From moated manors to modern woodland homes, East Anglia offers potential buyers serenity and history in equal measure, not to mention easy access to the capital for those who must occasionally leave the countryside behind

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

Despite their clichéd ‘chocolate-box’ description, thatched cottages are generally showstoppers. They tend not to remain on the market for long, so, for this quintet, it may be a case of he (or she) who hesitates is lost

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

Whitney Court, Whitney-on-Wye, Hereford, Herefordshire. A manor built in 1897 with what was then state-of-the-art technology, including an electric bell system and ducted air central heating. It has a

In this frenetic working-from-home era, busy gentlemen and ladies often require an office on site and, if the home that accompanies such a study is characterful, too, then so much the better