Windmill, Sandy Down, Lymington, SO41 8PN

Property Reference: 10514

Hidden away between Lymington and Brockenhurst, a remarkable 4.3-acre country estate with more than 6,700 sq ft of accommodation, seven stables, a tennis court and Roydon Woods as its backdrop offers a rare opportunity to create an exceptional New Forest lifestyle.
Some houses provide somewhere to live. Others provide the setting for an entire way of life.
Windmill, a substantial country residence tucked away at Sandy Down in the heart of the New Forest National Park, very much belongs in the latter category.
Coming to market after more than 35 years in the same ownership, this six-bedroom country home presents a rare opportunity to acquire an established private estate in one of the most desirable corners of the New Forest – approximately midway between the Georgian sailing town of Lymington and the village of Brockenhurst.
Set within around 4.3 acres of mature gardens and paddocks, with the ancient landscape of Roydon Woods providing an extraordinary natural backdrop, Windmill combines scale and seclusion with something increasingly difficult to find: a genuine sense of freedom.
There is space here for horses. For children to disappear into the garden. For friends to stay for the weekend. For tennis on a summer evening, dogs and muddy boots, working from home and entertaining on a grand scale.
It is a home that invites you to imagine not simply where you might live, but how.

A Country House Made for Living
Approached along a sweeping private drive, Windmill reveals itself gradually through its mature surroundings.
Inside, more than 6,700 sq ft of accommodation provides impressive scale without sacrificing the warmth of a family home.
A magnificent triple-aspect drawing room with open fireplace overlooks the gardens and provides a natural setting for entertaining, while a separate sitting room opens into a light-filled garden room.
The formal dining and family room connects to both the study and traditional country kitchen, where a gas Aga provides an appropriately timeless focal point.
Pantries, utility spaces, stores, garaging and practical entrances provide the less glamorous but essential ingredients that allow a large country home – particularly one with horses, children and dogs – to function effortlessly.
Upstairs are six generous bedrooms.
The principal suite extends across the full depth of the house, with two walk-in wardrobes, an en-suite bathroom and far-reaching views across the gardens and paddocks towards Roydon Woods.
A second en-suite bedroom creates an ideal guest suite, while further bedrooms provide ample space for children, extended family and visitors.
And there is flexibility built into the house.
An office suite with its own external access could potentially be adapted to provide independent accommodation, a studio or a dedicated place from which to work, subject to any necessary permissions.
For a family looking to create a multigenerational home – or simply wanting space that can evolve as life changes – Windmill offers considerable possibilities.

A Childhood in the New Forest
For families considering exchanging London, Surrey or city life for the countryside, Windmill presents an enticing alternative.
Children have approximately 4.3 acres in which to explore.
Hidden within the grounds is an impressive purpose-built treehouse, constructed on raised timber pillars and even equipped with electricity – the sort of childhood hideaway that is difficult to replicate in an urban garden.
There is an upgraded tennis court for summer afternoons, while a walled kitchen garden, greenhouse and large chicken run bring another dimension to country life.
The mature rear garden provides a wonderful setting for entertaining, looking across the property's own land towards woodland beyond.
And then there are the horses.

Horses at Home – and the New Forest Beyond
For an equestrian family, Windmill offers something particularly special: the opportunity for horses to become part of everyday home life.
An established stable yard incorporates seven well-built stables, two tack rooms, stores and an equine round pen, with direct access into a series of interconnecting paddocks.
Rather than driving to a livery yard, the horses are simply outside.
Beyond the property itself lies some of the New Forest's most evocative riding country, with access from Sandy Down towards Roydon Woods and the open forest around Setley.
It is an exceptional proposition for experienced riders, but Windmill should not be viewed solely as an equestrian property.
Take the horses away and what remains is still an unusually substantial private family estate with land, gardens, tennis, extensive ancillary accommodation and extraordinary access to the New Forest.
For those who do ride, however, the combination becomes difficult to replicate.

More Than a Main House
One of Windmill's most intriguing qualities is the amount of additional space available to its next owners.
Within the grounds is a substantial detached log cabin with its own garden and shower facilities.
Today it serves as a gym.
In a previous incarnation, however, the building housed an indoor swimming pool.
For its next owner, it presents another opportunity entirely. It might remain a gym, become guest accommodation, provide a substantial studio or leisure space – or perhaps even become a swimming pool once again, subject to the appropriate works and permissions.
Together with the office suite, integral garaging and other ancillary spaces, it gives Windmill considerable scope to adapt around changing family requirements.

That potential is important.
Windmill isn't a newly completed country house where every finish, room and lifestyle decision has already been made on behalf of its buyer.
Instead, it offers something arguably more exciting: the scale, land, location and infrastructure from which to create a highly individual New Forest home.

Country Living Without the Isolation
For all its privacy, Windmill is remarkably connected.
Approximately two miles to the south lies Lymington, one of the south coast's most desirable towns, renowned for its Georgian High Street, independent shops and restaurants, Saturday market, marinas and thriving sailing community.
In the opposite direction, Brockenhurst provides shops, restaurants and a mainline railway station – only a short drive from Windmill – with direct trains to London Waterloo taking around 90 minutes.
For business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals combining working from home with time in London, it makes the New Forest considerably more accessible than its idyllic surroundings might suggest.
The wider area also offers a choice of well-regarded schooling, sporting facilities, sailing, golf, cycling and, of course, mile upon mile of the New Forest itself.
It is that balance that makes Sandy Down particularly compelling.
One moment you can be surrounded by paddocks and woodland; the next, heading into Lymington for dinner, down to the marina or onto a train for London.

A Home for the Next Generation
After more than three decades in the same ownership, Windmill is ready for another family to write its story.
There is undoubtedly an opportunity to update and reinterpret parts of the house for contemporary living. But rather than being a compromise, that may prove to be one of its greatest attractions.
A new owner isn't simply buying somebody else's vision of the perfect country house.
They are acquiring the foundations from which to create their own.
It could become a spectacular contemporary family estate.
An equestrian home where the horses are part of everyday life.
A multigenerational retreat with room for children, grandparents and guests.
A place from which to work, entertain, ride, sail, explore – and escape.
There are larger estates. There are newer houses. And there are more perfectly manicured country homes.
But finding more than 6,700 sq ft, approximately 4.3 acres, seven stables, tennis, extensive ancillary space and this degree of privacy, positioned between Lymington and Brockenhurst in the New Forest National Park, is another matter entirely.
Perhaps the fact that Windmill has remained in the same ownership for more than 35 years says something in itself.
This isn't simply a house that has come to market.
It is an opportunity for another family to make it home – perhaps for the next 35 years.