SEVEN acres of the Yorkshire Dales have gone on the market - and local people are taking bets on what price they will eventually reach.

The land at Faw Head, in Wensleydale, goes under the hammer in Hawes in a month with a guide price of only £20,000.

But with its dry-stone walls, woodland, meadowland, pasture and a beck that is full of brown trout, even the agents are confidently expecting the final price will be at least double that.

They say that anybody hoping to turn the ruined stone barn which it also contains into a country home is unlikely to win the necessary planning permission.

But with a few improvements, such as a roof, door and windows, it could be turned into a "camping barn" similar to many others in the Dales.

Last month, a ruined shepherd's cottage in Northumberland with a guide price of £85,000 sold for £200,000, although that did have planning permission.

Some Dales residents are now said to be wagering money on how much the Faw Head site will go for.

Estate agent Nigel Foster, of George F White, in Bedale, said a lot of interest had been shown in the land by prospective buyers, locally and further afield.

He said: "It's a very pretty plot of land and local farmers are interested in it for farming purposes.

"For people in places like London there's the possibility of buying it to let to local farmers or to keep for the fishing and overnight stays.

"Even it if goes for double the guide price, it is still a highly desirable and very cheap piece of land for them."

A neighbouring plot of land of similar size, and owned by the same family, will also go under the hammer at Hawes Auction Mart on Tuesday, August 10, with a guide price of £15,000.