Wreck of the Week

I'll get to the properties in a mo - including the weirdly wonderful house above, but before I do I just want to say a massive, massive, really-mean-it THANK YOU! Thank you because today 'Wreck' passed the three-million views mark (actually 3,000,064 as I type this) - woohoo!! And thank you because of all the fabulous emails you send me, with properties and suggestions, and just generally saying nice things. Thank you. Anyway, back to why we're both here. The old Boncath railway station and station masters house, in west Wales, is on the market. And, depending on your point-of-view re baby blue walls and polystyrene ceiling tiles, it's pretty yummy. The three-bedroom, detached station masters house clearly needs work. The kitchen is tiny and the bathroom is downstairs, but there are some nice original features and there's space around the house to extend.   And it's that space that makes this property interesting, because it includes the f...

This handsome Scottish rectory was sent to me by reader Ed, who is clearly already at the pre-planning stage of renovation daydreaming... Not sure what I'd do with the layout: possibly knock through the sitting room and kitchen to make one big kitchen/diner/family room, as is the fashion these days I'd be tempted to jimmy an en suite in there somewhere, but can't see a way of doing that without ruining the proportions of the bedrooms? That's such a fun bit: re-imagining how you would fit that space around you. Love it! St James Parsonage, overlooks tiny Ardbrecknish on the banks of the gorgeous Loch Awe . The 1930s house has three reception rooms and a kitchen downstairs, four bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Every room has an original fireplace and there are lovely period details throughout (and also some rather less attractive damp bits). Outside is a garden and the detached garage/bothy below, and the whole thing is pretty isolated - tho...

Reader Ellie wrote to me about this fab former school. Here's why: I am a HUGE fan of Wreck of the Week. I'm writing because there is a particular wreck that is deeply lodged in my heart, which I'd love you to share in the hope of finding someone to do it up! Every time I go to visit my partner's grandmother, I walk by it and it is incredible. It's called St Aidan's School House and is in Berwick-upon-Tweed , with incredible sea views. It is, indeed, an incredible building - and this isn't the first time I've been asked to look at an old building that's been sitting on the market for too long. The issues tend be similar - a building that's too big to make one home - so it puts off do-uppers, and has awkward development restrictions - so it puts off pro-developers. St Aidan's has been gradually falling apart since it closed for good in 1998. The Charity Commission - having discovered that the original trustees had all died ...

Does it sound really bad that I didn't actually know where Anglesey is until I started 'Wreck..'?  Worse, I thought it was part of that Guernsey/Jersey bit in the Channel, rather than a rather pretty bit of Wales in the Irish Sea. Sorry about that Anglesey-ians... Angleans...Anglesonions... Moch mon Anyway, three stunning properties on Anglesey this week. First, the seven-bedroomed former Rectory, above and below, up for auction at the end of this month. The property, in the village of Llanfachraeth , comes with around two acres of garden land and outbuildings. It's thought to date from the 14th century but isn't Listed so - yay, plastic windows here we come! If needs a fair bit of work. The photos show some damp issues (there's a well in the cellar and one in the garden..) and the agent's note mentions Japanese knotweed. There's an old-lady-gone (or old vicar gone..) look about it - notice the Christmas tree, but it's a handsome prop...

It's cold,wet and windy today. Perfect weather for a virtual visit to Scotland for a round-up of six lovely wrecks. Starting with my current favourite - the traditional cottage above and below, at Inverkirkaig, a couple of miles from the fishing port of Lochinver, Sutherland . Three bedrooms, two reception, kitchen and bathroom - and gorgeous views over Inverkirkaig Bay. outside is a small, fenced garden and disused outhouse. It's on the market at offers over £100k through Wilsons - PDF here . Details and more pictures here . There are no internal pix for the traditional Scottish croft (above), but the riverside location looks gorgeous. On the market through Strutt & Parker at offers over £120k, you get the three-bed farmhouse above, plus the chunky stone outbuilding (below) and half an acre of land. The property sits on the River Don, around seven  miles outside Alford, Aberdeenshire , on the A980. More details and pictures here and here . Talkin...