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OWERMOIGNE, DORSET

Take on a challenge: use the £100,000 proceeds from your London studio and turn shabby into chic in this Grade II listed thatch in Dorset. The interior needs improving, but has the potential to be a charming home. A flagstone-floored entrance hall, dining and sitting rooms, a study, kitchen and bathroom, are on the ground floor. Two bedrooms are on the first floor. A single garage has a door to the garden. Journey time from nearby Wool into Waterloo is two hours. It will be sold by auction on 10 July through Jackson-Stops and Staff (01305 262123).

HUNTINGDON, CAMBS

Buy a piece of Cambridgeshire history for £165,000 by snapping up True Blue, a 400-year-old whitewashed house in Huntingdon. The property's uses over the years include an inn, bakery and lodging house, complete with ghost. A beamed entrance hall has doors to a bathroom, kitchen and lounge with character details. Stairs lead to four bedrooms on the first floor, with another on the second floor, which overlooks its own gardens. There is also a garage/workshop. The train to London takes about 50 minutes. Further details from Peter Lane and Partners (01480 414800).