Southwell, Nottinghamshire
Opposite Southwell Minster is the Grade II*-listed Cranfield House, once a prebendal property attached to the church. Up a long drive, behind walled gardens and shrouded in mature trees, it looks like the real-life version of a dreamy Georgian doll’s house. The grand staircase leads to six bedrooms across the first and second floor. In the 0.7 hectares (1.9 acres) of garden is a potting shed, a greenhouse and a wood store. Southwell is where King Charles I spent his last night as a free man in 1646. £2.25m. Savills, 0115 934 8020
Photograph: Savills
Lechlade, Gloucestershire
With its three cascading timber decks, Pool Lodge is a lakeside property with the look of a houseboat even though it is firmly on the ground. It has an infinity pool that almost touches Bowmoor Lake. The six-bedroom house has access to a communal beach and a dock for tethering a real boat. Each of the main rooms has views on to the lake. It is part of the Lakes private gated estate designed by the luxury developer Yoo, and where Kate Moss made her interior design debut in 2015. And a breakfast hamper can be delivered to your door. £7m. Knight Frank, 01285 882 007
Photograph: Knight Frank
Holland Park, London
If only walls could talk, then the white stucco facade of the Halcyon hotel would have had plenty to say – as long as it hadn’t signed an NDA, of course. The hotel was infamous in the 90s as a hangout for names such as Naomi Campbell, Robert De Niro and Oasis. The gossip columns wrote themselves. When its heady days were over, by 2007 it was transformed into luxury homes. There is a second-floor, five-bedroom apartment for sale with a double reception room, a lift and concierge service. The pubs and cafes of Notting Hill are nearby. £8.25m. Russell Simpson, 020 7225 0277
Photograph: www.alexwinship.com/Russell Simpson
Dalry, Dumfries and Galloway
Nestled in a dip in the Scottish hillside, this remote location is good for your carbon footprint and your soul. The house was built in 2009 and scooped a Royal Institute of British Architects award for its design and sustainability. Extending over 191 sq metres (2,060 sq ft), it looks out over the River Ken valley and the Rhinns of Kells hills. Electricity is generated by a wind turbine and solar panels. There are four bedrooms on either side, and a music room leading to a vast living room. It comes with 5.6 hectares (14 acres) of rewilded land. £880,000. The Modern House, 020 3795 5920
Photograph: French+Tye/The Modern House
Eastbury, Berkshire
At this time of year, cottages such as this are typically advertised by estate agents drawing comparisons with Kate Winslet’s home in the Christmas film The Holiday. Waterloo Cottage is not in Surrey, and Jude Law is not part of the package. However, it is a chocolate-box English cottage. Grade II-listed and made of brick and flint, the timber beams bow slightly in the dining room-cum-sitting room, which has an inglenook fireplace big enough to climb inside. It is in the North Wessex Downs area of outstanding natural beauty. £635,000. Strutt & Parker, 01635 576 922
Photograph: Blythe CRANFIELD/Strutt & Parker
Colonsay, Argyll and Bute
The ferry from Oban skirts around the Inner Hebrides to reach the island of Colonsay. Halfway along the loop road from the ferry port of Scalasaig is the 150-year-old three-bedroom Sgreadan Cottage with views over Loch Fada, which is famed for its fishing and wildlife. It has been a holiday let for many years and was renovated by its owners more than a decade ago. There is a large sitting room with an open fire, a kitchen and a double bedroom, with two more in the attic. Scalasaig has a hotel, a shop and an airport as well as the port. £225,000. Galbraith, 01786 434 600
Photograph: Galbraith
Chatteris, Cambridgeshire
This Grade II-listed cottage has its original latch doors, a thatched roof and arched, leaded windows. It has low beams and a characterful brick fireplace; a large arch leads from the dining room to the living room. While it looks as though it should be tucked away in an enchanted Disney forest, it is in the heart of this buzzing market town in the Fens. Stone age flint tools dating from 780,000 BC were found here and there are bronze age weapons in the museum. Once a raised island, it is now about 36 miles from the sea. £300,000. William H Brown, 01354 654 545
Photograph: William H Brown
Sharpham, Somerset
A country track leads to a gated entrance here in the heart of the Somerset Levels. Uninterrupted views stretch across to Glastonbury Tor and there is direct access to Ham Wall nature reserve. This barn-style three-bedroom home was built as a nod to the surrounding agricultural buildings using corrugated steel and glass. Sliding doors wrap around the corner of the building opening on to timber decking and the lawn. There is a bedroom in the eaves and two on the ground floor. It is three miles to Glastonbury. £995,000. The Modern House, 020 3795 5920
Photograph: The Modern House
Porthkerry, Glamorgan
Down a sweeping driveway is the Grade II-listed Upper Porthkerry Farm, which dates back to the 17th century. The beams in the living room are reclaimed from an old shipwreck. All five bedrooms are upstairs. There are modern luxuries such as a swimming pool with a retractable roof, a hot tub and sauna, and a barn converted into a cinema room. The hamlet is in the shadow of Cardiff airport and a walk away from a 89-hectare (220-acre) country park winding down to pebbly Cold Knap Beach, just west of Barry Island. £1.1m. Mr and Mrs Clarke, 07884 231 242
Photograph: Mr and Mrs Clarke
Clapham, London
One person’s fantasy home is another’s worst nightmare. But this one-bedroom flat in a Grade II-listed building on the south side of Clapham Common is quite the spot for a party lover. The grand Victorian building has yellow brickwork with geometric red and grey detailing, and dormer windows under a slate roof. The third-floor apartment has views of the park. All the stages of a night out are within the row of buildings – next door is the Alexandra pub, and there is a kebab shop under the apartment as well as a coffee shop for the morning after. £535,000. Inigo, 020 3687 3071
Photograph: Inigo
