Head of the river: Paradise Point

All these efforts did not, however, restore the house to its full original glory. Years before, a previous owner of the Grade II listed house, which was built in 1850, had split it into two homes. In 2015 their neighbour decided to sell, so Julie and Chris were able to reunite the two properties into one 6,777.5 sq ft, five bedroom home. This sparked a second phase of renovations and a cinema, bar and office space were added. Outside, they built an award winning garage and a spectacular terrace.

“It’s a lovely place to have a drink. In the summer it is a real sun trap and you can just sit and watch the boats go by,” Julie said. “In fact the architect who originally built the house made sure that there is a view of the water from every window, which is just amazing. You are living by a moving picture.”

Julie and Chris owned Paradise Point for almost 15 years and putting the house on the market was a difficult decision, prompted by family ties. They listed the house with Knight Frank after researching the local market. To their delight they then realised that they had come full circle. The agent who first showed them the house back in 2008 was Sarah-Jane Bingham-Chick, Knight Frank’s head of South Hams and Cornwall residential sales.

Despite the fact they were moving away, Julie and Chris planned to keep a base in Dartmouth. “It is an absolutely magical place. It is open all year, it’s a proper community and the people are lovely. We will always have a presence here.”

They were also happy in the knowledge that the work they had done meant they left the house in better shape than it was when they purchased it. “We are proud of the restoration, even though we have blown our budget 10 times over,” Julie joked. “We see ourselves as custodians, looking after the house for the next person.

“Ironically, last year we had a knock on the door and it was the gentleman we had bought Paradise Point from in 2008. He walked around and said, ‘I knew you were the right people to buy the house’.”