Snooping around – in pictures

In town: Isle of Wight. On the market for £445,000, this is an 18th-century former inn in Newport. The rooms are beamed and capacious, and cast-iron fireplaces prettify three of the five bedrooms. Outside is less grand: a courtyard stands in for a garden.
Creasey Biles & King, 01983 527744 Photograph: JOHN COLE/Creasey Biles & King

In the country: Cornwall. The ancient pedigree of this three-bedder in Burlawn, near Wadebridge, has been groomed to flatter modern tastes. The vaulted bedroom has an en suite and the kitchen is rustic Shaker chic. It’s a shame the front door opens into the sitting room. Cost: £395,000.
Lillicrap Chilcott, 01872 273473 Photograph: Lillicrap Chilcott

Wreck of the week: Berwickshire. Coldingham Bay, near Berwick, is the site of this former staff quarters of a nearby mansion. It is derelict, but will still set you back £450,000, although planners have agreed to a futuristic 1,400 sq ft glass-walled house. It’s hidden among the dunes on a sandy bay, but you have to leave your car at the top of a cliff and walk the couple of dozen yards down.
Sanderson Young, 0191 223 3500 Photograph: Sanderson Young

Dream home: Dumfries and Galloway. A sea-filled swimming pool, wild vistas across the Solway Firth, salmon netting rights and 19 private acres of Kircudbrightshire. And, for £850,000, you get a tower house built on a promontory by a 19th-century colonel to house his mistress. Half-a-mile of gated driveway separates it from the real world and a private jetty allows you to eschew roads entirely when you travel the mile-and-a-half to the village of Auchencairn. It’s a pity its extensions were added in the aesthetically-challenged 1960s and 70s – the interior décor hasn’t changed much since then either – but the 270-degree sea views are a heady consolation.
Knight Frank, 0131 222 9600
Photograph: Knight Frank

Overseas home: British Virgin Islands. Steel Point Villa sits on a 90ft rock headland, with 360-degree views of the surrounding turquoise sea and islands. The main villa has five bedroom suites, open-air decks and lounge areas, and a large swimming pool deck. There are also three more properties including one with four bedrooms and a swimming pool, and a two-bed villa with infinity pool. Price on application.
Knight Frank, +44 (0)20 7629 8171
Photograph: Knight Frank