White Cliffs of Dover cafe with ‘Britain’s best view’ on market for £3.5 MILLION
The historical building, which was built in the 1920s, has gone up for sale with an eyewatering price tag
THIS stunning clifftop cafe which boasts Britain's best view is now up for sale - but buyers will have to cough up a massive £3.5 million to make it their own.
The Bluebirds Cafe, which sits on top of the White Cliffs of Dover, offers visitors incredible panoramic views.
Built in the 1920s, the building played a key part in World War Two thanks to its secret cellar housing a Magnetron radar device.
The device helped protect England from Nazi invasion, with Sir Winston Churchill visiting the secret underground bunker twice during the war.
Prince Charles also made a trip there in 1979.
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The building then went on to become a coastguard station, before being converted into a tearoom in the 1990s.
It is now up on the market, being sold by Marshall & Clarke.
Director Perry Mercer said: "This property is simply breathtaking.
"And being named after Vera Lynn's inspirational song makes the Blue Birds' link with our wartime history all the more poignant.
"The land along the cliff tops around St Margaret's was for several generations part of Lord Granville's estates.
"In 1914 the land was acquired by the Ministry of War and two huts were erected and used as a signal station during and after The Great War.
"The Obelisk monument adjacent was erected in 1921 (together with two others - one on the opposite side of the Channel atop Cap Blanc Nez and the other in New York Harbour) as a tribute to sailors of the Dover Patrol who lost their lives during the hostilities.
"In the late 1920s the signal huts were replaced by a purpose-built brick Coastguard lookout.
"With war again looming, however, the significance of the site prompted the building of an underground operations room, 35ft below the building, with two anti-aircraft guns sited to the rear.
"Throughout World War Two, the lookout played a significant part in the defence of the country, it's position near Hellfire Corner being central to the Battle of Britain."
The current vendors, Sandy and Mary Wallace, had to dig out rubble which filled in a passageway that led to two staircases.
They eventually uncovered the bunker and an escape passage into the back garden.
Sandy said: "The bunker had been stripped out and all I found down there was a tin hat.
"I've since hung a photo of Winston Churchill on the wall as a reminder of his two secret wartime visits there to see the Magnetron in operation.
"To think that the pilots he called 'The Few' fought dogfights with the Luftwaffe directly in front of our café is inspiring.
"And the fact that they were victorious is largely down to what was hidden here.
"Spitfires still fly past regularly, accompanied by aviation fans photographing them from helicopters. But the best sight of them is to be had from the Blue Birds terrace.";
Mary added: "Having turned what was a wreck into rather lovely tearooms, and made so many friends through visitors staying there, it is going to be a sad day when we sell up.
"But we are retiring and it's time someone else inherited the best view in Britain."