Snooping around

Property of the week: Gringley on the Hill, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Its floral rear won the 2003 Times Best Family Garden award and it boasts rose arbours, pebble mosaics and a spectacular winter border. It has a huge farmhouse kitchen and pantry with sandstone floors, a giant utility room and hearths to heat both receptions. There are five bedrooms. It’s just a shame there’s no strip of garden to buffer the front. Yours for £450,000.
Brown & Co, 01777 709112. Photograph: Brown & Co

Wreck of the week: Abbey Road, Great Massingham, Norfolk. This brick and pantiled barn is really just a shell, albeit one with water, electricity and phone lines. Around £100,000 should fulfil the planning brief, but that’s on top of the £140,000 asking price. There is only one bedroom, a downstairs bathroom and a very dainty garden, but it is pleasantly placed on a farm track near a pretty village with several duck ponds and a renowned pub.
Bedfords, 01328 730500. Photograph: Bedfords

Take three: castles. With five reception rooms, 12 bedrooms, nine shower/bathrooms, a separate one-bed flat and 18 acres of land, Teaninich Castle is not without space. The real Little Lord Fauntleroy lived here last century, and for 200 years before it was the seat of the Munros; it is now a hotel 30 minutes from Inverness near Alness, Easter Ross. It’s just a pity the A9 runs within sight and sound, and the £1.25m price tag might prove a touch steep.
Bell Ingram, 01463 717799. Photograph: Bell Ingram

Take three: castles. With barrel-vaulted ceilings, flagstone floors, huge hearths and heraldic murals installed by the 16th-century builders, Tillycairn Castle near Dunecht in Aberdeenshire lay derelict for 250 years before its rescue in 1980. It has a kitchen, cloakroom, dining room, great hall, seven bedrooms, three bathrooms, a double garage and four acres. But beware the precipitous stone spiral staircase. Cost: £825,000.
Strutt & Parker, 01330 826800. Photograph: Strutt & Parker

Take three: castles. A castellated fancy built in the 1820s on the edge of the Peak District, Holme Castle near Holmfirth has art nouveau tiling, oak panelling, two reception rooms, kitchen, 10 bedrooms and seven bath/shower rooms. It’s looks out over a reservoir to the moors, yet is a swift commute to Leeds/Manchester. As the location for Last of the Summer Wine’s unique brand of hilarity it can be a little tourist-heavy. Cost: £795,000.
Charnock Bates, 01422 380 100. Photograph: Charnock Bates