Comfortable seclusion is on offer at three historic houses, each beautifully presented and set in glorious landscapes worthy of God’s own county

Three historic country houses in Yorkshire, a stone’s throw from the most northerly of Britain’s 16 white chalk horses, offer comfortable contemporary living and fascinating backstories

Bucklesham Hall, Bucklesham, Ipswich, Suffolk. A renovated, 15th-century hall set in formal gardens with spring-fed lakes, including one with a Japanese-style bridge and an island. It has beamed ceili

To walk around a midwinter garden on a fine day when everything has shrunk down to its essential elements is like walking around a gallery. You can take your time, see things with fresh eyes and be ch

On the verge of starting this self-build, a late change of design proved to be the making of this Devonian house on a bend

Christine Faughlin sings the praises of a converted chapel on the 30,000-acre Bolton Abbey estate in the Yorkshire Dales