If you’re looking to up sticks and move to the country, but you’re wondering what you’d do there — and you don’t fancy going down the farming route a la Jeremy Clarkson or Kelvin Fletcher — there’s a fascinating option on the market right now. It’s a 212-acre farm in Cumbria, not far from Cockermouth, and it’s for sale through Strutt & Parker at £1.5 million — which is the same price as this two-bedroom flat in Barnet.
There is a catch — there’s always a catch — in that the agents coyly note that the traditional Cumbrian longhouse that’s the actual accommodation here is ‘in need of refurbishment’. These are words that are not too worrying when accompanied by pictures… but when the property listing has no internal pictures at all, your mind can’t help but run riot. What lies within?
That said, the opportunity here is far more than just a pretty house on a stunningly beautiful hillside in the Lake District, because a bigger prize is at stake: planning permission has been granted to turn the string of farm buildings into tourist accommodation. And it’ll be tourist accommodation with spectacular views of the Solway Firth to the north and the Cumbrian mountains to the south. You can see more details about the new life that awaits at the property listing page on the Strutt & Parker website.
Quiz of the Day
1) How many bones in the human skull are movable?
2) What would you keep in a tantalus?
3) La Cucaracha is a song about which creature?
4) How many yards are there in a chain?
5) Which Royal residence is on the bank of the River Dee?
Steward's enquiry?
If you missed the news on Friday, Annabel Dixon did a deep-dive on the news that Woodbridge in Suffolk has been named the happiest town in Britain.
It was a surprise at first, since Woodbridge had been nowhere near the top five in previous editions of Righmove's survey. Did the good denizens of Woodbridge coordinate a bit of tactical voting? It must be noted that an extra 9,000 people took part in this year's survey, which is roughly the population of this little Suffolk town. Is skulduggery afoot?
But then you think about it, and it's not really a surprise at all since it's a town full of fun, independent shops, beautiful architecture, great food and scenery which makes you feel like you're living in a Constable painting.
Posh Jo Malone candles
If you like them, you have something in common with Mary Berry. She spoke to Hetty Lintell about these and more of her favourite things.
If you've ever wondered why Dracula was set in Whitby...
...this picture of the Abbey should convince you. Beauty, wintry elegance and a chill down your spine which is only partially down to the weekend temperatures...
There's only two Ollie Robinsons
Cricket fans are agog at the makeup of England's latest Test cricket team, since it features a wicketkeeper called Ollie Robinson, who shares his name with England fast bowler Ollie Robinson. The latter isn't in the line-up at the moment, but everyone in the world of sport is crossing their fingers for the potential joy that would be watching two identically-named cricketers playing at the same time for England. Surely the selectors can see that they shouldn't stand in the way of this happening?
What makes it even better is that they share a birthday (albeit five years apart). According to sporting email list The Upshot, the chances of two young cricket players sharing a name, and a birthday, and getting picked for England is one in 1.3 trillion.
That's it — we're back tomorrow
Quiz Answers
1) One (lower jaw or mandible)
2) Decanters/alcohol
3) A cockroach
4) 22
5) Balmoral Castle
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Five frankly enormous mansions, including one with its own private swimming lake, as seen in Country Life
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