A RUN-DOWN fisherman’s shack with one room and no running water or electricity is on the market for £80,000.
The sky-high asking price reflects the rarity of the 300-year-old, grade II listed property in Northumberland, just a few miles from the Scottish border.
The fishing shiel near the village of Goswick was once used to store equipment and as a place to shelter.
The shiel – from Old Norse for a shelter – measures just 7.9 metres by 5.3m – and consists of one room with a mezzanine bunk.
Pictures show the stone-built property is in need of extensive repairs, with holes in its roof, damaged stonework and a rickety old wooden door.
But the sellers say the restoration project – which includes just under an acre of land – could offer potential development opportunities.
The historic property, called Cheswick Fishing Shiel, sits between a golf club and the beach and is accessed by a track over one of the course’s fairways.
The location has been heralded as an area of outstanding natural beauty where fishing shiels were once common, however, the one for sale is among the last remaining original examples.
Sellers Savills insist that a straightforward restoration programme is likely to be granted planning permission.
They also suggest that it may make an ideal holiday let or location for a weekend retreat.
Savills Director, John Colman comments: “Cheswick Fishing Shiel is such a find, in every sense, with its remarkably secluded yet easily accessible location, only six miles from Berwick upon Tweed, and the potential to create something very special within the original stone walls which still sit proudly in the dunes, as they have done since the 1700s.
“This is a project for those with real imagination and represents an incredibly exciting opportunity for a truly remarkable beach house in one of the most beautiful corners of England.”
For the same money, you could afford a two-bedroom house in Doncaster, South Yorkshire or a three-bedroom terrace property in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
Whilst £80,000 would get you a garage with space for one car in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London.
