HOUSES FOR SALE AT THE BACK OF BEYOND

Scar House Reservoir Lodge is about as far from civilisation as you can get in England. The 1936 stone house is, say agents Cluttons, ideally suited for those seeking an isolated rural setting. In the upper reaches of Nidderdale, in the Yorkshire Dales, the four-bedroom house is five miles from the nearest village, Lofthouse, and 12 miles from Pateley Bridge. It's being sold on the instructions of the Yorkshire Water Estates at a guide price of pounds 140,000.

Tucked down a long stone driveway and set in the middle of more than eight acres of grounds, Cleave Copse in Devon, 11 miles from Barnstaple, enjoys a high degree of privacy, say agents Knight Frank and Rutley. The four-bedroom Edwardian country house was built as a gentleman's residence. On its southern boundary, it adjoins 110 acres of Forestry Commission woodland. The guide price is pounds 350,000.

Down Wind is half a mile from its nearest neighbours in the village of Hilmarton, and two miles from Calne, Wiltshire. The 1904 four-bedroom house is hidden from the road by a high hedge and has views over farmland. Should you feel the need to be self-sufficient, it comes with a piggery and three quarters of an acre of garden. Agents Hamptons have priced it at pounds 188,000.

Humberts have decided to make a virtue of the seclusion of Great Quantock House, 11 miles from Taunton, Somerset. The five-bedroom period house is set high in the Quantock hills, is approached over forestry roads, punctuated by cattle grids, and is about two miles from the nearest hamlet. For Post Office or pub you would have to drive four miles to Nether Stowey. The house comes with more than 15 acres and includes a "bee building" for hives, a coach house and stables. Riders on the bridleways would be the only sightings of other humans for a buyer looking for seclusion. Offers of around pounds 300,000 are being sought.

The Cottage is a brick and weatherboard, four-bedroom house a mile from the nearest village, Brandeston in Suffolk. Originally a pair of farm workers' cottages, it has been recently renovated. There is another farmhouse within sight, but the house is surrounded by four acres of its own land. Agents Bidwells are asking for offers around pounds 230,000.