Trading up, trading down

Trading up: Kent. A croquet lawn is a useful addition to family life, and if the weather changes you can retreat to the games room. The pony, meanwhile, can lodge in the paddock. This house and its acre of land is on the edge of the village of Wittersham. There are four double bedrooms, the reception alone would accommodate a cocktail party, and there is a huge living room divided by a back-to-back fireplace which opens on to a conservatory. Cost: £545,000.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01580 720 000 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff

Trading up: County Durham. In the centre of Stanhope a grand arch leads up to this 18th-century castle, amply embellished by the Victorians to impress weekend shooting parties. For £325,000 you get the south wing, a five-bed portion with two oval receptions, tall arched windows and two curvaceous bed chambers. The kitchen opens into a large family room, while resident youths can be dispersed in the four-and-a-half acres of communal woods and gardens.
George F. White, 01388 527966 Photograph: George F. White/George F. White

Trading down: Dorset. You can keep all but the essential parts of the 21st century at bay beneath this thatch in the village of Bradford Abbas near Sherborne. Winter can be sat out before the hearth in the large beamed sitting room, and summer in the cottage garden. The Shaker-style kitchen is large enough to eat in and there is a miniature dining room opening on to the patio. Returning family can be stowed in the second beamed, eaves bedroom. Yours for £249,950.
Palmer Snell, 01935 812218 Photograph: Palmer Snell/Palmer Snell

Trading down: London. You are just 30 minutes by bus from London's West End, but cocooned from the terrifying prices of the inner zones. This is a fetching spot in Hampstead Garden suburb close to the shopping glee at Temple Fortune. Cheap it isn't, but for £399,950 you rejoice in a proper house with two bedrooms and an elegant open-plan reception opening on to pretty gardens to the front and rear.
Goldschmidt & Howland, 020 8209 9300 Photograph: Goldschmidt & Howland/Goldschmidt & Howland

Dream home: Denbighshire. This was once a farmhouse and has hung on to 1.3 acres of its former lands within a private estate near Ruthin. The two receptions are lavishly garnished with beams and cavernous stone fireplaces, and there are unmolested views from the three bedrooms. The kitchen and en suite bathroom have been recently updated. Attached outbuildings with dramatic A-frames could be converted into extra living space. Cost: £495,000.
Beresford Adams, 01824 702563 Photograph: Beresford Adams/Beresford Adams