Built back in 2010 on the site of a disused railway line, it’s a local secret: a quiet, forest-like space to retreat to when city life becomes overwhelming.

Shelves run all around the edge of the shop, piled high with upmarket store cupboard essentials in addition to handmade soaps and eco-friendly products.

Inside, the rooms have distinctly different decorative styles. This is to give an idea of how the house would have looked at each stage in its history.

It was once the site of the Eel Pie Hotel, a 19th-century guesthouse turned jazz venue and now it’s been transformed into a hippie artists’ colony...

The domed Arab Hall – a glittering chamber inspired by the inside of the Castello della Zisa in Palermo – is what most visitors come for.

Features of particular interest include the Architectural Library, the Solar Stair, a central spiral staircase with 52 steps for each week of the year...