The Ocean Fort You've Always Wanted Has Just Gone On The Market For £500,000

It has the address No. 1, The Thames, and you can reach London in 45 minutes in your speedboat.

This is No. 1, The Thames. It's the bomb-proof 19th-century sea palace of your dreams, and can be yours for half a million quid.

SWNS

The property, off the Isle of Grain on the north Kent coast, where the Thames meets the Medway, is a former military installation that a local builder bought from the Crown a decade ago. One possible problem: For most of the day it's entirely surrounded by water.

There's a muddy, half-mile-long causeway from the mainland that you can only use at low tide. Either that, or you'll need a helicopter or boat.

SWNS

Also known as Grain Tower Battery, it was used to defend the Kent coast during wartime.

SWNS

It's safe to say that it's in need of a bit of work.

SWNS

Or, as the estate agent puts it: "The property is of course in need of complete renovation but could be transformed into almost anything – a private residence, an offshore hotel, a houseboat community, outdoor pursuit centre, film location, nightclub, casino, to name a few."

It would cost up to £1 million to make it habitable.

The estate agent reckons that with a speedboat, you could commute to London in about 45 minutes.

SWNS

SWNS

Beware the various unexplained trapdoors. And don't worry about ventilation.

SWNS

The spot where the anti-aircraft gun used to go is an ideal place for a swimming pool.

SWNS

But don't get too used to the unspoiled views: This is where Boris Johnson would like to build an estuary airport.

SWNS

The good news is lots of people think the airport is too expensive to be built.

So you could either buy a sea fort, or, for same price, get a garage in Camberwell, south London.

Google Street View

The choice is yours.