Higher Shapter Street, Topsham, Devon

Cottage to its core, this three-bedroom house is complete with an inglenook fireplace, a window seat with leafy views and a postcard-pretty blue and white façade. Two of its bedrooms are tucked beneath the eaves, an idyllic spot to hunker down during the winter months. Minutes away from the River Exe Estuary, the house sits amidst an abundance of walking and cycling routes and is a short walk away from Topsham Station, which runs regular train services into all Exeter stations, with direct services into central London.

Setting the Scene

Salty air and the distant creaking of masts make Higher Shapter Street an ideal spot to experience a slice of riverside living, just strides away from the foreshore at Fisherman’s Causeway. Separated from the estuary only by rows of other seaside cottages and distinctive Dutch gabled merchants houses, it has a private, secluded feel, added to by the trailing plants and vines that tickle the ground around the house.

The cottage is over 400 years old, its age showcased by an inglenook fireplace, impressive crux beams and Dutch stairs. The bricks in the fireplace were once used as ballast for ships sailing from Holland to the South West of England. Several hundred years later, the house was the childhood home of Richard Pym, an English footballer whose family’s profession earned him the nickname ‘The Fisherman Footballer’.

The Grand Tour

An idyllic frontage, the house’s blue front door is fringed with decorative woodwork set within whitewashed walls, with a long bench placed to the front; the ideal spot to enjoy the view of boats bobbing on the water. The front door opens onto a sitting room, orientated towards a large brickwork fireplace. Wide dark boards run underfoot, with a charming door to a passage staircase in the rear wall.

The kitchen is finished with similar sea-blue tones, and a cottage feel is sustained by a large timber garden door on ornamental hinges. A window seat sits below casement windows, a tranquil place to enjoy a morning coffee. On one side is an olive green dresser, large enough to store a range of crockery and Sunday stew pots.

Upstairs, there are three bedrooms. The first, a double, has views of the winding street from a lovely sash window. A family bathroom has a shower and heated towel rails.

In the attic above are the two further bedrooms, framed by the house’s atmospheric sloping eaves. A singularly luminescent coastal light seeps into both through evocative dormer windows.

Out and About

The house sits on the estuary that runs through wonderful Topsham, where the streets are lined with Tudor, Queen Anne and Georgian cottages, and there are extensive opportunities for country walks and cycling along the Exe Estuary Trail, known for its wildlife and birdsong. In the last few years, The Telegraph designated the house as standing within the top 50 postcodes in the UK, not least for its eclectic mix of independent shops and cafes.

The area has many great pubs, restaurants and local amenities. A quayside locale, the area is known for its seafood. The Galley and The Salutation Inn are wonderful seafood restaurants, the latter with its own fishmongers. The Bridge Inn pub has picnic tables on its estuary-side lawn, with live music and as broad a selection of ales as to be expected from this corner of the South West. It’s also one of only eleven pubs in the UK recognised for its historic interiors. The Turf does a wonderful barbecue, and is only accessible by foot or boat. SALT is the best-in-town for the catch of the day, and CIRCLE is a great independent coffee shop.

Just a ways away, Darts Farm has the best of South West produce. Proud of their local craft heritage, ARTENAX celebrates local artists and makers, while SEAM runs a variety of creative workshops. Nearby good schools include Exeter Mathematics Secondary and Exeter College, both rated outstanding and Lady Seaward’s CofE Primary is also “outstanding”.

Topsham is just a 20-minute drive to Exeter; a vibrant cultural centre based around the Exeter Cathedral, with an excellent selection of restaurants, shops and cafes and historic Quay. Exeter has an extensive transport network with the M5 and Exeter St Davids railway station which runs services to London Paddington in just over two hours. Exeter international airport is around 10 minutes by car. Topsham Railway Station runs a service to Exeter Central and Exmouth in 10 and 20 minutes respectively. Trains travel from Exeter to London Paddington in 2 hours. The M5 and Motorway Network is reachable in around 10 minutes from the house.

Council Tax Band: C