Abandoned country mansion and land

Oh my. Several of you have sent me links to this particular Welsh wreck. Which, I should mention, is up for auction next week (on November 27th).
Blaen Blodau Hall, at New Inn, is undeniably beautiful. The Grade II listed property comes with around two-and-a-half acres of land - much of it rather enthusiastically cleared - accessed via a quiet lane and its own. long drive. Lovely.

Inside are (hopefully) three reception rooms, a sort-of kitchen, hall four bedrooms and a bathroom.
I say hopefully because most of Blaen Blodau is unviewable for safety reasons - the agent suggests standing in the front doorway is about as far as you'll get in terms of inspecting the house.
No matter. It's pretty clear the property is going to need rather more than a job-lot of Dulux and some reclaimed floorboards. Indeed, the view from said front door into the hall suggests that all the new wood is gamely holding up the old wood.

Here's the kitcheny bit, by the way. And below it the basement (very Evil Dead).

Wales Online said it's been empty for over 30 years, although little is known about the history of the property or, indeed, why it is now on the market.
According to Zoopla, it last sold in 1999, and the only image from that time shows the house looking quite dapper. But by 2008, it had been abandoned and Mark Baker, in 'Forgotten Homes in Wales' showed a disintegrating Blaen Blodau with a tree tumbling into its side.

In 2009, the empty property also attracted the attention of photographer Paul White who has been documenting Wales' loveliest abandoned mansions since 1989. 

His blog - www.welshruins.co.uk - is a joy and his pictures of Blaen Blodau, from 2009, show a beautiful, stately building surrounded by trees. Paul writes: 

An air of calmness enveloped the house and grounds and one could imagine once some of the high branches were thinned and more light could enter the house and grounds that this would be a wonderful place to live.

Agents John Francis may have got rather too carried away with the tree "thinning" but that calmness is there even in the 2019 pictures of this lovely house.

What was also interesting is that, below Paul's 2009 post, two people have commented on having had distant relatives who had previously owned the property. That may or may not be true, but it's pretty clear that whoever did buy Blaen Blodau in 1999, abandoned it soon after.
The property had originally been linked to Blaen Blodau farm - nearby and a working farm run by the Jones family - and there had been (is still?) a coach house.
However, I digress. What you need to know is that the house and it's land are up for auction next week through John Francis with a guide price of £40-£50k (expect to pay triple that). Deep pockets and a lot of heart will get you a quite stunning-looking home in the middle of a very pretty bit of Carmarthenshire. Details here and here.

Two big but neglected Yorkshire village homes

I was sorry to see this particular wreck arrive onto the market because it's a house I once lived in. And loved living in.
The house is in Cottingham, a large village/small town just outside Hull. It's five bedrooms (albeit one was only big enough to hold my drum kit, as I remember), upstairs bathroom, two good-size reception rooms and kitchen, and an impressive hall and staircase.

Outside are two gardens and there is (or was) parking behind the house, plus a garage. And it's in a nice position; a short walk from the lively village centre.

So far so good.
But the house is on the market via online auction, and auctions mean risk. The timer system on bids means you may not get chance to have a survey done and you need to be sure you have the cash in place to complete the sale within a month. Plus, if you do pull out, you'll lose around £6k or £7k in deposit and fees.
It's pretty clear 16 Beck Bank needs a full refurb job and that there have been issues with leaks, but it's also clear to me that little if anything has been done to the house in the 13 or so years since I lived there. The same curtains, the same carpets, the same kitchen.

Which is a shame because this is actually a really lovely house. Gorgeous big rooms (I had a couple of fabulous parties there...) and the walled side garden was really sweet.
It's not the most secluded of homes - I remember the position, sitting right on the street, could be annoying - but for a serial doer-upper, there's a lot of potential.
On the market through Pattinson with a bidding reserve of £160k. Details here and on Zoopla here.
Also looking rather sorry for itself is this big detached property in another east Yorkshire village.

The four bedroom home comes with a decent parcel of land and outbuildings (some include asbestos).
It's in the coastal village of Bempton - it of the cliffs and birds - around three miles from Bridlington.
The house is massive, and unusual. Packed with original features (a plaque suggests it dates from 1789) and a crazy mix of furniture and furnishings.

There are big fireplaces and chunky windows, but also weird rooms with random staircases (in a bathroom) and what looks like the original well in the garden.
Outside the outbuildings are packed with auction finds and scrap - clearly a former business and the reason there is just so much stuff everywhere. Would love to know more about the owner.

As with Beck Bank, this house on Bempton's High Street has plenty of potential once everything is cleared away. A decent location and, particularly if you demolish some of those outbuildings, plenty of land to work with.
On the market through Nicholas Belt with a  guide price of £289k. Details and more pictures here and here.