Five to view: Homes for £500,000

If that is easily within your budget, you can afford to live like a millionaire, says Rosalind Russell

In Cumbria, £500,000 buys The Old Rectory, a restored, Georgian, five-bedroom house with stone outbuildings and a paddock. At the foot of the Lamplugh Fells near Cockermouth, the white-painted country house has a drawing room with views of the Solway Coast towards the Scottish hills. There's a second sitting room with original window shutters, dining room with Victorian fireplace, cellars and large, square kitchen with a walk in pantry. In the grounds there's a stone-built barn, stable, log store and former byre with a loft above. For sale through PF&K (017687 74546).

In Cumbria, £500,000 buys The Old Rectory, a restored, Georgian, five-bedroom house with stone outbuildings and a paddock. At the foot of the Lamplugh Fells near Cockermouth, the white-painted country house has a drawing room with views of the Solway Coast towards the Scottish hills. There's a second sitting room with original window shutters, dining room with Victorian fireplace, cellars and large, square kitchen with a walk in pantry. In the grounds there's a stone-built barn, stable, log store and former byre with a loft above. For sale through PF&K (017687 74546).

Voelas Hall in the Dovey Valley, Powys, is a Grade II-listed mansion that is surrounded by woods and mountains, with a river in front. The 18th-century house is reached via a long entrance drive and has a 50ft greenhouse, ornamental lake, mill pond, grass tennis court and two waterfalls. There's a 35ft reception hall with carved coving, a huge, oak-panelled sitting room with a parquet floor and inglenook fireplace.For sale at £495,000 through Sterling (01492 534477).

Brook House, nine miles from Exeter, is a modern, three-bedroom house built to a traditional design. It has a 14ft octagonal study reached by a short connecting bridge from the kitchen and two gables slightly jettied, as they would have been in a medieval house. There's a huge inglenook fireplace with wood-burning stove in the drawing room, a billiard room with bar area, and an office above the garage. For sale for around £500,000, through Strutt & Parker (01392 215631).

Grange Moor House, an 18th-century farmhouse at Scots Gap, 10 miles from Morpeth, stands in eight-and-a-half acres, which includes an all-weather riding school, orchard and woodland. Restored and renovated, the house, stables and store rooms are arranged around a cobbled courtyard with a stone arch. There's a large dining hall, drawing and sitting rooms and a 29ft kitchen breakfast room. Upstairs are three double bedrooms and there are plans to turn an adjoining building into another bedroom and bathroom. For sale through Strutt & Parker (01670 516123). About £500,000.

The Pillars in north Oxford is a modern, four-bedroom house with planning permission to build a fifth bedroom over the garage. Near the city centre, the house is reached via electronically operated gates. It has an L-shaped sitting and dining room with wooden floor with a fireplace and French doors to the garden. The kitchen has antique-style pine units, there's a study, shower room and bathroom. For sale at £500,000 through John D Wood (01865 311522).