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The perfect pool for summer at this Grade II-listed dream home in DorsetThe beautiful swimming pool is just the start at this gorgeous village home.
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A secluded cottage surrounded by a glorious valley, with open fires, ancient beams and a dedicated Lego roomHaventree Cottage is a gorgeous six-bedroom home that's just what you dream of when thinking about a move to the country.
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'Typically British, and simply perfect': Dick Strawbridge on his first house in the countryDick Strawbridge has gone from Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army to TV stardom to life in a castle — but at the heart of his life there's always been a country home of his own. He spoke to Julie Harding.
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A Devon retreat with spectacular interiors, a swimming pool and enough green energy that you'll turn a profit on your electricity billEast Boreton, in the heart of the South Hams, is a rural home that has the lot.
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Rights flow to more threatened rivers facing further pollutionFollowing the Ouse, more rivers across the UK are receiving charters to protect their integrity and ecosystems
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A Victorian palm house that became a striking five-bedroom home in DevonThe 19th century mania for exotic plants left the Mamhead Estate in Devon with a beautiful building that has found a new life in the 21st century.
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Life's a beach — especially if you live in one of these epic homes by the seaBritain is hot — so it's time to move to a beach house. Julie Harding picks out her favourites on the market right now.
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A converted pilchard cellar for sale at £1.295 million (but don't worry, it's much nicer than that makes it sound)You couldn't ask for a finer location in Cornwall than that of The Cellars.
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The 'British Alcatraz' didn't become a prison — it was turned into a unique private island bolthole, and now it's up for saleThorne Island, off the beautiful coast of Pembrokeshire, is on the market after a nine-year labour-of-love transformation.
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'I climbed trees, built treehouses and had a sandpit — bucolic bliss': Timothy Bentinck, better known as David from 'The Archers', on his first house in the countryThe actor Tim Bentinck grew up in an idyllic spot in the country, but he almost became a real-life farmer on the other side of the globe. He spoke to Julie Harding.
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A four-storey water tower that's an architectural gem is for sale in the rural heart of the New ForestLister Tower has been reimagined an renovated in spectacular fashion.
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The Victorian housing boom left us with a wealth of beautiful homes. Here are five of the best on the market todayFine proportions, generous rooms, high ceilings and staircases lit by stained glass: the Victorians didn't just build a lot, they also built beautifully. Julie Harding picks her favourites for sale at the moment.
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The Vita Sackville-West garden that 'numbed generations of gardeners into a state of hopelessness' has finally been completed, 64 years after her deathThe Greek-inspired Delos garden at Sissinghurst has at last been created, with Dan Pearson and the National Trust working alongside the team at this magical Kent house. Julie Harding reports.
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A home on the English Riviera with breathtaking views across the seaBrim Hill is a classic 1930s seaside mansion in Torquay. Julie Harding takes a look.
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'What makes the perfect house? The one that makes you want to embrace its imperfections': Jules Hudson on his first house in the countryThe TV presenter moved to a dilapidated cottage in the 'middle of nowhere' — but never regretted it for a second. He spoke to Julie Harding.
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'NIMBYs are heroes of our time': Simon Jenkins launches devastating attack on the state of housing in BritainThe Cotswolds are being ruined, house building targets are only helping the 'middling rich', and why NIMBYs should be celebrated, not vilified: Simon Jenkins lit up the Future Countryside conference with a scathing speech about house building and planning policy. Julie Harding was there to witness the fireworks.
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Five slices of Hampshire heaven on the marketJulie Harding picks out the best cottages and country houses for sale across the beautiful county of Hampshire.
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Small-scale cut flower growers have now been formally recognised by the governmentThe UK trade body that represents more than 1,000 small-scale cut flower growers, has been awarded dedicated Standard Industrial Classification codes.
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A Grade II-listed country home in Norfolk where someone else has done all the renovations so you don't have toSaham Lodge is a beautifully presented country home, that comes with all the modern trimmings, thanks to a recent renovation.
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This Hampshire home was designed by the same architect who worked for the dukes of Marlborough, Bedford and St Albans — and it's surrounded by Gertrude Jekyll gardensHawkley Hurst was designed by the eminent Victorian architect Samuel Sanders Teulon. More recently, it's been divided into apartments — one of which is for sale.
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Six thatched cottage dreams in the West Country, starting from £495,000Julie Harding and Toby Keel pick out some of the prettiest thatched cottages on the market today in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Gloucestershire.
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A house with 'privacy, elegance and unparalleled beauty' — and a medieval castle in the gardenThis Arts-and-Crafts-inspired home has a truly magnificent setting on the Pembrokeshire coast.
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The silent extinction crisis threatening vanilla, magnolias — and the world’s tiniest waterlilyThe world's main source of vanilla, smallest waterlily and many magnolia species could disappear entirely, according to scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and others.
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Mary Berry's daughter is selling her Oxfordshire home — and it's a wild fantasy of a home, the likes of which you've never seenBlenheim Farm, near the village of Ewelme, defies every convention of the country house.
