Gladstone's Land
This 17-th century merchant's house, recently restored, provides a window on life in a typical Old Town house before overcrowding drove the rich to the Georgian New Town. "Lands", as they were known, were tall, narrow buildings erected on small plots of land. The 6-storey Gladstone's Land was named after Thomas Gladstanes, the merchant who built it in 1617. The house still has the original arcade booths on the street front and a painted ceiling with fine Scandinavian floral designs. Though extravagantly furnished, it also contains items which are a reminder of a less salubrious side of the old city, such as wooden over-shoes which had to be worn in the dirty streets. A chest in the beautiful Painted Chamber is said to have been given by a Dutch sea captain to a Scottish merchant who saved him from a shipwreck. A similar house, Morocco Land, can be found on canon-gate.
477B Lawnmarket tel.: 01312-xxxxxx.
Devon. Lyneham Coombe, Teign Valley
A brand-new timber and glass eco-house set in its own private woodland valley, 5 beds, 4 baths, 2 receps, 2 kitchens, cloakroom, treble garage. £ 1.3m. Jackson-Strops & Staff. 01392-xxxxxx.
Norfolk: Wood's End, Attleborough
A marvellous pine-clad house, designed by award-winning architects Roderick James, and set among meadows and farmland. 4 beds, 2 baths, kitchen, 1 recep, 2 garages, 2 acres. £ 1.75m.
Bedfords 01328-xxxxxx.
Ockenden Manor
A peaceful haven with glorious gardens and grounds just an hour from London and 29 minutes from Gatwick. Ockenden Manor with its serene ambience and magnificent views of the South dawns is a retreat in which you can simply relax & un-wind. Ockenden Lane, West Sussex.
Sweetest Suffolk
Lavenham is one of the best-preserved villages in England., a pastel-painted architectural confection of fine medieval houses (there are more than 200 listed buildings here) in the midst of scenic but still working countryside. Bury St Edmunds and Constable's beloved Dedham Vale are nearby, and the area is packed with treasure-trove antiques shops. Wool Cottage is a piece of Lavenham history, with buckets of beams and an engagingly tumbledown look, but all the comforts (flat-screen TV, cinema sound and so on).
Vanor Barn: Cranbrook, Kent
A converted barn which dates back around 500 years. On the outskirts of the Wealden village of Goudhurst. 3 beds, 2 baths, 2 receps, kitchen, 1-bed annexe, garage, swimming pool, pond, 0.25 acres. £ 950,000 Winkworth, 01892-xxxxxx
Herefordshire: Bollitree Castle, near Ross-n-Wye
A Grade II* listed house with excellent equestrian facilities, in a parkland setting on the edge of the forest of Dean. 6 beds, 4 baths, 3 receps, stabling, paddocks, 20 acres. £ 2.75m. Savills, 01242-xxxxxx.
Hampshire: Vale Farm, Bentworth
A contemporary house in an elevated position with nearly 360-degree views and first-class equestrian facilities including loose boxes and exercise track. 3 beds (all en suite), 3 receps, study, kitchen/breakfast room, double garage, garden, 20 acres. £ 1.6m, Knight Prank, 01962-xxxxxx.
Ayrshire: The Stables, Templetonburn, nr Kilmarnock
A country house set in 4.5 acres of sheltered grounds with a paddock, stabling and floodlit all-weather arena. 4 beds, 2 baths, 3 receps, kitchen, conservatory, boiler house, hayloft, office rooms, laundry room, garage/ workshop. £ 595.000, Savills, 01292-xxxxxx.