Deep in the woods sits this octagonal folly – with a real surprise inside. The ceiling and walls of the main room are festooned with shells, while in the basement is a cold plunge pool.

This very clever scale model of a French chateau sits on a hill above the River Trent in the middle of the Lincolnshire countryside.

A Georgian folly within an outstanding Picturesque garden, the Ruin was built in about 1766. On the edge of a steep wooded gorge, it was one of several buildings scattered across the gardens.

This eighteenth-century Gothic summerhouse sits beside the River Esk near Carlisle. Remote and peaceful, the three large windows in the main room give striking views over the river.

Mill House dates from 1700 and is mainly built of stone with a thatched and slated roof. No. 1 is the slightly larger of two cottages and has a wide fireplace in the sitting room.

A cosy timber building in the atmospheric hamlet of Coombe, Chapel Cottage arrived in Coombe in about 1860 on wheels. Enjoy fine views over idyllic orchards that lead down to a stream.

This 18th-century tower gives striking views of the historic market town of Richmond. Inside, three single octagonal rooms are decorated in an elaborate cocktail of classical and Gothic styles.

Freston Tower is a six-storey Tudor folly that looks out over the River Orwell. There is a single room on each floor with the sitting room at the top to take advantage of the unrivalled views.

The surviving cross-wing of a late-medieval timber-framed hall-house in a peaceful woodland clearing in the Kent Weald.

Villa dei Vescovi is a Renaissance villa nestled in the vineyards and orchards of the Euganean Hills. One of two rooftop apartments, with views of the elegant orchards.

Villa dei Vescovi is a Renaissance villa nestled in the vineyards and orchards of the Euganean Hills. One of two rooftop apartments, with views of the elegant orchards.

North Street is the earliest planned industrial housing in the world and now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The terrace was built in 1771 to house workers from the new cotton mill.

One of the few medieval church houses to survive, the Parish House was built in about 1500, with fine views from the windows of the main room of the 15th-century church.

Here you can live in the centre of Rome overlooking the Spanish Steps in spacious rooms with tiled floors and high, beamed ceilings painted in soft colours.

Plas Uchaf is a substantial hall-house built in about 1400 and situated in the Dee valley, an area filled with scenery, wildlife and history. Few houses of this age survive in Wales.