Deep in the woods sits this octagonal folly – with a real surprise inside. The ceiling and walls of the main room are festooned with shells, while in the basement is a cold plunge pool.

Listed Grade II*, the dairy was conceived to represent a tiny Italianate chapel topped with a bell tower, and with four corner pavilions.

This eighteenth-century Gothic summerhouse sits beside the River Esk near Carlisle. Remote and peaceful, the three large windows in the main room give striking views over the river.

One of three Landmarks in the remote upland hamlet Rhiwddion, Ty Capel was built in 1860 for the slate quarrying community that once lived and worked here.

Bramble Villa is in the St John’s Valley and has stunning views over the sea towards Devon. Lundy’s beauty, community and way of life make it a world apart.

Brinkburn Mill sits next to the River Coquet at the bottom of a thickly-wooded valley. A mill has been on this site since medieval times, with the present building dating to about 1800.

Castle Keep South is the largest of the three cottages built round a small courtyard and sheltered from the outside world.

A cosy timber building in the atmospheric hamlet of Coombe, Chapel Cottage arrived in Coombe in about 1860 on wheels. Enjoy fine views over idyllic orchards that lead down to a stream.

This octagonal castellated Gothic tower was built in 1839 by Lady Rolle as a birthday present for her husband. It sits atop a pocket of countryside, surrounded by heathland and pretty villages.

Coed y Bleiddiau is a small railway cottage at a remote private halt on the restored Ffestiniog Railway.

The 18th-century Temple was one of the last additions to Stowe, one of the world’s most famous landscape gardens. The rooms are all circular, with moulded stone pilasters and plaster vaults.

This 18th-century cottage was attached to one of Wales's shrines of Nonconformity, the Maesyronnen Chapel. It sits on a high shelf above the Wye looking out across the Black Mountains.

Villa dei Vescovi is a Renaissance villa nestled in the vineyards and orchards of the Euganean Hills. One of two rooftop apartments, with views of the elegant orchards.

Villa dei Vescovi is a Renaissance villa nestled in the vineyards and orchards of the Euganean Hills. One of two rooftop apartments, with views of the elegant orchards.

Marshal Wade’s House stands in the centre of Bath, neighbouring the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. It offers exceptional views of Jacob’s ladder, the famous carving on the Abbey’s west front.