Homes By The Sea examines beautiful coastal homes in Pembrokeshire

Architectural designer Charlie Luxton travels to the county to visit some fantastic homes built on the rugged and breath-taking Pembrokeshire coast as part of ‘Homes By The Sea’ (More4 9pm).

In this series Charlie embarks on a nationwide journey to visit some of Britain’s best homes by the sea and find out what makes the perfect coastal property.

In tonight’s episode, Charlie explores a space-age home built into the cliffs of St Bride’s Bay and offers design advice to a couple undertaking a massive renovation project overlooking picturesque Fishguard harbour.

Charlie’s also in the ancient town of Newport, where he sails up the River Nevern to unlock the secrets of an amazing waterside property before heading into town to the 12th Century castle that’s also a cosy period cottage.

Charlie’s first home on his Pembrokeshire itinerary is anything but traditional.

Buried into the hillside is the space-age home Malator at Druidston, owned by former Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews.

Known locally as the “Tellytubby House” its architectural style has made it one of Pembrokeshire most famous buildings and renowned around the world.

Bob gives Charlie a guided tour of his wonderful home and explains how the unique design came about and what it’s like to live in such an unusual property.

From there Charlie’s back on the coastal path again, heading back to the cliffs above Fishguard. Ian and Angela O’Donaghue have recently moved back to the UK from Hong Kong and are a year into an 18-month renovation of a 1950s house with amazing sea views.

Ian, who’s an engineer, is originally from Fishguard and had always dreamt about owning this particular house. He realised that dream and is now transforming it into a fantastic family home for him, Angela and their two boys.

Charlie has a tour of the site, meets a builder with a serious sense of deja vu (Gareth Marpole’s first job as an apprentice builder 20 years earlier had been to build a porch on this very house) and suggests how Ian and Angela could tweak their plans to get the best view from their brand new kitchen.

After Fishguard Charlie’s heading north to Newport.

Retired businessman Duncan Fitzwilliam was born in England but his family’s Welsh connections to the area drew him to the town.

He had holidayed in Newport as a child and used to sail past the home he now owns, which is located right next to the water’s edge on the beautiful Nevern estuary.

The former fish factory was in a rundown condition when Duncan bought it, so he rebuilt it from foundations up to create a light and bright home with glorious views across the estuary.

Charlie sails up the river with Duncan, discovers some fascinating features of the home such as the James Bond bookcase and the old submarine ladders, before dining with Duncan and his family on the riverside deck as the sun sets.

From Newport Charlie sets off for Strumble Head, famous for its lighthouse.

Here on the jagged cliffs Charlie meets farmer Mike Kurtz and his wife Cathy. Mike was born and bred on the farm but at the age of 10 Mike’s father died and his mum was forced to sell off the majority of the land to remain living in the 200 year old farmhouse.

Mike eventually followed in his father’s footsteps, farming the small pocket of land that was left and working elsewhere too to make ends meet.

But he was determined to stay on the farm and Mike and Cathy eventually converted an old barn on the site into a family home.

In 2007 Mike was offered the chance to buy back the land his mother was forced to sell, restoring the farm to its former glory.

The scenery in this part of Pembrokeshire inspires Charlie to use Strumble Head as the setting for his own fantasy home.

He spots an abandoned World War Two watch tower on the cliffs and sketches a dream coastal home using the red-brick building as its base.

On top he designs a glass boxed living area which would have 360 degree views over the rocky headlands and out to sea, while at night it would mirror the nearby lighthouse and become a shining beacon on top of the steep cliffs.

Charlie’s final destination is back in Newport and he’s heading uphill to the ancient castle that dominates the town. It was built in the 12th century but fell into ruin around 1600 AD.

The place remained derelict until a Victorian MP ingeniously built a five-bedroom cottage into the watchtower section of the castle.

Liza and Robbie Watson are the people lucky enough to call this 150 year old cottage home.

They spotted a small ad in the Daily Telegraph property section five years ago which read: “Long lease available on Welsh coastal castle…”

Since then they’ve called this quirky cottage home. While most of it was built from scratch, parts of it do utilise the Norman structure, such as the long dining room that has windows where the arrow loops once were.

The programme is on More4 tonight (Thursday) at 9pm.