Scenic Somerset hunting lodge & estate on the market

Boasting five bedrooms and extensive living and entertaining space, Beech Hanger is the main house within the estate and has been well-maintained over the years to preserve its original features such as Ancaster stone fireplaces and original beech panelling. 
 

Further accommodation is provided on the site in the form of three luxury cottages, all self-contained, two bedroom residences with en suite facilities, private enclosed gardens and hot tubs. Currently utilised as holiday letting guest accommodation, the cottages operate at an average 97% occupancy and achieve high levels of repeat business due to the quality of the lodgings.

Situated in the Quantock Hills, the first area in England to be declared an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Beech Hanger provides the perfect base to immerse in the scenic countryside and coastline, and neighbours the historical Alfoxton Park Estate, which is also on the market through Christie & Co. With excellent road and rail links to the area, large towns and cities such as Taunton, Bristol and Exeter are within easy reach. 

This substantial estate, which benefits from an elevated position and views overlooking the Bristol Channel, also has paddocks, stables, formal gardens and stone terraces, offering a range of potential for development. 

With a strong reputation built up over many years, Beech Hanger, which was featured in a 1911 issue of Country Life magazine, has been successfully run by the current owners Major & Mrs Oliver. They comment, “Beech Hanger is one of those rare and precious places, it is first and most importantly a wonderful warm safe family home with coastal views that change not just by the season or by the day but by the second. To have the luxury of 9,500 acres of stunning moorland on the back-door step to walk, ride and play on is beyond value particularly given the ever-ongoing urbanisation pressures that the UK faces. Then add to this a highly successful and easy to run holiday cottage business – Beech Hanger really is the full “Country Life Style Package”.

“The opportunities for the incoming buyer to really make both the property and the business their own is tremendous. We have run this very much as an easy lifestyle business alongside our other companies, but if one were to really want to maximise the revenue both the principal house, the ancillary buildings, the land and the cottages provide masses of scope to do so. 

“It has been an incredibly hard decision to offer Beech Hanger for sale. We have adored our time here, but we are builders and it has always been a dream to build our own house from scratch – we have probably watched too many Grand Designs programs for our own good!” 

Richard Thomas, Business Agent at Christie & Co who is handling the sale, comments, “Beech Hanger offers a unique opportunity to acquire a substantial and excellently maintained estate, plus several impressive properties creating a very profitable income stream. There is significant scope for a new owner to develop the commercial elements to further drive trade or adopt a picturesque lifestyle business. There is also revenue making potential from hire of the equestrian facilities or subject to planning converting the stables into further letting/income making units.

“This area of Somerset is exceptionally attractive to both tourists and investors and we are seeing a consistent interest in hospitality and leisure businesses in this popular area of the country.”