Britain’s most romantic castle up for sale

With a heart-shaped lake and fairytale turrets, Grade II listed Compton Castle in Somerset is up for grabs for £20 million.

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A rare opportunity for would-be wooers to snap up a home perfect for romance has come on the market.

Compton Castle, in Compton Pauncefoot, Somerset, is an estate that looks like it has just stepped out of a fairytale.

Legend says the castle’s former owner built the heart-shaped lake as an engagement present for his wife-to-be, but she had an affair with a local curate prompting the landowner to add a pair of teardrops alongside the lake.

The castle, built in 1825, is being sold along with a coach house, two gate lodges and five cottages. It has nine bedrooms, six bathrooms and five reception rooms.

Built in the Gothic style, it also features castellated parapets and circular turrets. Inside, there are magnificent fireplaces, ornate stone and wood carving and fine panelling.

Even though, at 18,000 sq ft, the castle is almost 20 times the size of the average English home, it is incredibly private because it is impossible to view the castle from anywhere outside the estate, making it an ideal romantic retreat.

The castle was originally built for a Mr Hussey-Hunt, who lived there for five years until his death in 1830.

Compton Castle is being sold through Frank Knight and Bidwells.

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