Snooping around: Wacky homes

Property of the week: Westwood Park, Droitwich, Worcestershire. Live like a royal in this old gatehouse. With two bedrooms it guards the entrance to a grade I listed manor house on the site of a medieval nunnery. It might be right on the road but you bask in all the trappings of stately home life: a nearly mile-long rustic driveway to your door, grand views of the mansion from the back windows, and a lake and parkland. It’s on at £295,000.
Andrew Grant, 01905 734 735 Photograph: A Grant/PR

Wreck of the week: Drummuir, Banffshire: This cottage with planning permission for a new single-storey house is on for £65,000. It’s a total ruin and you’ll need to start from scratch - it will take £150,000 to build the new property. Set back from a minor road in a valley with wide forested views the seller will see to the water supply. While there is mains electricity close by it’s eight miles to the nearest shop.
Smiths Gore, 01343 823 000 Photograph: Smiths Gore/PR

Take three: wacky homes: Talgarth Road, London. Four bedrooms, open-plan reception cum kitchen, two bathrooms and a vault. Designed for bachelor artists this startling terrace has an outsized atrium window which dominates the huge triple-height living area. Philippe Starck lavs, a whirlpool bath and Chinese slate floor make up for the A4, which zooms past the front door. Price: £1.575m.
John D Wood & Co, 020 7731 4223 Photograph: John D Wood/PR

Take three: wacky homes: Isham, Kettering, Northamptonshire. When you recline beneath the gullwing roof in the vast living room, you can match your mood to one of 13 coloured lights in this three/four bedroom house. Strobe lighting turns it into a disco and the timber floor melds with the decked terrace outside. The only downside is you have to walk through bedroom four to reach the other rooms. Price: £335,000.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01604 632 991 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/PR

Take three: wacky homes: Near Castle Cary, Somerset. You can only rent this old cheese-maker’s cottage on a private estate, and it costs £4,000 a month, but you get five bedrooms and bathrooms with slate tubs. If they start to feel overcrowded you can open the glass doors beside them and drop into the bathing pool that dents the back of the building.
The Modern House, 0845 634 4068 Photograph: The Modern House/PR