Trading up, trading down

Trading up: East Sussex. The most expansive aspect of this £595,000 cottage in Mayfield are the miles of unsullied views. These can be absorbed from the two main receptions, two of the three large bedrooms and the garden, while the rest overlook the pretty village of Mayfield in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Aesthetic glee continues inside among thickly beamed walls and ceilings. There’s a capacious study with a fireplace, an en suite to the master bedroom and a garage.
Freeman Forman, 011435 873803 Photograph: Freeman Forman

Trading up: Northumberland. Castles stretch the budget a bit in these austere times, but if you can limit yourself to a wing you can sample stately living for £595,000. Callaly Castle in Alnwick began life as a medieval tower house and was aggrandized during subsequent centuries into grade I-listed status. The north wing is the modern bit, built in 1727. It has one of the original staircases and a huge venetian window on the landing, plus a 33ft drawing room, a morning room and three huge bedrooms. Residents share 35 acres including three lakes, a croquet lawn and a kitchen garden.
George F. White, 01665 603581 Photograph: George F. White

Trading down: Suffolk. You can shrink fetchingly into two bedrooms and two receptions in the quaint village of Cavendish. Usefully there is also a smoke house used for smoking meat and fish in the 16th-century. The décor could do with a few modern influences and the garden, which has to be reached by crossing the neighbour’s plot, is what you might call a wilderness with potential. Hence these vintage charms in a wealthy area are available for £229,950.
John D Wood, 01245 344222 Photograph: John D Wood

Trading down: Newcastle. Compact, central and beautifully groomed, this three-bedder in Jesmond is close to the Metro station and Gosforth High Street, and a brief commute from the city centre. Most of the rooms have cast iron and marble fireplaces, while the floors are all polished wood. There is a laundry room in the backyard and potential to expand into the loft. Yours for £299,950.
Sanderson Young, 0191 2130033 Photograph: Sanderson Young

Dream home: London. Guests can absorb the city’s best sights without leaving your sofa. Should they wish to stray further they are well placed, for the apartment is in the tower of the bombastic building that houses St Pancras station, with King’s Cross next door and the West End a walk away. The price, evidently, is an impediment to turning the dream into reality: £1.5m for two bedrooms and a reception. But should riches befall you you could gaze upon St Paul’s Cathedral, the London Eye and much of the city’s roofscape from the row of double arched windows and the two bedroom bays.
Hamptons, 020 7586 9595 Photograph: Hamptons