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Find a rated tradesman
Want to add value to your property, make your house a home, or sell your place fast? With 1,000s of tradesmen nationwide, rated and recommended by previous customers, this is the smart way to find a reputable tradesman.
Buy of the week: Camden Town
This two-bedroom flat has a pretty park on its doorstep, while buzzing Camden Town is only 10 minutes’ walk away. Big sash windows and high ceilings give a spacious feel and there’s a private garden with a studio/home office (£525,000).
Swap of the week: Willersey, Glouc
This little Cotswolds beauty is just across the road from the village green and duck pond. For £530,000 you get beams, exposed stone walls and an open fireplace, plus four bedrooms, a useful attic room and lush gardens to enjoy.
Life-changer: Trescowe, Cornwall
For a project brimming with potential, what about this coastal home, yours for £545,000? The family space includes six bedrooms, while its collection of outbuildings overlooking an acre of gardens could become income-generating holiday lets.
Spotlight on Camden Town
The shops and markets clustered around the high street and canal make Camden one of the most colourful of London's neighbourhoods. The area's period homes and loft-style apartments attract a mix of homebuyers.
Property search
Five things to see in August
By Barbara Chandler
Visit the "floral festival" at Chicheley Hall in Buckinghamshire
1. Something potty
This Friday to Sunday, top potters will gather in the lovely grounds of Hatfield House to show off their mugs and jugs. There’s a Henry Moore exhibition in the garden. Tickets: adult £8, plus Moore, £17; seniors £7.50, plus Moore, £16.50.
*Hatfield House, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Visit artinclay.co.uk
2. Prototypes and experiments at Aram
Until August 27, Aram’s famous summer show this year looks at casts and moulds. See Peter Marigold’s Malayalam 2010 and Sarah King’s ball bangle, plus moulded furniture and even shoes.
*Aram, 110 Drury Lane, Covent Garden, WC2; 020 7557 7526; thearamgallery.org
3. Chicheley Hall
This glorious Georgian manor (pictured) hosts a “floral festival” from Friday to Sunday, masterminded by celebrity florist Judith Blacklock with displays, workshops and a shopping marquee, and featuring a host of top international floral designers.
*Chicheley, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. Tickets £15 in advance, £20 on the day; visit fleur-events.co.uk
4. The Alternative Village Fete
On August 28 and 29 at the South Bank, browse stalls for arts, crafts, bunting, cakes, sweets, jams, candyfloss, smoothies and vintage finds, plus music and theatre.
*National Theatre Square, South Bank, SE1. Sunday 1pm to 5.30pm; Monday, 1pm to 4pm. Free.
5. The Work Shop
A Kingston University, this is a pop-up shop, open seven days a week and kitted out by art students and new graduates at the cutting edge of design to sell greetings cards by Vic Riches, plus paintings, prints, furniture and homeware.
*Market House, The Market Square, Kingston upon Thames. Call 0779 5575494 or 0781 6682576 — or visit the-work-shop.org
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