Trading up, trading down

Trading up: Mithian, near St Agnes, Cornwall . The front garden of this Cornish cottage runs down to a stream with woodland beyond it; the back includes a copse and two paddocks with views down the valley to the sea. If you require a swim it’s a pretty walk along the river to the cove beach at St Agnes. With six acres of land, five bedrooms and three reception rooms the £585,000 estate will effortlessly absorb expansive lifestyles provided you can tolerate an attached neighbour who has right of access across your front patch (you can establish relations in the nearby pub). Jackson-Stops , 01872 261160 Photograph: Jackson-Stops Trading up: High Rd, Stanley Crook, Co. Durham . If it weren’t for the location in the sparsely serviced ex-pit village of Stanley Crook in County Durham you’d need a bigger budget to afford such spaciousness. Patio doors open the living room and the open-plan kitchen/dining/garden room onto the large garden, two of the four bedrooms are generous doubles with pastoral views and a driveway leads up to a double garage. Durham is a 20 minute commute away and there is a primary school in the village. On the market for £285,000. George F White , 01388 527966 Photograph: George F White Trading down: North St, Rochford, Essex . You can savour London life from an affordable distance in this listed £147,000 cottage since it’s a 50-minute train ride from Rochford to the City. The house is in the centre of the Essex town and offers quaint living in miniature - there’s one bedroom, one reception room with a full height brick fireplace, a doll’s sized kitchen and a handy outbuilding with electricity and a log burner fire in the little courtyard garden. The car must take pot luck on the street but since you can walk to all essential facilities you could shed it. John D Wood , 01245 344222 Photograph: John D Wood Trading down: Peel House, New St, Chulmleigh, Devon . Until 1965 this was the police station serving the Devon town of Chulmleigh. The constable lived in the current sitting room, the dining room used to be two cells with window bars still usefully in place to prevent the escape of dissatisfied dinner guests and the master bedroom with views over the golf course was once the charging office. There are three other compact bedrooms, a garage and a small courtyard garden a walk away from the high street. A lick of paint inside and out would reawaken latent glories. On the market for £200,000. Seddons , 01769 581585 Photograph: Seddons Bargain of the week: Witton Le Wear, Bishop Aukland, County Durham . Witton Le wear is one of County Durham’s desirable commuter villages with its green and castle and proximity to the A68. A vintage three-bedroom cottage with spreading rural vistas would usually fetch nearer £250,000, but this one needs around £30,000 of cosmetic tidying and damp proofing so is fetchingly priced at £175,000. A conservatory with those views swells the reception room, and the master bedroom has an en suite and there’s a south facing patio garden. George F White , 01388 527966 Photograph: George F White