Snooping around: Rural, urban or renovation

Wreck of the week: Cumbria. This two-bed, 18th-century cottage in Penrith has an odd layout and you will need £50,000 to renew everything. A Georgian fireplace survives in one bedroom and there's a decent garden with a greenhouse, and it's right in the centre of town. It is also, however, really quite small, hard by a road, and its grade II-listing will hamper expansive ambitions. Yours for £95,000.
Penrith Farmers' & Kidd's, 01768 862135 Photograph: Penrith Farmers' & Kidd's/Penrith Farmers' & Kidd's

In town: Gloucestershire. Two centuries ago this house on St Mary's Lane in Tewkesbury lodged stocking knitters. It was restored by the Landmark Trust and is quaintly located between the abbey and river. Inside are three bedrooms, a sitting room, a dining room, a study and a kitchen. Outside the garden is a mere courtyard. Cost: £275,000.
Andrews, 01684 296464 Photograph: Andrews/Andrews

In the country: North Yorkshire. This £295,000 former blacksmith's cottage in Summerbridge near Harrogate is full of humility on the outside and grandeur within. It's grade II-listed, with an adjoining paddock. Inside is a farmhouse kitchen, a sitting room, a dining room and two bedrooms. Neighbours live in the outbuildings.
Carter Jonas, 01423 523423 Photograph: Carter Jonas/Carter Jonas

Bargain of the week: Northumberland. The original counter at which customers were served in this old post office in Chathill separates the kitchen from the dining area. The living space in the three huge bedrooms, 24ft kitchen and lounge would usually command more than the £220,000 price tag, but the owner wants a speedy sale (plus the main east coast railway line runs alongside). The old fireplaces, a collection of outbuildings, pastoral views and a large back garden should be ample consolation.
George F. White, 01665 603231 Photograph: George F. White/George F. White

Dream home: Cornwall. John Betjeman reckoned this portion of the river Tamar “the most beautiful place in England”. Eighteenth-century stables on Halton Quay have been converted into a £495,000 three-bed cottage with views from every room across the tidal sweep, and doors from most of them on to the third-of-an-acre of sloping gardens. There's a detached studio in the grounds and, bar an immediate neighbour, no one else in sight.
Stags, 01752 223933 Photograph: Stags/Stags