P

roving that Suffolk is the England of old, the entire village of Thorpeness is a model village built in the 1920s by Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie “for people who want to experience life as it was when England was Merrie England.”

The snake in this Garden of Eden was the required water tower to feed the town’s needs. Ogilvie and his architect considered the tower "ugly", but inspired by his friend, Mrs Malcolm Mason, a children’s book author, they clad the tower in a fairytale structure that Mason dubbed the House in the Clouds.

After an eventful history, which included being hit by an RAF fighter chasing a V1 bomb, the water tower was converted in 1987 into its current form: a seven-storey, steel structure with the appearance of a quaint, fairytale house peeping over the horizon.

Guests can book the entire building, which has five bedrooms, three bathrooms and the magnificent open-plan living area on the top floor with views over the treetops of Thorpeness towards the golfcourse and the lake - or ‘meare’ as it’s known.

Visitors are encouraged to enjoy the Britishness of the area, with a visit to Snape Maltings, Minsmere Wildlife Sanctuary and a thrashing of your fellow guests on the house’s table tennis arena all absolute musts. Doing so with a monocle is an optional extra.