Trading up, trading down – in pictures

Trading up: Shropshire. Tucked into a conservation area within the loop of the river Severn is this £420,000 five-bed house overlooking Shrewsbury castle. This is town centre manorial living: the sitting room is aristocratically panelled from floor to ceiling, the staircase is of fine carved oak, and the kitchen is handmade from pear wood. The place is geared for pleasure with sound-wiring throughout, a cinema in the cellar, a games room in the eaves and a Jacuzzi bath. Most of the fun must be indoors, however, for a courtyard is the only garden.
Strutt & Parker, 01743 284200
Photograph: Strutt & Parker

Trading up: Norfolk. This three-bed house was built for the headmaster of the village school in Whissonsett, near Dereham. It’s been smartly updated: the bespoke kitchen has Italian tiled flooring and underfloor heating, while the original pantry could become a small fourth bedroom or study. Both receptions have fireplaces, one with a wood-burner. It stands in a third-of-an-acre of garden. On the market for £375,000.
House Revolution
Photograph: House Revolution

Trading down: Devon. So ancient is the village of Rattery that the inn is said to pre-date the medieval church. This beamed cottage, therefore, counts as one of the more modern additions. It’s larger than it looks with the kitchen opening on to a dining room, and the dining room opening on to the front terrace. One of the two double bedrooms has an en suite and there’s a shower room off the hallway. Behind is a courtyard with steps out to a parking spot and beyond a path meanders into a secret garden with a sundeck, summer house and views over the church and farmland. Yours for £195,000.
Marchand Petit, 01803 847979
Photograph: Marchand Petit

Trading down: West Sussex. The £325,000 cottage may be small, but it commands enormous views across the farmland from its conservatory and two bedrooms. The hamlet of Aldingbourne, with its renowned primary school, sits between Arundel and Chichester near the South Downs national park. The coast is a short drive away, and it is three miles to rail services to London at Barnham. Renovations have produced spacious, elegant rooms, a garage and a large landscaped garden with a pond.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01903 885886
Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff

Bargain of the week: Northamptonshire. Once you’ve spent about £25,000 updating this £345,000 house it should be worth well in excess of £400,000. The village of Gayton, with its green and canal marina, is peacefully off the beaten track, but just a short drive from Northampton. There’s plenty of space and features to play with: the two receptions are heartily beamed, window seats absorb the views in two of the three double bedrooms, there’s a conservatory, capacious kitchen and utility room, and the rather overgrown framework of a large, lush garden with garaging.
Winkworth, 01604 824
Photograph: Winkworth