Nine wonderful character properties for sale at under £450,000
A grand Georgian mansion, a traditional farmhouse in the Dales and a thatched cottage are all in our round-up of country houses under £450,000.
A grand Georgian house of 3,691 sq ft, set over four floors and with eight bedrooms, at under £500,000? This house proves it can be done.
As the pictures show, the house — once the home of the poet R. S. Thomas — needs an awful lot of work doing. And this is a very remote spot indeed, in the heart of Montgomeryshire, with the nearest town of any size being Welshpool.
That said, the agents note that ultra-fast broadband is here, so you can work happily from home, then head out into your huge garden — ringed by sequioa and yew trees — settled down by your stretch of the river where you can enjoy the included fishing rights and catch some dinner.
For sale with Halls. See more pictures of this property.
A Grade II-listed home in the countryside south of Norfolk, this house is full of character features and beautifully decorated throughout.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.


It's deceptively huge as well: eight bedrooms and well over 3,000 sq ft of space.
Outside there's not much in the way of a garden, but there is an outdoor terrace. It's also not a place to come for bucolic seclusion, but it's ideal if you want everything close by: this house is right in the centre of the village.
For sale with Minors & Brady. See more pictures of this property.
A traditional stone-built farmhouse in Askrigg — about as central as it's possible to be within the Yorkshire Dales.
There are plenty of original features on show, from the exposed beams to the Aga in the kitchen, while the house sits in roughly an acre of land.
The biggest draw, though, is an utterly idyllic and secluded location looking out across a compeltely unspoilt valley.
For sale with J. R. Hopper. See more pictures of this property.
Why buy a house when you can buy an entire new life? This stone-built, nine bedroom home in Penmachno offers exactly that.
The Eagles Hotel is currently set up and run as a pub and a basic hotel/youth hostel popular with the many walkers, outdoor adventurers and mountaineers who come to this part of Wales, with two bars, eight guest rooms, kitchen facilities and other things you'd probably never have thought of, from canoe storage to a dedicated drying room.
There's huge potential here to make your own mark, and all at the sort of money you'd pay for a small flat in south London.
For sale with Iwan M Williams. See more pictures of this property.
Beautifully presented and full of charcter, this thatched, three-bedroom cottage dates back to the 17th century.



It's tucked in away in a quiet, rural spot, but is still just about on the outskirts of Barnstaple, meaning that you've got easy access to shops, restaurants and road and rail links, while the wide open sands of the North Devon coast are just a few minutes down the A39.
A large, south-facing garden completes the property. This really is a charming countryside home.
For sale with Stags. See more pictures of this property.
An 1830s farmhouse a few miles from Elgin, this six-bedroom detached home sits in a large plot with a wonderfully private garden.
It's a complete blank canvas as it stands now, with a little work to be done but nothing too scary.
As well as the main older part of the house, there are also extensions dating to the 1960s, including a huge garden room that's perfect as an entertaining space.
For sale with Galbraith. See more pictures of this property.
Kent — £355,000
Don't get too excited by the main image here: it's a CGI mock-up of what this as-yet-unconverted rural barn near Staplehurst could look like once it's all done. (Also ignore the fact that the agent has cheekily added a vintage Aston Martin on to the imaginary driveway.)
What you can definitely get excited about is the fact that this is a magnificently pretty setting, full permission is already in place for the conversion, and the house — once done — will even be in the Cranbrook School catchment area.
The planned house has almost 2,400sq ft of space and 1.15 acres of land, to include a paddock. All this, and a railway station just a mile away.
For sale with BTF Partnership. See more pictures of this property.
Cornwall — £365,000
Picture-perfect thatched cottage on the Roseland Peninsula, within a few minutes of the sea.
Just two bedrooms, but a lovely country kitchen, open plan living area and large garden make it feel bigger.
Really, what more could you want?
For sale with H Tiddy. See more pictures of this property.
Snowdonia — £325,000
For those who don't mind spending months simply learning how to spell their new address (it's 'Tyn Y Ffridd, Llanymawddwy, Machynlleth') this double-fronted, three-bedroom house in a truly gorgeous location in the mountains is utterly beguiling.
Inside, it's certainly cosy — by which we mean 'small and cosy' — but it's a beautiful, traditional Welsh home full of character and original features.
For sale with Walter Lloyd Jones & Co. See more pictures of this property.
Toby Keel is Country Life's Digital Director, and has been running the website and social media channels since 2016. A former sports journalist, he writes about property, cars, lifestyle, travel, nature.
-
A home where medieval, Georgian and modern come together in rare styleSet in a couple of acres in the leafy outskirts of Essex, Rochfords is a family house that blends old and new with charm and a sense of fun.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
Missing ponies, Highland games, and a lighthouse in the Shetland Isles. It's a very Scottish Country Life Quiz of the DayImpress your friends north of the border by scoring highly on all things Scotland.
By Country Life Published
-
A home where medieval, Georgian and modern come together in rare styleSet in a couple of acres in the leafy outskirts of Essex, Rochfords is a family house that blends old and new with charm and a sense of fun.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
A private island in the Thames Estuary is up for sale at £50,000, complete with its own Victorian fortDarnet Fort, is seeking a new owner — but it's going to need someone of great vision and spirit.
By Toby Keel Published
-
A 500-year-old house with interiors by Soho House's designer, gardens by an RHS Chelsea gold medallist and its own grass tennis courtHaslingfield Manor is an extraordinary mix of styles and ideas, from Tudor Britain to the cutting edge of modern design. Penny Churchill takes a look.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
Utterly wonderful country homes for sale across Britain, from a 10-bedroom mansion to a Devon hideaway, as seen in Country LifeFrom an irresistibly charming house in Devon to a 400-year-old commutable home in Hertfordshire, here's our pick of some of the best homes to come to market via Country Life in the past week.
By Toby Keel Published
-
The London house where Rolls-Royce's co-founder Charles Rolls tinkered with his very first car is for sale at £17 millionCharles Rolls, the engineer and co-founder of Rolls-Royce, got his hands dirty when using the stables of this fine London home as a makeshift garage. Annabel Dixon reports.
By Annabel Dixon Published
-
A vineyard for sale on the slopes above 'the best beach in Britain' is for sale at just £650,000In the beautifully unspoilt Devon village of Bantham, an award-winning vineyard is for sale. Toby Keel takes a look.
By Toby Keel Published
-
This spectacular 14th-century castle has had its price cut by £7.5 million. Here's whyThe art and science of being an estate agent is never trickier than when dealing with homes that are being sold for the first time in centuries — and Ripley Castle in Yorkshire provides the perfect example. Lucy Denton explains more.
By Lucy Denton Published
-
A simply perfect thatched cottage in Devon, with charm, walled gardens and all the space you need for family lifeThatched cottages are often pretty, but pretty small — but Julie Harding finds one brings which blends cottage charm with the space of a country manor.
By Julie Harding Published
