The beach hut with a £200,000 view

Beach properties with spectacular sea views are becoming a rarity in England. From the congested beaches of the South to the quieter coastlines of the North the booming beach-hut market continues unabated.

A wooden beach home with water for only six months of the year is the latest to capture the attention of aspiring seaside dwellers after it went on the market for £200,000 in Northumberland.

The two-storey chalet stands on National Trust land above Embleton Bay, in "an area of outstanding natural beauty", and overlooks miles of beach which stretch out to Dunstanburgh Castle on the headland.

A neighbouring property, without a sea view, was recently offered for £92,000, despite none of the homes in the area having vehicle access, year-round running water or mains electricity.

"This beach house has probably the best view of them all because it is the only two-storey one," said Nick Rawlinson, of Groves estate agents in Newcastle, who is confident it may go for more than £200,000. "There's probably no other area like it in England and it offers a 1950s lifestyle."

The National Trust does not allow householders to sub-let, so many of the chalets and huts in the beach community have been passed down from generation to generation. But in this case the family who own it are said to have outgrown the three-bedroom, one lounge hut, because their children are now adults.