Snooping around: Smallholdings

Property of the week: Appledore, north Devon. You can gaze across the confluence of two rivers to the sea from the sash windows of this five-bedder. The revamped interior has coloured walls, wood and flagstoned floors, window shutters and fireplaces. A stained-glass window illuminates the roll-top bath and culinary chores are mitigated by granite worktops and handmade units. At the back is a courtyard garden with two terraces. Cost: £595,000.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01271 377833 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff

Wreck of the week: Kingsley Road, Brighton. This £249,950, three-storey three-bedder is exhausted. Although structurally sound, bank on £20,000 for a new kitchen and bathroom and restorative surgery in every room. It’s near a park and Preston Park station, with gardens and views over Brighton. Fireplaces have survived in most rooms, but the bathroom is in the basement with the kitchen - a long nocturnal trek from the upper bedrooms.
Mishon Mackay, 01273 505500 Photograph: Mishon Mackay/Mishon Mackay

Take three: smallholdings. £495,000 buys you just over two acres of garden and hillside pasture near Mold, Flintshire. The inside is extensive with reception rooms, a study, four beds, two bathrooms and a kitchen large enough for triumphant harvests. Unfortunately, ambitious extensions in the 70s and 80s have obliterated its period character on the outside.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01244 328361 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff

Take three: smallholdings. Over five acres of Northumberland national park are yours, including a walled garden and orchard. Situated near Otterburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, you get three receptions, a garden room, a kitchen, a utility room, four beds, four bathrooms, a garage and attached byre for £345,000. The rooms are large and there is a handsome selection of fireplaces. Beyond is wooded wild loveliness and the Scottish borders. It needs updating.
George F White, 01434 674244 Photograph: George F White/George F White

Take three: smallholdings. Gardens encircle this house near Gretna Green, Dumfriesshire, and a paddock leads to a burn. You get 3.5 acres in all. There is underfloor heating, a Shaker-style kitchen, a roll-top bath and a shower large enough for your livestock, as well as a reception, a kitchen, three beds, a bathroom, a garage and stables. You have to cross the sitting room to reach one bedroom and the bathroom is through the kitchen. Cost: £285,000.
Buccleuch John Sale, 01387 242430 Photograph: Buccleuch John Sale/Buccleuch John Sale