Country Life's 10 best property stories of 2020, from Cotswolds cottages to the 17,000sq ft mansion for sale at £400k
Sprawling mansions, charming cottages, vast estates... the property market boomed in the second half of 2020, and these were the places which most caught your imaginations.

NB: As we've looked back, some of the homes below have now been sold — but at the time of writing, not all. If you've £10m burning a hole in your pocket and feel like buying up thousands of acres in the Highlands, you might be in luck...
A magnificent Cotswolds manor house with pool, walled garden and a rich history of intrigue
Credit: Knight Frank
Penny Churchill looked at Luckington Manor in October, telling its tale of history and intrigue.
An eight-bedroom, 17,000sq ft Italianate mansion for sale at just £400,000 — and yes, there is a catch…
Credit: Strutt &Parker
That catch is pretty much summed up by the picture of Blackborough House.
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A waterfront house in West Sussex that’s Georgian at the front — and a bit of a surprise at the back
Credit: Jackson-Stops
James Fisher found a place in Sussex that was the property equivalent of tucking a racy modern novel into a Jane Austen dust jacket.
What £1 million buys across Britain today
Credit: Savills
Toby Keel discovered houses on the 7-figure mark from a graceful Sussex home to a Scottish mansion complete with loch.
A vanishingly rare chance to own 9,300 acres of pristine Scottish Highlands
Credit: Galbraith
Kinrara has mountains, lochs, and eight estate houses and cottages — and at the time of writing it's still for sale.
A 13-bedroom castle under £1m with a stunning oak-panelled library and impossibly romantic boathouse
Credit: Galbraith
Glencruitten House came under the microscope in March, a quite astonishing house with a barrel-vaulted library that has a secret door.
A heartbreakingly pretty house with party room, swimming pool and the best of the north Cotswolds on its doorstep
Credit: Savills
The £3m Grade II-listed The Manor House at Chipping Norton had ‘the wonderful homely feel of a house your parents might have lived in for 30 years,' discovered Penny Churchill.
A country house hotel that’s ripe to return to life as a spectacular Devon mansion
Credit: Marchand Petit
A spectacular £2.5m house that had been converted into a grand country house hotel — and the time looks right for it to become a family home once more.
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A beautiful Norfolk estate that’s been in the same family for a century and a half, including a house with the ‘perfect party kitchen’
Credit: Savills
Wood Hall, on the market at a £9.35m guide price, is a storied estate in Norfolk with a wealth of opportunity for buyers.
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‘The most perfect small 15th-century country house in the kingdom’ has come up for sale
Credit: Knight Frank
June saw the launch — at a guide price of ‘offers over £5 million’ — of Grade I-listed Cothay Manor and its magical gardens near Wellington, Somerset, a house first described in Country Life back in 1927.
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.
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An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country Life
An Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
By James Fisher Published
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The legacy od Dad's Army
Kate Green takes a look at Dad’s Army, the iconic BBC sitcom written by David Croft and Jimmy Perry.
By Kate Green Published
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An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country Life
An Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
By James Fisher Published
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Soft tones and a sense of place: A Mayfair duplex that breaks the modern mould
A new designer-led residence at 60 Curzon in Mayfair reminds us that everything new doesn't necessarily have to look it.
By James Fisher Published
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'The very best North Yorkshire has to offer': The £25 million Kirkham Estate
With 1,103 acres and on the market for the first time in a century, we've got a new frontrunner for the sale of the year.
By Penny Churchill Published
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The reality of 20 years of house price rises in Britain, from the places that have had a charmed life to the spots where it's a struggle to move back home
At first glance the ups and downs of the property market seem to even out over time — but dig in to the numbers and you'll see wild regional variations which paint a very difference picture. Annabel Dixon analyses new research which tells the story.
By Annabel Dixon Published
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A historic Yorkshire hall, meticulously restored to its former 18th-century magnificence
Womersley Park is a masterpiece and one of Yorkshire's great historic houses. And it could be yours.
By Penny Churchill Published
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Rowing past dreams: An idyllic riverside home with a boathouse, croquet pitch and Olympic pedigree
The Manor in Long Wittenham is a perfect Thames-side getaway. Comes with a free boat.
By James Fisher Published
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A bucolic Sussex home that's 'like stepping into a fairytale', yet just 30 minutes from central London
Felmere House is a playground for nature and only 30 minutes from London.
By James Fisher Last updated
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Magnificent mansions across the Home Counties, from £3 million to £14 million, as seen in Country Life
A waterside dream home and a house and estate with over 1,100 years of history make our round-up this week.
By Toby Keel Last updated