A STUNNING contemporary home set within landscaped gardens featuring a huge lake is on the market for £1,650,000.

Haddon Lake House in St Lawrence — on the site of the former Tropical Bird Park tourist attraction — was a labour of love for owners Phillippa and Stephen Lambert.

In 2002, permission was granted to them for the building on the lake site, on the proviso the landscape was restored to its full glory within two years.

Not for the faint-hearted, work included dredging the lake and making all the decorative water features work again, removing bird cages and reinstating the original paths and planting areas.

Mike Rainey, of Rainey Petrie Architecture, who was known to Phillippa through her work as a professional landscape designer, took on the task of coming up with the right design.

Stephen, an architectural illustrator, applied his skills both in design and in endless practical work.

Meanwhile, Phillippa spearheaded the landscape restoration, which included the careful reinstatement of the centrepiece — an early Victorian walled kitchen garden.

The planting now ensures the home is virtually self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables for most of the year.

The entire grounds are also a haven for red squirrels, kingfishers, moorhens, ducks, fish, newts and herons.

The two-acre project was completed in 2005, and the house was a finalist in the eco-home category of the Grand Designs awards in 2006.

It has won local awards from the IW Council for its green architecture, and won one of the programmes in the 2008 television series I Own Britain’s Best Home and Garden.

The interior of Haddon Lake House is set over three floors, and glazing accounts for more than 35 per cent of the overall wall area.

The sale also incorporates a workshop and store, a double garage and The Boathouse — a converted two-bedroom, single-storey barn.

If you are wondering how Phillippa and Stephen can walk away from such a labour of love, it's all down to their creative streak.

Phillippa said: “We like to build — a new offgrid project beckons for us, which will push the eco-envelope just a little bit further.

"We have had the pleasure of Haddon Lake House — it is a delight to live in and gives pleasure to all who see it.

"Now it is our turn to hand it on to someone whose life will be transformed by its magic, in the way that ours has been.”

The property is for sale with Savills.

Don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.