Trading up, trading down – in pictures

Trading up: Kent. You can acquire beams, inglenooks and evening rambles in an area of outstanding natural beauty without surrendering your desk in the City – the village of Brook is just six miles from Ashford International station, and three from the M20. An annexed barn provides a fourth bedroom or third reception, and recent renovations have created a large kitchen/breakfast room and en suite. A stream borders the half acre of garden which backs on to fields. On the market for £585,000.
FoxWood Maclean, 01233 812060
Photograph: FoxWood Maclean

Trading up: Dumfries and Galloway. £365,000 goes a long way in Langholm, particularly when the interior decor is growing weary. This is well on the way to mansion status with five bedrooms, three receptions and three attic rooms – all of them large, high ceilinged and gracefully garnished with Victorian frills. A shared driveway and the fact the garden is all to the front and side impede its aristocratic bearing, but it has spreading views over the Border hills.
Knight Frank, 01578 722814 Photograph: Knight Frank

Trading down: Devon. The replacement windows are distressing, but then there are several cosmetic infelicities you’ll want to polish, unless the 1970s are your era. Newly groomed it will be a lovable berth in the largely thatched village of Malbrough, near Kingsbridge, three miles from the coast. On the market for £235,950, it also has a stone hearth and ceiling beams that beautify the sitting room, and there are two bedrooms upstairs. Gardening is an undemanding affair in the rear courtyard.
Marchand Petit, 01548 844473 Photograph: Marchand Petit

Trading down: London. You won’t be able to wander downstairs in your slippers for a pint any more – this former London pub now sells posh mirrors – but there’s recreational nourishment aplenty on the Caledonian Road, and it’s a short walk to King’s Cross and Islington. The flat is a bright and airy triangle with one bedroom, a smart kitchen and a decent-sized reception. Yours for £265,000.
Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, 020 3441 3419 Photograph: Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward

Bargain of the week: Cornwall. Even the agent had to double check the price. But yes, it really is £285,000 for a handsome three/four-bed vicarage with sea glimpses. A similarly sized property in poor condition in nearby St Blazey Gate recently sold for more than £400,000. The deal here is that the owners want a quick sale and the busy A390 runs beyond the big front garden. The rooms are large, lofty and elegant, and the fourth bedroom has been sacrificed to create a dressing room, walk-in wardrobe and bathroom off the master chamber. You could lose the dining room to add extra sleeping quarters since the kitchen is capacious enough for family dining. Sandy beaches and the shops of St Austell are close by.
Waterfrontandcountryhomes.com, 01872 273474 Photograph: Waterfrontandcountryhomes