What it is: A former watch house set in an overgrown half-acre plot on the rocky Cornish foreshore, now in ruins and home to a few sheltering seagulls. You can get down to the sea, but only by negotiating a hazardous climb.

It is 20 yards from the sandy beaches at Hawker’s Cove and a 20-minute walk to the pretty fishing town of Padstow on the Camel estuary, where the celebrity chef Rick Stein owns a number of restaurants. Wadebridge is eight miles away and Newquay 10 miles.

The problems: Initial consultations with the planners at North Cornwall district council suggest the possibility of gaining permission to renovate the property to use as an artist’s studio or bird-watching hut — let alone as a residential bolt hole — is extremely remote. You can drive onto the plot, but have to walk 20 yards to the house. The site is unfenced and overgrown, and it could take a week to clear the brambles.

Beauty, and in this case capital value, is in the eye of the beholder. The selling agent has set a guide price of £25,000 but is asking for formal tenders by April 8.

Interested parties must put in a bid stating what they think the site is worth and how much they are prepared to pay. It will go to the best offer, as in a sealed-bid situation, but, as when buying at an auction, the winning bidder has to pay a deposit of 10% on the day, at which point they are contractually obliged to complete the purchase.

The advantages: “It is a very rare plot,” says Andrew Chilcott, the selling agent. “Nothing quite like this has come up before. A few buyers might look on it as an extremely long-term investment. Meanwhile, it would make the most perfect private picnic spot.”

The agent expects lots of interest. Last month a galleried studio in the area with no residential consent — you couldn’t spend the night there — went under offer within a week after going on sale for £37,500. Initial inquiries should be made by e-mail to sales@lillicrapchilcott.com.

Lillicrap Chilcott, 01872 273 473

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers