggling, shipbuilding and famous people from the area.
 
Havergate Island is a tiny island in the River Ore. It is famous for its breeding avocets and terns which are around during the spring and summer. There are 5 hides. You take a boat to get there which can be booked through RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve.    
 
Dunwich Heath Coastal Centre and Beach offer tranquillity and a true sense of being at one with nature. The heath is alive in the summer months with colour, a patchwork of pink and purple heather and coconut-scented yellow gorse. It is a rare and precious habitat for Dartford warblers, nightjars, woodlarks, adders and much more.

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