There is absolutely no doubt that this is a beautiful part of the world and I can see the appeal of living here. I like to have a little nose in the estate agents’ windows to see what’s on the market and play a game of ‘seeing what we could afford’. There are some lovely stone-built town houses and several coastal properties with stunning views. On the whole, the properties are very well presented and tasteful – which is more than can be said for one of the estate agents!

Walking into Alnwick yesterday, our eyes were assaulted by the ‘for sale’ sign for Coast and Castle estate agents. The rather startling choice of hair colour sported by the estate agent featured on the hoarding was more in keeping with the kind of ‘day-glo’ effect you’d expect after a day trip to Fukushima, rather than from someone selling castles or cottages with sea views. Perhaps it’s just an unfortunate printer’s error – or maybe Toyah Wilcox has packed in music for a new career in real estate!