Wreck of the Week

A lovely email from Frances at the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership , prompted me to have a look at Scotland today. And here are two handsome but left-to-rot Scottish manses. The downside is that the agents have only supplied external photos (which really annoys me...), but given the holes in roofs and broken windows we can make a decent guess at what might be inside. Above and below is a five bed house at Lochanhead, five miles from Dumfries, sent to me by reader Wendy. Three reception rooms, games room, bar, halls and kitchen downstairs, five bedrooms (four en-suite) on the first floor and four attic rooms above - this was definitely once a party house! Large gardens (though how much land isn't clear). And a lovely, airy hole in the roof: The agent, GGM&W, describes the 19th Century house as "derelict and in need of total renovation" and suggests that the buyer may choose to demolish the (unlisted) building and start again. Which might make it, ...

I have a thing about turning non-houses into houses: hospitals into family homes and pubs into country cottages . But this is the first time I've featured a convent.  Actually a convent school. Grade Two-listed St Ursula's Convent School is in a pretty area of  Wigton , in Cumbria - about seven miles form the Lake District National Park and about 12 from Carlisle. It's a gorgeous building. Not sure how much of it needs doing up but a fair bit of it would need re-modelling. It's a bit of an odd layout - a warren of rooms downstairs - some enormous and others basically cupboard-offices. The agent's details are pretty light on the details bit and, although a kitchen is mentioned, it doesn't look there are bathrooms (although presumably the convent girls at least had access to loos?). The property is described on Zoopla as detached but the agent's site doesn't mention that and I couldn't work out what the relationship was between th...

Closing date for bids on this gorgeous Edwardian terrace is September 9th, so unless you've got several £hundred K tucked under the sofa cushions, you may miss the boat. However, we all know 'Wreck' is as much daydreams as reality, so sit back and enjoy this photographic ride. The five-bed house is on leafy Park Avenue, in Skipton , North Yorkshire. As you'd expect from a house of this period, rooms are big, ceilings are high, windows are tall (lovers of modern-build insulated homes look away now), and wall sockets are few. There are some gorgeous period details, like the main door, staircase and this window: and some less handsome additions, like this fireplace and the bathroom. But overall there's enormous potential here as well as masses of family space. Downstairs is that handsome hallway, two large reception rooms and this sweet kitchen: Below that is a basement level with four big cellar/utility areas. Upstairs are thr...