Sandbanks

Often labelled by the media as “a millionaires’ paradise” the cliché does not hide one inescapable fact: Sandbanks IS a beautiful place to live in fantastic surroundings and with the range and style of properties to suit most tastes and budgets at the higher end of the UK property market.

This quirky peninsular at the mouth of the entrance into nearby Poole Harbour boasts, by area, the fourth largest land value in the world and, as you would expect, this means the area is a wonderful place to call home.

Facilities are special too with plenty of restaurants and drinking spots at which to enjoy your leisure time and there is always the water so close by on which to sail, enjoy some sport or simply relax and enjoy the magnificent views.

What a Property Buying Agent Can Purchase

£1m buys: Four-bedroom house with garden and ample parking within 500m of the beach. A 2/3 apartment with views of Pool bay.

£3m buys: A brand new four-bedroom apartment with beach frontage, or a four-bedroom detached house with sea views and sun terrace.

£5m buys: The ultimate penthouse, with sea views and a beach frontage. four-bed+, roof terrace and access to private pool and gymnasium. Or an extensive detached house in substantial grounds in the best district.

Best Hotels in Sandbanks

The Haven Hotel (www.fjbhotels.co.uk/haven-hotel) has fabulous views over the harbour and while eating from the fine menu there or simply enjoying a drink on the terrace you can enjoy the chain-link ferry going to and fro across the water. Sister hotel the Harbour Heights (www.fjbhotels.co.uk/harbour-heights-hotel) is a little further inland on the peninsular but is still a luxurious spot at which to stay. The Plantation (www.the-plantation.co.uk) is a little lower down the price scale but boasts fine food and cool interiors.

Best restaurants in Sandbanks

Celebrity chef Riock Stein opened the latest eaterie in his stellar collection of places to enjoy seafood and shellfish in Sandbanks (rickstein.com) and the views across the water match the quality of the food. Loch Fyne Seafood Grill & Restaurant (www.lochfyneseafoodandgrill.co.uk) is another place to enjoy the fruits of the sea at their very best.

Best schools in Sandbanks

Stover School (www.stover.co.uk) has a justified reputation for both its academic excellence and the friendliness of the atmosphere among staff and pupils. Churston Ferrers Grammar School (www.churstongrammar.com) remains a popular spot for families to send their children for a complete education at the 11+ stage.

Buying Agents Fact

Agatha Christie’s home at Greenway is now owned and maintained by the National Trust (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/greenway) and is a fine memorial to one of the country’s most commercially successful writers. It is accessible by road but far better to catch one of the many return pleasure boats plying their trade there from Dartmouth quay. Another form of alternative transport well worth taking is the Dartmouth Steam railway (www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk), a wonderfully evocative and stylish way in which to travel along the riverside.

How to get to Sandbanks from London

Train: 2hr 15 mins, direct train from Poole to London Waterloo (15 mins drive to station)

Car: 2hr 15 mins using the M3

Helicopter: 90 minutes from Battersea Heliport.