Our island location gives you a rare opportunity to experience total peace and tranquility - isolation if you so choose! Horsey Island is set in the beautiful Hamford Water National Nature Reserve, an ideal place for coastal walks, bird watching, seal spotting and fishing. We are a 300 acre working livestock farm, and a designated SSSI site, SPA and an internationally important wetland area for birds (RAMSAR). The natural surroundings and beautiful wildlife make this a wonderfully peaceful retreat. This unique island offers year-round spectacular bird-watching, the winter and spring migrations being particularly special. In winter, you can expect to see some 1500+ brents landing within metres of the house. The drive across the causeway offers the keen photographer ideal opportunities for close-ups of the waders and geese. In the spring, we are very lucky to have huge numbers of avocets, redshanks, oyster catchers and lapwing arriving to claim their nesting sites. Horsey is the perfect place to summer with children offering them total freedom to swim, canoe, bug-hunt, go crabbing or just relax! Arthur Ransome - well known for his “Swallows and Amazons” series of novels, set one of the books from this series - “Secret Water” - here on this island. The beautiful shingle beach is located to the north of the island, offering stunning views out across the Walton Backwaters. The 19th century newly refurbished cottage is welcoming, light and airy. It has 2 spacious double bedrooms, and one twin bedroom upstairs. The bathroom with separate bath and shower is also located upstairs. Downstairs there is a lovely well-equipped kitchen and spacious dining room, a cosy sitting room with a wood-burning stove, and a very useful boot room. Access to the island is by a tidal causeway which is suitable for all but the smallest of cars, due to good ground clearance being necessary. The crossing is a very bumpy two-thirds of a mile on what is essentially a track, but very much worth the journey once you arrive.The tide allows you 4 hours of low water crossings, tide timetables will be provided. Alternatively, why not moor up your boat and reach us that way?
Further details
The cottage letting week begins on a Saturday and ends on a Friday due to the tides being rather dictatorial! This allows you plenty of time to arrive/leave without the added worry of a strict time for crossing the causeway. Therefore if you have travelled by car, you have 4 hours to play with. If you have arrived by boat then high tide is the crossing time for you. August we accept weekly bookings only. No smoking inside the cottage please. Plenty of outdoors on doorstep!! Dogs must be under control at all times whilst on the Island, so as not to disturb the stock or wildlife. Please accept that Horsey is a tidal island, and therefore governed by the tide. Please be on time for crossings, as time and tide wait for no man! Deposit of £100.00 required to secure the booking. Balance to be paid six weeks before arrival. Security deposit of £100.00 required, to be paid with the balance. This will be refunded within seven days of departure provided the house has been left in good order throughout.
Further details indoors
Electricity is provided by solar and wind power on Horsey Island, so electricity is at a premium!
There is a good selection of board games and jigsaw puzzles, quite a few toys for little ones, and also a small library of family friendly DVD's and books.
Bed linen is provided, towels are no longer supplied.
Beach towels are not provided.
Store cupboard essentials.
Wood for stove.
Outdoor furniture.
Further details outdoors
The lovely pond at the front of the cottage offers great views of various waterfowl, and is a lovely place to sit and enjoy the evening. There is a large grassy area surrounding the cottage for the children to run off steam in. Looking out from the house you have a beautiful uninterrupted view of the front fields, with sheep and Arabian horses meandering past. Behind the house is the farm yard which is strictly off limits, due to Horsey being a working farm. You can, however, enjoy the other 300 acres of the island at your leisure. Take a walk to the beautiful beach with views across to Oakley and Harwich, and on a clear day as far as Felixstowe. Stroll along to the lake for a picnic, or head to Barge Creek for a swim. Horsey Island with all its natural beauty is a wonderful spot to relax and soak up the peace and quiet that a private island can offer.
With the Island being a bird sanctuary it is closed to visitors from mid-April to the end of June due to nesting birds. The beach is off limits in July, but once the little terns have vacated, the beach is once again available to be enjoyed by all.