Leaping into letting

Pat and Bruce Andrew had no intention of letting when they bought The Hall, in the Brett valley at Hadleigh, Suffolk, in the early 1990s. Pat says: "We saw an article about the house; it dated from the 14th century and needed a lot of work but we had sold our farm near Colchester and were looking for a project in a quieter part of the country."

After four years' work, the house and one of the barns were complete, but then Bruce fell ill. The children had left home by then, which left one solution to the couple's income problems - to let.

The Hall has five bedrooms and sleeps at least eight. There are exposed oak timbers everywhere and huge inglenook fireplaces and lofty vaulted ceilings upstairs. The master bedroom has an oak four-poster bed. The rent ranges from £664 a week to £1,511 for the Christmas and New Year weeks.

Pat and Bruce live in the converted barn, which, when they have completed converting a neighbouring cottage in July, will sleep five and be let for between £326 and £714 a week. To book call 0870 534 2342.