Here’s a thing… I have always been a huge fan of the smart collection of period homes set around the only genuine Victorian square in York (think about it – this is a city built on terraces rather than squares).

St Paul’s Square is a great spot, with towering and impressive homes on all sides of a central communal garden. Homes here only occasionally come up for sale and rarely for rent.

So it’s quite a find to discover that there is an imposing and grand home on the lettings market in just this spot.

Spreading itself leisurely across four floors, this is a grand home with a huge amount to offer so we’ll just get on with and walk you around.

The accommodation is part furnished and you step through the doors into a grand entrance hall off which is a sitting room and dining room and then stairs leading down to the lower ground floor where you wil find a luxury solid oak kitchen with a good range of appliances, a utility area, cloakroom and living room with French doors opening out onto a patio area.

Retracing your footsteps you go up and up and on the first floor you’ll find a master bedroom with dressing area and en-suite wet room and a further double bedroom.

Pausing only to draw breath it is then up again, to the second floor where there are two further double bedrooms with built-in wardrobes and a family bathroom with sunken bath and shower. Externally there is a walled private rear garden with patio area. There is on street parking and use of that communal garden. A hugely impressive home which is on the books of Linley & Simpson at £2,150pcm.

Of course, that might be a little rich for most tastes so we will take a look at a couple of houses on the lists of Stephenson’s. that might not be quite so grand, but are super homes nonetheless. Interestingly, they both have solar water heating in addition to gas-fired central heating (very environmentally-friendly).

The first of these is a newly-built semi-detached house in Exelby Court, off Beckfield Lane, a quiet cul de sac location convenient for the city centre, the ring road and Acomb facilities. Unfurnished, it offers a large fitted dining kitchen with oven, hob and dishwasher, a smart and ground floor cloakroom. Upstairs there are three bedrooms, two with recessed wardrobes and a bathroom/WC with shower. Gardens to front and back and a parking space complete the package for which the agents are seeking £750pcm.

The second is in Huntington Road and is a well proportioned inner terrace property within easy walking distance of the city. To let unfurnished and newly decorated throughout it offers a hall, lounge, separate dining room, fitted kitchen with appliances, three bedrooms, bathroom/WC with shower and gardens to front and back with a detached garage for good measure. The rental here is also £750pcm.

Letters Ltd, meanwhile, have a very smart-sounding home sitting pretty on a corner plot in Chaloners Road, Dringhouses. This, say the agents, is a good sized, three-bedroomed unfurnished semi-detached house which has been partially redecorated. It offers an entrance hall, a reception room and spacious modern dining kitchen with gas cooker, fridge, chest freezer and washing machine. Two of the bedrooms are doubles with fitted cupboards/wardrobes and there is a good single bedroom with fitted cupboard and a modern bathroom. With gardens to front, this is a decent package offered at £725pcm.

Not to be outdone, Martin and Co. have a nice-looking three bedroomed home in The Leyes, Osbaldwick, close to the primary school, local amenities and major motorway networks. “Must be viewed,” say the agents of a property which offers an entrance hall, lounge, dining room, breakfast room, kitchen (with fridge/freezer, washing machine, electric hob and oven) and sun room on the ground floor. Upstairs there are three double bedrooms and a family bathroom. The gardens include a patio and shed and there is driveway parking. The rental is £850pcm.

And now we are going to finish on a real high… in the shape of two superb rural retreats that are simply delightful.

The first is a superb detached property that has been completely refurbished and presented to the highest standards. Set in the grounds of a large country estate on the outskirts of Malton, this property was originally a station house on the Malton to Driffield line, and was in use from 1853 until 1930. The Station, at Settrington, offers flexible accommodation with four bedrooms (two en-suite) and a number of outbuildings, including the original Station Box (ideally suited to office use). The Station House has been sympathetically restored retaining original features, while offering fabulous contemporary living in a rural setting and with delightful views from every window.

The property offers a lounge with feature fireplace housing a wood-burning stove, a large and light and airy kitchen (with fitted appliances) a family room and utility room and ground floor cloakroom. Upstairs there are four double bedrooms (two with en-suite shower rooms) and a family bathroom with separate shower. Outside there is a lawned garden and large sunny patio and outbuildings which include five purpose built kennels and further buildings that could be used as stables and a large covered area for storage. The rental is £995pcm, apply to Susie Smith Lettings.

And last but a long way from least is a brilliant country charmer on the books of Hudson Moody. Wide Open Farm, on the edge of Skelton, on the outskirts of York, is a super home with a huge amount to offer. It is a period farmhouse with lovely gardens and lots of room to ramble around in. The splendour starts in a stylish entrance hallway and continues throughout the ground floor which has a sitting room, a gloriously light and airy sun room, dining room and a brill breakfast kitchen. On the first floor there are four bedrooms, a shower room and a bathroom. This is a gloriously stylish home throughout and, in our opinion, well worth the rental of £1,200pcm.