City centre, Edinburgh

St James Quarter is a £1bn mixed-use development next to Edinburgh’s New Town with its neat rows of Georgian properties. Within this shopping and lifestyle centre is a three-building development called New Eidyn consisting of 152 apartments. There is a one-bedroom apartment for sale on the seventh floor of Pavilion A, which has a concierge and 24-hour security. Residents will have access to the gym in Scotland’s first W Hotel and the communal sky garden on the fifth floor with views across the city. £415,000. Rettie, 0131 243 3858

Ramsgate, Kent

On historic Victoria Parade is a four-bedroom apartment facing the sea. It is spread over the lower ground floor of a Grade II-listed Victorian townhouse, built in the 1860s. Behind the stucco-fronted building is a home with elegant period features – such as cornicing, sash windows and a bay window in the living room – punctuated by a maritime palette of deep blues and greens. The bedrooms open on to a central courtyard, the ideal spot for a morning coffee. It is only a few minutes’ walk to the sandy beach next to the Royal Harbour. £425,000. Inigo, 020 3687 3071

Winchester, Hampshire

In a green oasis of a communal garden, shrouded by mature trees and well-stocked beds, is an unusual complex with a curved facade rendered in cream. On the first floor is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom flat in need of modernisation. The main reception room has views over the gardens, and the dining room opens on to a balcony. The apartment building, serviced by a lift and with a room for bike storage, is on the south-western side of the city, within easy reach of the railway station and countryside. Farley Mount country park is nearby. £495,000. Knight Frank, 01962 677 246

Wanstead, east London

Between Wanstead Park and Wanstead Flats – the southernmost tip of Epping Forest – and surrounded by greenery, woodland and walking trails, is a small 1980s estate. On the ground floor is a one-bedroom apartment recently renovated by its owners. The new palette takes inspiration from postmodernist design, with a baby pink archway separating hallway and living spaces, a canary yellow feature wall in the kitchen and a sage green sitting area. Wanstead Park station (overground) is about six minutes away by bike and 23 on foot. £350,000. The Modern House, 020 3795 5920

Bath, Somerset

Right in the heart of the city in Gay Street is a ground-floor apartment in a sandy-coloured Grade I-listed terraced building. Natural light pours into the living room through the curved windows and French doors, bouncing off the wooden floors and filling the space with its high ceilings and intricate cornicing. The room opens on to the communal garden, which has a secret gate at the end, to access Victoria Park. If renovating this property is not enough of a period romance, the Jane Austen Centre (museum and tearoom) is next door. £335,000. Hamptons, 01225 685 280