The TV spy thriller series The Avengers was one of Britain’s longest running small screen shows broadcast as one-hour episodes between 1961 and 1969 and also during its revival in the 1970s.  And it made global stars of its main characters including John Steed (Patrick Macnee), Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) and Purdey (Joanna Lumley).

But the series was also beloved by millions for its setting – the prettier vistas, streets and roads of swinging 1960s London. And if you should wish to relive many scenes from The Avengers, and its later incarnation The New Avengers then pop down to Ennismore Garden Mews in Knightsbridge, London and have a look at No.21 – a two bedroom mews property for sale used on multiple occasions as a location for the series.

Another mews house, No.3 Stable Mews (around the corner) was also used for filming, mainly as the home of John Steed. Also, many other roads around Ennismore Garden Mews, including Rutland Mews South and East and Cleveland Mews, made an appearance in the film.

And The Avengers wasn’t alone in using Ennismore Garden Mews – it also featured in several episodes of The Professionals and HJ Wells The Invisible Man.

Today No.21 is owned by entrepreneur, business advisor and Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year finalist Christianne Wuillamie who is asking £2.75m for the house – which comes with planning permission to be extended with a conservatory at the back within its courtyard garden.

The properties that make Britain great are to be found all over the UK. Cue wisteria choked-cottages, sharp-shouldered rectories, ship-size Georgian mansions and teetering townhouses, all designed grandly and all probably once featured in Country Life magazine.

These architectural clichés are hard coded into our national psyche and by comparison Americans are mostly bereft of anything old, Australians have to do with identical modern neighbours and the French hate their drafty old chateaux and prefer new build bungalows.

But is that true – what homes do we British really have the property hots for? After trawling through the million or so properties listed on our site for sale and rent and looking at search patterns among our two and a half million users, all can be revealed.

A majority of us, our research shows, seek a detached property with a large garden in the heart of walking country and overlooking beautiful countryside. As Kirstie and Phil would say, such a tick list is not easy to fill.

Properties like the one pictured below are not even one to the dozen. So it’s no surprise that they are hugely in demand and are twice the national average house price (or £523,866 to be exact).

Britain's most desired home? This 18th/19th century stone farmhouse outside Avonbridge in Falkirk has outstanding views over the local countryside and comes with part ownership of a local nature reserve.

But the main truth our research has revealed is just how much we are nation of urban and suburban dwellers which pines for the countryside. It’s why programmes such as Kirstie Allsopp’s Homemade Home, which sells the satin-quilted bucolic dream, or Escape to the Country, are so popular.

Some 90% of us live in cities and more than half (57%) surveyed in the PrimeLocation.com Desirability Index said their dream house would be detached, in the countryside (33%), have good views (64%) and be near nice places to walk (44%).

Thousands of children across the UK strive to earn a bit of pocket money in their spare time to buy video games, sweets or maybe fund a mobile phone.

But nine-year-old Keiron Williamson from the village of Ludham in North Norfolk has taken this to a new level. He’s earned enough money to buy a large, detached house for his family to move into.

Until March this year Keiron, his parents Keith and Michelle plus sister Billie (pictured, below) lived in a small two-bedroom apartment in the village opposite a petrol station.

Photos: Albanpix / Rex Features

But Keiron’s extraordinary painting talents, which brought him fame two years ago after his watercolours of the local landscape first came to public notice, have now begun to earn him enough money for the family to buy a £150,000 house in the village, Old Post Office Cottage.

The latest exhibition of Keiron’s paintings attracted global interest, earning ‘mini Monet’ as he is called locally, a further £106,260 after his latest 12 paintings sold out in just ten minutes. To date the child artist has successfully sold 89 paintings in five exhibitions – with all of his shows being sell outs.

Photos Albanpix / Rex Features

At the latest show held last month the most expensive of the works on offer was a £15,595 painting of Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, which Kieron painted based on photos from the internet.

His work first came on the market in 2009 when 19 of his paintings were sold for £14,000 in a sealed-bid auction.

In August last year, 33 of his creations sold for £150,000 in less than 30 minutes – and it is this money that bought them their new home.

The house at 498 Finchley Road in North London may look like just another suburban mini mansion but its striking facade and neo-Georgian stonework (pictured below)  hide a simple but unusual fact.

It is the first time this property has come on to the market for nearly half century and, despite the intervening decades, it’s the same agent selling the house today as did in 1966.

Leaf through the yellowed pages of the original brochure (pictured, bottom) and it feels like a different world rather than a different decade. Nothing is swinging or fab in the formal sales brochure (unlike the current one’s more relaxed approach) although the 1966 property market was fairly ‘radical’ compared to today’s.

That year’s average house price was £3,465 and values were rising by 6% a year. Today it’s £219,533 rising by just 0.9%.

But what’s changed most dramatically is the way homes are sold. We all take it for granted that property is bought on the open market by ‘private treaty’ using estate agents, but back then most were sold at auctions instead, and most ‘estate agents’ were in fact auctioneers.

“In 1966 it might have been advertised in a magazine but more likely it was marketed by hand written letters being sent out to potential buyers prior to an auction at a local pub – Jack Straw’s Castle in Hampstead – which in fact is now a block of flats,” says Phillip Green of local estate agent Goldschmidt & Howland.

But what has changed most is the Finchley Road, which has been transformed from a quiet thoroughfare into a busy main road clogged up these days by traffic from central London travelling to the bottom of the M1.

“In those days you were lucky if a family had one car but now it’s normal for them to have two or three around here,” says Phillip Green.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the property’s interior, which has been preserved in aspic since Goldschmidt & Howland last photographed it – most noticeably the beehive yellow parquet flooring, original cornicing and light fittings.

For more information phone Goldschmidt & Howland on 020 8209 9300.

The heady days of buyers queuing outside new developments armed with deposits and desperate to part with their cash are over, or so we’re lead to believe. But the launch of a recent central London development suggests it still carries on, albeit rarely.

Over 1,900 buyers registered interest for Central Square’s 170 new apartments in the capital’s edgy Clerkenwell, walking distance from the Square Mile, so we thought the launch party last week might be busy. When the doors opened at 5pm in rushed a flurry of buyers who, despite previously registering interest, had not been allowed to buy until then.

Between wine, canapés and viewings the prospective buyers – of all ages and nationalities – quizzed the selling agents. Then like the bear pit of a Wall Street trading floor, they started to buy. With two-bedroom apartments starting at £575,000 this is not a purchase to be bought in a hurry, but a buzz of chatter on the phones to banks or loved ones ensued and deposits of £2,000 per reservation were paid on credit cards.

By 9pm, 37 apartments were already reserved and over a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc we quizzed the Chief Executive of Mount Anvil, Killian Hurley, about the success of their latest launch.

Hurley said one of his tricks is to spend more on the finish, which means investing more in the product, but they sell faster. “You’ll notice when you go to look around the show apartments,” he told us. And we did. Every apartment has at least one balcony, the kitchens and bathrooms exuded high quality and we loved the heated wall and towel rail in the bathroom as well as the floor-to-ceiling windows which add to the sense of space.

And, unlike many new apartments, there’s plenty of storage space and built-in wardrobes. In the two bedroom flat there is a huge open plan living and entertaining space adjoining a large decked terrace and we were surprised at the decent size of the second bedroom.

So it is easy to see why these homes are flying off the shelves. And at £400,000 for one bedroom and £575,000 for two, these are not marketed at the wealthy City bankers looking to spend their bonuses. These pads are being snapped up by young professionals, often working in finance in the City (but not at the bonus level), looking for a trendy place near work.

Central is the operative word in Central Square; it’s within 14 minutes walk to St Pauls, Shoreditch and Liverpool Street. Brian De’ath, the sales director told us that the international buyers often aren’t used to commuting so it’s important for them to walk to work. It’s no wonder then that the development’s marketing slogan is “Unexpectedly close by. Hit snooze then stroll into the office”.

To give you more of a sense of its location, here’s a fun clip of the Kit Kat advert which was filmed in the building site of Central Square – look at the skyline, the building taking shape and its location.

And if you want to reserve an apartment at Central Square you’d better be quick.

Dragon’s Den star Hilary Devey is selling up her Staffordshire home for £2.2 million, saying filming commitments for the hit BBC2 series prevent her spending much time at the property.

Devey, who is a publican’s daughter from Bolton, is the ninth dragon to join the programme and made her fortune in the world of freight distribution with a company she founded in 1996. Her personal style and tastes, though, are a world away from fork lift trucks and rumbling HGVs, particularly when choosing places to live.

The twice-divorced 52-year-old has been spending less and less time at at her home at Rangemore Hall, a large early-19^th century pile to the west of Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire in opulent surroundings that reportedly include a chandelier in the kitchen. She also owns an apartment in London as well as villas in Morocco and Spain.

Rangemore Hall, of which Devey occupies the largest wing, was built in the 1850s by the Bass brewing family to replace an earlier but smaller structure. An additional and Italianate wing was added during the late 1890s to accommodate King Edward VII, who paid a visit in 1902 and it’s this that Devey owns. She bought the property 2007 and has described it as being “over the top, like me”.

If this sounds up your tree lined drive and you fancy discussing the latest Dragon’s Den episode with your neighbour then Rangemore Hall’s Ewing Wing is up for sale at £895,000 and offers the sort of glamorous interior style (pictured, above) and views of the surrounding countryside as Devey’s home.

Which towns in the UK are the most affluent? One indicator is the proportion of million pound homes locally – and we’ve compiled the top 100. See below for the full list – is your town on it?

This is a Mayday call to the famously Welsh – and wealthy – actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. Catherine, your country needs you to save a historically important Welsh mansion that is falling into disrepair. Other buyers have so far shied away; one had hoped to turn it into a boutique hotel and golf course but then the recession hit. This huge restoration task desperately needs someone with millions in the bank and a passion for Welsh heritage.

The building in question is Piercefield, a Grade II listed forgotten country house. Although its history records date back to the 14th Century, what stands today was mostly built by 18th Century architect Sir John Soane, who also built the Bank of England. Sadly Piercefield is now just a shell; the outer walls remain mostly intact but there’s not much else left. But even with a crumbling facade, it stirs the imagination of what this handsome house might once have been like.

Set in 129 acres of parkland, with a gardener’s cottage, stables and other outbuildings (also in need of saving). It sits in a grand position at the end of a meandering drive way and overlooks the Monmouthshire countryside. Its position is considered the gateway to Wales and it’s close to the market town of Chepstow.

Despite its glorious setting, Piercefield has been left to rot. It hasn’t been lived in since 1921, when the last of the Clay Family died. The estate was then bought by Chepstow Racecourse Company. And, because the land now had a use, the house was left untouched – except for being used as target practise by American forces stationed nearby in the Second World War.

Now the racecourse want to sell the house and most of its land but as yet no one has stepped up to the challenge. In 2005 journalist Marcus Binney wrote an article for the Times and called it “one of the most challenging restorations of the 21st century” – and it is. We met selling agent Jackson-Stopps and Staff’s Dawn Carritt to find out more about this 17^th Century mansion.

It’s on the market for £2 million and Carritt says restoration costs will be between £7 and £15 million and when restored it’s not likely to be worth as much as it cost to repair.

So, who would buy a falling down mansion; spend their time and money restoring it to see no financial gain? “It needs someone with a big heart, as well as a big pocket”, says Carritt, “Someone who feels they have achieved everything in business will buy it as a way of restoring the heritage of Wales and putting something back in to the country.”

Our thoughts turn to wealthy Welsh people who are passionate about their heritage and would want to do something to save it. Catherine Zeta-Jones and husband Michael Douglas, who have a net worth of £180 million (according to this year’s Sunday Times Rich List) are an obvious choice.

Swansea born Zeta-Jones is proud of her Welsh heritage, she always talks fondly of her homeland, speaks the language fluently and supports several Welsh events and charities – the most recent was supporting the National Trust stopping Llyndy Isaf, a 614 acre farm in Snowdonia, ending up in the hands of developers.

Welsh pop star Tom Jones is reported to have £140 million and could also be worth sending the property details to.

Carritt says Piercefield’s restoration will be a challenge but the rewards would be priceless – we say they’d have to be.

As Caroline Quentin struggles to impress the viewers of her Tuesday night BBC2 TV show ‘Restoration Home’, we spoke to a couple who have radically restored an apartment on one of Britain’s most famous squares, Brunswick Square in Brighton.

Flashy kitchens or the latest home entertainment gadgets are what tempt most buyers when looking for their ideal home. Few have the vision to see beyond a grimy bathroom, stained pea green carpet or rotting ceilings – but Ricky Paugh and girlfriend Jemma took a leap of faith when they bought a flat in Hove near Brighton, especially the agent told them “I don’t know why anyone would buy this property”.

The ulgly duckling

Ricky, 34, and Jemma say they like unsightly properties. “The uglier the better because we like to add value”, he says. When they bought their one bedroom first floor flat in Brighton’s historic Brunswick Square they were appalled by how disgusting it was. The reception room had been carved up into three small rooms, there was a foul smell and the bathroom was “caked in grime”.

But what attracted them to the run down regency home were the tell-tale signs of its former grandeur in the bedroom, which would have been the main receiving room for guests before the homes were broken up into flats. It had a 14 foot high ceiling with original cornicing and coving yet next door, the lounge had only an eight foot high ceiling.

They “bought it on a whim”, believing that behind the suspended lounge ceiling would also be hidden grandeur. And they weren’t disappointed. Ricky says it was the “greatest find by far” during their ten month renovation. They uncovered completely intact cornicing as well as a centre ceiling rose. There was also ornate Victorian gold-leaf wallpaper still on the ceiling.

A victim of the times

Ricky thinks the ceiling was lowered in the oil crisis of the 70s when people couldn’t afford fuel to keep large rooms warm. The fireplace was also filled in to prevent drafts and the sash windows stuffed with newspaper dating back to the 70s.

The couple have spent £33,000 on the flat and have created a hallway, taken the bathroom out of the bedroom and turned the front room into a large open plan space. As well as revealing the original ceiling, they’ve also unblocked the fireplace and made the windows wind-tight.

Restored coastal home for sale in Brighton

Now, the property is for sale and, being on the beach, would make a seaside bolthole for someone working in London during the week or someone looking for a coastal home which seamlessly blends modern life with traditional features.

Ricky hopes whoever buys it will appreciate its history – the square dates back to the 1800s and the property was once lived in by Sir Horatio George Walpole (the great nephew of former Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole). And, of course whoever buys it now will be tempted by the flashy new kitchen and gadget-filled bathroom – which includes a plasma TV in the shower.

7, Brunswick Square is for sale with Sawyer and Co for £280,000

Billions of people around the world waited in suspense in April to see what Kate Middleton would wear at the wedding of the decade but few realised that her Alexander McQueen dress had been prepared within one of London’s up-and-coming neighbourhoods.

For it was within Clerkenwell that ‘operation meringue’ took place – the plan, within a locked room at McQueen’s HQ on the corner of Clerkenwell Rd and St John St, to hide the dress from public gaze until the big day.

Many of those waving their Union Jacks may already know Clerkenwell, even if they hadn’t ever been there.  Because its narrow Victorian side streets have been the setting for several Hollywood films including The Dark Knight and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Often eclipsed by its neighbours Hoxton and Dalston, this patch of East London has quietly established itself as edgy while still being ‘old England’ and has been called ‘The Mayfair of East London’ by leading local agent David Salvi.

But another measure of an area’s rise from poverty to gentrification is how many artisans reside locally and Clerkwenwell (pictured above) scores well – the strange haircuts, ill fitting clothes and battered cycles everywhere point to its 60-plus design studios and other arty employers.

Historically Clerkenwell’s buildings had been commercial but 20 years ago this began to change as more factories and warehouses were developed into private accommodation. Janet Street-Porter, the outspoken journalist, pioneered this and had the architect Piers Gough design her post-modernist house at Britton Street.

In the ten years that followed some 2,400 trendy apartments and ‘loft conversions’ have been built in the area, so it now bustles. Planning applications to convert buildings also rose from a couple each year to over fifty.

But the numbers hide a sea change in local culture. Out go the old pubs and derelict shops and in the stylish bars and restaurants which now give the area a ‘new Soho’ feel food-wise including Mark Hix’s Hix Oyster and Chop House, Fergus Henderson’s St John and John Torode’s Smiths which all manage to be fashionable as well as retaining the unassuming, earthy feel of the area.

Hotels chains have yet to bite the Clerkenwell apple with only a few notable names, partly because it’s off the tourist track, albeit that’s starting to change.

The area’s most famous champion is connected to food. Mark Sainsbury, instead of joining the family supermarket business, has moved to a converted Georgian stable in North Clerkenwell after spotting the area’s potential. He opened his fashionable Zetter Hotel (pictured above) six years ago following the success of his restaurant venture in Exmouth Market, Moro – which now has three cookbooks and a cult following.

• To read more about the area, get Alan Ainsworth’s fascinating book Clerkenwell: Change and Renewal which gives an in depth history of the area and describes how it has changed. It is well worth reading, not only for the pictures which capture Clerkenwell’s essence and its USP: the people, streets and architecture.