The Surrey dream island home on a private paradise in the middle of the River Thames – Surrey Live

Tucked away on the intriguing islands dotted around the River Thames in Surrey, you'll find a beautiful slice of paradise.

Ever since the Victorians began to sail upriver from London for a weekend retreat, people have realised these stepping stones in the landscape make for unique - and private - homes.

On a mission to explore some of the islands for My London, I headed to Sunbury Court Ait, which you access via a private footbridge.

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It's nestled between riverside bungalows, all with patios and boats moored up alongside.

I linger around for a while like some sort of lost troll, hoping someone might let me across the bridge, which has a beautiful white tower guarding it and signs stating it's private property.

With amazing luck I bump into Phil and Sally who very kindly agree to let me walk across to look around their dream island home.

We walk across the bridge, and we immediately meet a path running east-west across the middle of the island, flanked on either side by wooden panelled bungalows.

As we reach the gate to their home, at the far end of the path, I notice there's a sign on the gate staying "India Wood".

"That's because Phil used to come down to the next island and play Cowboys and Indians when we were children," Sally says.

It turns out Phil's first paper round as a teenager was delivering to the - then much more basic - homes on Sunbury Court island.

He hadn't thought much about it for years afterwards, but one day he and Sally noticed a house for sale on the island, while walking on neighbouring Rivermeade Island, and decided to check it out.

The couple invite me into their simply stunning, brightly lit bungalow that they built themselves.

Phil shows me pictures of what homes on the island originally looked like - wooden chalets used as holiday homes, complete with cement asbestos panels with no insulation at all.

The islanders have worked seriously hard on them since then, and Phil and Sally have built a spacious, comfortable home with patio doors on all sides, and light pouring in from the gleaming river.

It's elevated on piles to stop it flooding and has it's own gorgeous little garden and boat deck out the back.

It's not hard to see that they've found a little slice of heaven.

Phil explains: "We were downsizing. The kids had left home. That's a very typical story and probably how most people end up on the island.

"Some people buy houses on the coast and some buy them on the river.

"There used to be an open air swimming pool on Rivermeade Island and we used to spend everyday in the summer down here as kids," says Sally.

"It was very cold. Not like the heated lidos you get now," adds Phil. "It was 17 shillings and sixpence for a season ticket. So off we'd go!"

"We used to just get on our bikes and go out and come home again at tea time, like a lot of people in those days," muses Sally.

Phil remembers the river freezing in 1963. People actually walked and cycled across it and at Shepperton - legend has it - someone drove a mini across it.

Phil and Sally renovated the house themselves in 2013, and transported all the materials across the narrow channel on a skiff.

But their island home isn't cut off from real life.

"Everybody delivers here and Sunbury village has three pubs, two Indians, one Chinese, one Italian. You can go down on your boat if you want to of course," Phil says.

"You can go down to East Molesey where there's lots of restaurants and you can have a lovely night."

He continues: "We've got two young grandchildren who love looking out and waving at the boats and everybody's very friendly on the river.

"We know certain boats - from the man who operates the barges to the guy who does the diesel and petrol supplies. There's a lot of waving going on."

But if you're going to live on a Thames island, you've got to beware of floods.

"When this island was flooded in 2014 we had to wade down the path in chest-high waders. We used to bring the shopping back on the canoe. We went out one morning and the swans were all swimming down the garden path," says Sally.

"The rescue services were brilliant and took all the elderly people off who needed help. When we moved here there were really only three single elderly ladies living here on the island."

But doesn't it get a bit claustrophobic living on a tiny island in one of 29 homes?

"You can't avoid people on the island but everybody's very friendly," says Sally.

"At Christmas time there was a community event with a Christmas tree and fairy lights illuminating the island's bridge. It was fantastic."

These islands have some amazing stories to tell too, each with its own special character.

This weekend a traditional village rowing festival is taking place which will see 350 boats on the river.

In the summer there's a Sunbury Village regatta, which Sally and Phil used to take part in as children, following by an illuminated sail past and an incredible fireworks display.

Back in Victorian times Phil explains the river was often crammed with suited and booted ladies and gents hiring skiffs on the river for the weekend.

The islands sometimes feature in wider history too.

"We actually had Emperor Haile Selassie (The Ethiopian ruler who was deposed when the Italian forces invaded his country) living on this island," says Phil.

"In the Second World War he was evacuated and briefly lived here."

"People say it's peaceful on the Thames but you've got a lot of wildlife which can be quite noisy," laughs Phil.

"There's also loads of rowing boats. They start at crazy hours in the morning about 6am even at this time of year."

Sally explains the biggest problem on the river these days is with illegal moorings. People who, in ever-increasing numbers, are buying up old boats and just mooring up wherever they like without paying.

But it's not all bad - Phil and Sally have a decent sized motor boat they are renovating out the back and also have kayaks to use on the river.

Last year they even motored up to the source of the Thames in Lechlade.

Phil and Sally are keen to emphasise though that Sunbury Court Ait is a private island with people's private dwellings. You can't just turn up. The islanders are understandably protective of the lifestyle they've found.

But there are plenty of islands, like neighbouring Rivermeade island where you can pitch up in summer to sunbathe and try out a bit of paddleboarding.

The river is non-tidal here too so boating is pretty straightforward.

And for those who want to explore, there's a new ferry just next to the island that will take you across the river in the summer months. It's completely run by volunteers.

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The Surrey dream island home on a private paradise in the middle of the River Thames - Surrey Live