Country Life's best property stories of 2018: Castles, cottages and pocket-sized perfection
Every week we feature dozens of the finest and most beautiful properties to come to the market in Britain – and beyond. Here are the ones which proved most popular in 2018.

Four perfect, pocket-sized character properties from just £275,000
Cute as buttons, cheap as chips.
The Cotswolds manor house rumoured to be Prince Harry and Meghan’s new home
Rumours swirled for months that HRH Prince Harry and his new bride would set up home in this fabulous place – a house which was also used in the BBC's famous adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice' featuring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.
A 20-bedroom castle for sale at just £500,000 – but with a huge amount of work to do
This incredible place – one of the biggest renovation opportunities of the year – now has a new owner whose work is cut out for them.
‘One of the most beautiful houses in Gloucestershire’ is for sale, the place where Waugh wrote Brideshead Revisited
A 'genial, pleasantly rambling family house' which has our absolute favourite bathtub of the year.
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45 great places to live within an hour of London
There are literally thousands of places where you can live outside of London but still get to the city inside an hour – between this article and our superb guide to the 50 best places to live near London you'll have all the info you could need for making the move out of town.
The ‘Welsh Downton Abbey’ is about to be auctioned off for a song
This glorious home was built by the Mostyn family – specifically the 7th Baronet – between 1825 and 1829, to a design which largely ignored the late-Georgian fashions and instead created something closer to a Jacobean castle.
A fantasy castle for sale near the Peak District complete with moat, dungeon and suits of armour
Caverswall Castle's history stretches back almost 750 years – something which its present owner makes the absolute most of.
19 magnificent French houses, including a château for under £500,000
The French property market still has bargains which are almost impossible to believe by British standards, as we showed in this piece.
An entire cove for sale, including the ‘most-photographed house in Cornwall’
Unspoilt Lamorna Cove at West Penwith, five miles from Penzance, is one of the last remaining bays in Cornwall that remains in private hands.
A magnificent beachfront Scottish castle with 28 acres of wonderful woodland– all for less than a small country cottage
For £695,000 you could buy a respectably sized cottage in Berkshire, you might get a one bedroom flat in London’s zone two, or you could purchase a spectacular 18th century castle on the Island of Mull, with 10 bedrooms and stunning ocean views.
Credit: Massey PR
A winter weekend in Cornwall by train: No crowds, no cars, just blissful peace and beauty
Cornwall is even more beautiful without the summer crowds, says Kate Green, and you don't even need to drive to
Credit: Via Savills in Truro: For sale at a guide price of £2 million is Polbream, in Mullion, some eight miles south of Helston. This extended former farmhouse sits on its own headland, Polbream Point
A magnificent house on its own headland at The Lizard, the balmiest place in Britain
Polbream is for sale for the first time in a generation – Penny Churchill takes a look at this delightful Cornish
Credit: Williams & Goodwin
Six of Wales's finest homes, from a Cardiff mansion to an entire headland of Anglesey (complete with working lighthouse)
In honour of St David's Day, we take a look at some of the finest properties currently for sale across
Credit: Savills
A beautiful home on its own peninsula near Dartmouth, complete with helipad and glasshouse
Woods House occupies one of the finest positions on the River Dart.
Credit: Savills
Exquisitely private waterfront property in South Devon with a guest cottage, tennis court and private jetty
Gurrow Point sits on its own peninsula on the banks of the Dart, with 8000sq ft of elegant living space
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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A rare opportunity to own one a family home on Vanbrugh Terrace, one of London's finest streets
This six-bedroom Victorian home sits right on the start line of the London Marathon, with easy access to Blackheath and Greenwich Park
By James Fisher Published
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Materials, textures, construction, expression: A Brutalist watch on your wrist
Luxury watchmakers are seeking to bridge the gap between two contrasting styles, with exciting results.
By Chris Hall Published
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A rare opportunity to own one a family home on Vanbrugh Terrace, one of London's finest streets
This six-bedroom Victorian home sits right on the start line of the London Marathon, with easy access to Blackheath and Greenwich Park
By James Fisher Published
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A day walking up and down the UK's most expensive street
Winnington Road in Hampstead has an average house price of £11.9 million. But what's it really like? Lotte Brundle went to find out.
By Lotte Brundle Last updated
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Damon Hill's former home in Marbella is the perfect place to slow down
The glorious Andalusian-style villa is found within the Lomas de Marbella Club and just a short walk from the beach.
By James Fisher Published
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A 327-acre estate in the heart of 'England’s Côte d’Or', with a 26,000sq ft Georgian style home at its heart
Stokes Hall in the Crouch Valley is an inspiring property looking for a new owner.
By Penny Churchill Published
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Schreiber House, 'the most significant London townhouse of the second half of the 20th century', is up for sale
The five-bedroom Modernist masterpiece sits on the edge of Hampstead Heath.
By Lotte Brundle Published
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Is the 'race for space' officially over?
During the lockdowns, many thought the countryside was the place to be. It seems many are now changing their minds.
By Annabel Dixon Last updated
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What's a 'wellness village' and will it tempt you back into the office?
The team behind London's first mixed-use ‘wellness village’ says it has the magic formula for tempting workers back into offices.
By Annunciata Elwes Published
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A mini estate in Kent that's so lovely it once featured in Simon Schama's 'History of Britain'
The Paper Mill estate is a picture-postcard in the Garden of England.
By Penny Churchill Published