Snooping around: Rural, urban or renovation

Wreck of the week: West Clochie, Angus. This six-bed house in Scotland is partly renovated and needs about £200,000 of work in the form of flooring, plastering, kitchen, bathrooms and landscaping. And that's on top of the £560,000 price tag. It is a nine-acre plot with glorious unspoilt views. So unspoilt the nearest (tiny) village is four miles away.
Bell Ingram, 01738 621121 Photograph: Bell Ingram/Bell Ingram

In the country: Dersingham, Norfolk. You can live out your rural fantasies in this pretty two-bed 19th-century cottage nine miles from King's Lynn on the edge of the Sandringham estate without forgoing shops, pubs and even a post office. Fruit trees, a well-stocked vegetable patch and a garage are also yours. The ground floor study could be turned into a third bedroom. Nearby royalty isn't everyone's cup of tea. Yours for £220,000.
Abbotts Town & Country, 01328 738111 Photograph: Abbotts Town & Country/Abbotts Town & Country

In town: Whitworth House, Manchester. This £129,950 red-brick Victorian building is city centre living with an enviable price tag. It is a raised ground floor, one-bed apartment with a large living area and views over elegant Sackville Gardens. Nearby Canal Street offers a fine selection of bars and restaurants, but beware the busy road outside. The bathroom is a squeeze.
Thornley Groves, 0161 245 1111 Photograph: Thornley Groves/Thornley Groves

Dream home: Devon. Embedded in a tiny valley in Dartmoor, this began life as two cottages. It has now been glamourised into a 21st-century fantasy of rural life. The wild landscapes are framed by deep-set gothic windows, the floors are slate or stripped wood, and the stone walls exposed in one of the four bedrooms. A stone inglenook fireplace with bread oven presides over the living room. A stream bubbles through the gardens. Cost: £550,000.
Jackson Stops & Staff, 01392 214222 Photograph: Jackson Stops & Staff/Jackson Stops & Staff

Over the sea: Barbados. This edibly cute £180,000 cottage in St Philip is through a white picket gate, under a pergola and up coral stone steps. Bottoms Up is, alas, the name of the neighbourhood, but the setting should silence any taunts. From your hammock you can gaze out to sea, and cliff steps lead to an unspoilt beach. Inside are two beds, two bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen. The developers will put in a pool if you so desire.
Barbados Realtors Limited, 020 7467 5003




The original version of this gallery featured a picture of the wrong property. This has now been amended Photograph: Barbados Realtors Limited/Barbados Realtors Limited