Combining good value, historic architecture, a rural lifestyle and strong connectivity to Edinburgh, the Borders are proving to be a popular destination both with domestic and international buyers

Once the country seat of Liverpool wool barons turned shipping tycoons, Gyrn Castle is now seeking new custodians, as is Tudor Revival-style Fulford Hall, the Victorian seat of a frontier adventurer

Cushnie House, Cushnie, Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This B-listed former Laird’s house comes with grounds that include five ponds and a vegetable garden. An additional 28 acres of land is availab

Barnbarroch House, Barnbarroch, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland. A country house with views towards Urr Water estuary with two two-bedroom cottages in the grounds. It has period fireplaces and a kitchen

It’s been a long mile, trudging uphill in the rain, across uninspiring fields, past rickety ruins of long-abandoned farm buildings, mud slowly working its way up my waterproof trousers. Sometimes walk

The view across William Kent’s unspoilt garden ...