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'The perfect English country retreat from the modern world', with medieval origins, Georgian flourishes, towering oaks and immaculate gardens

All this, plus a dovecot for 1,000 birds at Jaggards, in the heart of Wiltshire.

Spectacular Scottish castles and estates for sale

A look at the finest castles, country houses and estates for sale in Scotland today.

An 800-year-old home where oak panelling and ancient floors sit alongside a heated pool and football pitch

Old and new rare come together with such striking contrast as at The Old Hall in Netherseal, Derbyshire. Penny Churchill takes a look.

A four-bedroom bungalow of 3,500sq ft with views over the Helford River reminds me why I hate stairs

If you've got the space to live a whole life on one floor, why not do just that?

A house in Teddington fit for a cardinal, where Henry VIII's right-hand man Thomas Wolsey lived with his mistress

Wolsey's Cottage is named after Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor. It's bursting with period features and has plenty of stories to tell.

In the heart of Penzance, an artist's paradise comes up for sale that's quite unlike anything we've seen before

Rosemary Cottage is the home of master plaster caster Peter Hone. It blends the boundary between accommodation and expression.

The mini-Hogwarts for sale in north London

A house in the spookily Gothic Holly Village, a birthday song for His Majesty and good news for fans of keeping warm on remote Scottish islands.

A beautiful Cornish bolthole, a £15m mansion and a converted mill dating back 1,000 years, as seen in Country Life

Our pick of the best homes to come up for sale via Country Life this week has some truly delightful places.

An immaculate Devon farmstead up for sale, with a courtyard, stables and a roundhouse

Not the Clarkson's farm, but a Clarkson's farm, has come up for sale.

Alan Titchmarsh's garden: No insecticides, no herbicides, just beautiful flowers, lawns, a statue of Repton and a swing seat that's impossible to resist

It’s always fascinating to see what a high-profile gardening personality does with their own home. Tiffany Daneff visits Alan Titchmarsh’s Hampshire garden, to find a place of endless delights and charm. Photographs by Jonathan Buckley.

Be at one with the River Thames on this luxurious houseboat in Putney

Lambhays offers four bedrooms and 3,000sq ft of floating luxury right next to Wandsworth Park.

A gorgeous Scottish island for sale that's cheaper than two garages in Clapham

One of the easier games of 'Would you rather' we've ever played: the pristine ten acres of Eilean Loch Oscair, or a corner of SW11 in which to keep your old boxes of stuff.

A gorgeous Devon home owned by a great novelist and a Hollywood star, set in one of Britain's most unusual seaside villages... and it even has a bargain price tag

The Old Rectory at Clovelly is everything you could dream of in a Devon home. Or at least it could be, after a *lot* of hard work...

A perfect Cotswolds home in the village made famous by Disney's Rivals, where you'll have The King and Jilly Cooper as neighbours

Whether you read the book, watched the TV show, or just want to live in a nice house in the Cotswolds, this townhouse might be for you.

Dawn Chorus: The seven types of gentleman, the hillsides covered in Cadbury's, and try our Quiz of the Day

Looking for a new party trick? You've come to the right place.

Skip the election mayhem and buy your own White House with our handy guide

Don't fancy becoming the 'leader of the free world' and all the hassle it brings? Don't know what to do with 3,700 nuclear weapons? Just want to live in a nice white house with all the fuss? We've got you covered.

A breathtaking house and garden for sale that was created by one of Britain's greatest landscape architects as a playground for his family

Thomas H. Mawson, one of the 20th century's most renowned landscape architects, created this place for his family to enjoy. A century later it's looking for a new owner.

Five magical homes for sale, from an equestrian dream property to a 17th century manor, as seen in Country Life

We take a look at some of the best houses to come to the market via Country Life in the last couple of weeks.

You've got peemail: Why dogs sniff each other's urine

Ever wondered why your dog is so fond of sniffing another’s pee? 'The urine is the carrier service, the equivalent of Outlook or Gmail,' explains Laura Parker.

A true once-in-a-lifetime chance as 554 acres of blissful English countryside come up for sale in a location just 45 miles from central London

Penny Churchill looks at the Southend Estate, where hundreds of acres of space are on the market just a stone's throw from the capital.