OH, WE do like to be beside the seaside – especially when the accommodation is stunning. visits a property with more luxury than its name suggests.

Regency Cottage has an impressive location, bang on the seafront at Sandgate, and that’s not all. The dolls’ house-like property, gleaming white weatherboard with pretty green shutters, also has an impressive lineage.

It was built for the military commander of the region in 1822, a time when England still feared invasion even though Napoleon had been defeated in 1815. Wellington may have been flushed with success after the Battle of Waterloo but there were still plenty of jitters. The coast’s unusual Martello towers, built to repel any foe from across the Channel, are testament to the torrid times.

More recently, the house has been a holiday home for Lord Moynihan and his young family. The former Sports Minister is now chairman of the British Olympics Association, busy organising the 2012 London Games, and is a very athletic chap himself. He was an Oxford Double Blue for boxing and coxing.

He coxed for the 1977 Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, and was a silver medallist in the 1980 Moscow Games. No wonder sporty memorabilia is scattered throughout Regency Cottage.

They include an early pair of wooden skis, little more than planks, and paintings of jockeys in the dining room, plus a whole rack of fishing rods.

The children, Nicholas, 12, George,11, and India, nine, have been following in their father’s footsteps. Nicholas is already a whiz at skiing and won the British Boys’ Championship. There’s a climbing wall in the garden, a trampoline and a swimming pool plus hot tub in the back garden, discreetly shielded by walls and fences.

It looks as if Lord and Lady Moynihan have spent a small fortune on the property in the nine years they have holidayed here. Every room is immaculately decorated in Farrow and Ball shades with furnishings to complement period and location of the house, while the kitchen/breakfast room is high tech with handmade oak units but homely thanks to the four-oven Aga.

Lady Moynihan said: "We wanted colours to reflect the sea while keeping the integrity of the house. We’re sad to be leaving - we come to Sandgate from London as often as we can.

"It’s been absolutely glorious listening to the sea. It’s a bit like living on a ship."

Lady Moynihan is also a keen sportswoman. She added: "I love skiing and cycling. It’s lovely cycling along the front all the way to Dymchurch and it burns a lot of calories!"

The house is awash with period detail including a useful dumb waiter which connects the kitchen with the grey-green dining room above. There is also original architraving plus dado rails, high ceilings, an attractive staircase and stripped floorboards.

The sea views from the Regency sash windows are stunning. You could sit for hours watching the play of light on the waves.

The sunny yellow drawing room has a double aspect with sea views to the front and French doors to the garden. There is also a library, study, utility room, and family room. A quirky feature is the wine store and store room which used to be the wig room.

Upstairs, the master bedroom has a luxury en suite with a bath and shower/Turkish bath. The guest bedroom is also en suite, with two further bedrooms and a family bathroom.

Outside is a double garage plus a bit of a surprise - The Lodge which Lord and Lady Moynihan bought recently.

Lady Moynihan said: "It was a 1970s bungalow and we covered it in weatherboarding and added green shutters to match the house."

This New England beach-style property, currently used for guests, has been thoroughly refurbished and is completely self-contained with a carefully tended sun-trap garden, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, L-shaped living room with dining area and a kitchen.

There are sea views from the slate tiled terrace and ample parking plus a garage with utility area.