Farmhouse, barns plus bungalow to renovate

I'm watching the clouds this morning, looking for hints of rain in their gathering. The weather app on my phone says rain might be - 60% chance, it says.
But I've been caught out by hope in an app before; weather is more fickle at the coast.
The garden at the home we've been slowly renovating has borders of new plants this summer. All of them are struggling. Planting for coastal wind is difficult, planting for wind and drought with young plants raised indoors, is pretty impossible; I'm losing one plant in three.
Hubby and I are having conversations about water recycling and storage and drip systems for next year, but also about how to hose down outbuildings and whether gardens need fire breaks. We don't do under-thinking.
Which brings me to this week's 'Wreck' pick, and I've gone big again with a former farm with two houses to renovate, five stone barns, almost 17 acres of land, surrounded by open fields (fire breaks), good access (escape), and the possibility of buying it all as one lot or as separate houses with their own parcel of land.
It's within the Lake District National Park and a walkable less than a mile from the super-pretty Cumbrian village of Cartmel.
We'll start with the big house.

Borwicks Aynsome farmhouse is a house built for food and the storing, prepping and cooking thereof. Its kitchens (there are three) are old school front, middle and back kitchen. None of this modern open-plan, let's-all-chat-over-chopping-veg kitchen - these kitchens were workshops.
Added to which is the biggest pantry/cold store I've seen outside a stately home. 

The two reception rooms feel like extras on a film set, waiting to shine in the Christmas scene.
Upstairs are five bedrooms and one bathroom (you'll want to change those numbers).

The farmhouse is Grade II listed and comes with five stone barns, some attached to the farmhouse, bringing more possibilities for business or living options.

The farmhouse, barns and an adjoining paddock can be bought as one separate lot (above) for £445k.

Next door is Little Aynsome, a cute two-bedroom bungalow needing its modernisation re-modernised.

There's a hall, a large light lounge, two decent-sized bedrooms, shower room, kitchen and utility.
If you wanted to buy the bungalow on its own, it's being parceled up with a manageable third of an acre sliced from the adjoining field for £350k.

To be fair, I think the agents and sellers have done a decent job in thinking about how to sell this estate. The two houses parceled with bits of adjoining land; the rest of the acreage offered as farm land with a clawback clause - all nicely planned.
But who wants a tidy bungalow when you could have it all?! Five bedroom farmhouse, two bedroom bungalow, five stone barns and almost 17 acres of pasture and meadow, a lottery-win bargain at £995k!

On the market through H&H Land & Estates, details, plans and more pictures on their website. For the whole property here, for just the farmhouse and barns here, and for the bungalow here.

Starter homes to do-up, under £200k

I've been reading Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham's book 'Head North' in my downtime this week. For obvious reasons, but also because I'm a bit weird.
No-one needs to tell me, born into Hull's docklands and council estates, about the visceral reality of the North-South divide, but reading about how that manifested during Covid as political choices is chilling. 
Of course we have lots of other divides nowadays to pile onto the geographic one, including the growing gap between those who have bought their homes and those who may never be able to.
So today I'm going to focus on starter homes - properties under £200k, in well-served areas for first-time buyers, that don't need masses of work.
This is always the toughest type of property to find, not least because the price bracket is swamped with "Modern Method of Auction" chancers, but here's three I picked to show you.
Manchester is VERY up and down price-wise because the right area, down to the right street, matters. This property (above and below) made it onto my list because it offers more than a terraced stepping-stone; it's a house with space to grow with.
A proper Manchester redbrick, it's an end terrace with a large garden and detached garage. Good size lounge and kitchen diner downstairs, three bedrooms and shower room upstairs. 
Surrounded by prettier and newer properties and the inside has some interesting decor choices, but it's in up-and-coming Mossley with its train station, street life and good links.

On the market at offers over £190k through Ryder & Dutton. Details and more pictures on the agent's site here and on Rightmove here.
My next pick is down south, in increasingly popular and arty Margate. Houses under £200k that aren't auction properties are pretty rare in Margate - houses with gardens, walking distance to beach and schools and that have been looked after, are gold dust. This one, while not a wreck, has got awkward access that has put it in our price bracket.

A mid terrace with large gardens front and back, there's a lounge, kitchen, utility and bathroom downstairs, two bedrooms upstairs.
Access is up steps from the street and along the pathway in front of the terrace, then into that wild front garden. Fabulous for children and garden parties, less so for parking and carrying stuff home.

But at just £180k, and walking distance from the best of Margate, there's a lot to like.
On the market through Footprints. Details and more pictures on the agent's site here and on Rightmove here.
If those two are a bit too "city" for you, my last pick is in the North Yorkshire village of Gristhorpe, between Filey and Scarborough and just-about commutable to York or Hull.

There's a large lounge, small kitchen and shower room downstairs, two good-size bedrooms upstairs.
Outside is a large garden with fabulous open views (...and breathe) and a stone outbuilding that could become an office or workshop. 

Equally, you have neighbours who have extended into their garden which gives you growth options too.
It's on Gristhorpe's very pretty main street, with the popular Bull Inn pub nearby.
On the market at £170k through DMA. Details and more pictures on the agent's site here and on Rightmove here.

Two proper Scottish wrecks to renovate

There is a special corner of hell reserved for England fans in World Cup years. One where hopes are raised and smashed in hourly cycles. "Here, take it - you've earned it," as the Jules Rimet inches towards our hungry hands to a chorus of It's Coming home.  "Nope. Not enough hurt yet", and it's all over. Again. 
Of course there's another corner for Scotland fans, but they just carry on partying like 1999 in theirs.
I'm sorry, did you expect me not to mention The Football today?
Anyway, as a reflection of my mood this morning, I'm going to show you a couple of proper wrecks to ponder upon.
Knapping Knowes is a one bedroom (of sorts) former family holiday retreat sitting alone in the middle of the Galloway countryside. The Dalbeattie Forest, Solway coast and towns of Dalbeattie and Dumfries all within a twenty minutes or so drive.
It's two rooms plus a toilet. The main room houses a woodburning stove, a cooking stove, sink and drainer. The 'bedroom' had been stripped out ready for refurbishment that was started around 2022 and abandoned. Outside the cottage is surrounded by a large garden and gorgeous open views of hills and wood land. 

It's largely off-grid - a generator providing (limited) electricity, water pumped from the spring, and private drainage. But apparently a really good mobile signal thanks to a phone mast in a nearby field and fibre optic cable almost to the door.
Terrestrial access to the cottage is rather more problematic - a long and rough farm track that "requires upgrading". 

But if what you're looking for right now is a space to quietly drink whisky and weep loudly - Knapping Knowes. 
On the market through Threave Rural at offers over £85k. More details on the agent's site here, the PDF here, or on Rightmove here.

My second pick to show you is also in Scotland and in a similarly beautiful bit of its countryside. 
Cherry Grove (please... what cherries?!) is in the middle of the Cairngorms National Park.

It comes with planning permission to knock down that stone cottage/bunk-house and replace it with a smart three bedroom, two bathroom, open-plan Highland home. Assuming that's what you want to do with it. 
The current cottage has two bedrooms, small sitting room, bathroom, a long and awkward kitchen/diner and a fair bit of work outstanding.

  
There's a smart new garage, built as part of the approved plans, which offers workspace or storage during renovation/rebuild and the whole site is a generous quarter acre.

Access is rather easier than at Knapping Knowes - sitting on a proper road, surrounded by woodland  and with a private holiday let as your nearest neighbour.
Nearby are two lively community villages - Nethy Bridge and Boat of Garten, that have reinvented themselves by embracing their attractiveness to holidaymakers.
It's a little unclear what services are already in place at Cherry Grove, and which (like proposed new boreholes for water and drainage) will need to be built. But clearly some services had previously fed that kitchen and bathroom.

On the market at offers over £250k through Masson Cairns. It seems a tad steep for effectively a (very attractive) plot with PP, but it's been on the market for a while - reduced a year ago, and that may offer flex. Details, including plans, on the agent's site here and on Rightmove here.

Anyway, at least we won't now have a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final, when England lost by a goal to Spain... Lionesses in 2027? 🏆