Street for starters, Carlisle
Avenue for staying.
£618,000TEST VALLEY, HAMPSHIRE I
Cast your net wide in this
250-square mile idyll — the
fisherman’s friend with its
world-class chalky, crystal-
clear waters ... and everyone
else’s too. Though there’s
more going on in this patch of
northwest Hampshire, than
tackle and trout. Here has
movie-star good looks, with
villages of thatched, cob and
flint cottages (many really do
have roses round the door) set
against rolling hills, wide
fields and ancient woodlands.
“This is a beautiful place to
live,” says Louise Silk, a vet
who has lived in the area for
over a decade. “We are also
close to the M3 and M4 and
an hour and a half drive
to the beach.”
The leading role is played
by Stockbridge, a smart,
foodie town, a 20-minute
drive to Winchester, with an
art gallery and views across
picturesque water meadows.
And then there’s a cast of
lovely villages. The Wallops —
Nether, Over and Middle — are
hugely popular, and not just
with retired brigadiers (the
Army’s HQ is in Andover).
Over has a community shop
and a vet, while Middle has
the Army airfield and a garage
whose staff will come out to
rescue you when you blow a
tyre on the country roads —
you need a car here.
Nether, the easternmost of
the three, is the prettiest.
Dane Cottage, on Five Bells
Lane, was used as Miss
Marple’s home in the fictional
village of St Mary Mead in the
BBC adaptations of the
Agatha Christie novels and
there’s an award-winning
vineyard nearby.
Broughton has two pubs,
sports pitches, a doctors’
surgery, and a great
community shop with an eco
refill station, a coffee shop
and Post Office facilities.
Longstock has Eastwood fine
art, one of the country’s
leading contemporary
galleries that hosts five
exhibitions a year.
You just need to choose
which one is the catch for you.
Best place to live if... You’re
fishing for tantalising
countryside and tasty cuisine.
Best address Broughton,
Houghton, or the Wallops.
£745,000Charlotte Chatfield, a
design operations manager,
moved from east London
just before the pandemic.
“There’s a real community
here and I love how
unpretentious it is,” she
says. “It’s cosy and chilled.”
Her highlights include
swimming and tapas at the
25m Thames Lido.
The twice-a-month
town-centre farmers’ market
was voted one of the country’s
best, and Reading is also the
home of the UK’s oldest
triathlon club, an
entrepreneurial university
and there’s a fast-improving
cultural offering. There are
some cracking green spaces,
and the paths beside the
Thames and the Kennet and
Avon Canal are a blissful
alternative to roads that could
do with a lot less traffic.
Best place to live if... You
think Berkshire should have
some business byte — along
with a beer.
Best address Caversham.
£445,000ST ALBANS,
HERTFORDSHIRE HFriends, Romans, countryside
— this historic jewel of a city
has house prices to match its
soaring spires. This gorgeous
cathedral mini-city, just 19
miles north of London and 25
minutes by train, prides itself
on not only its ancient history
and perfect proportions, but
its broad cross-section appeal
— in fact, we voted it best
place to live in the South East
in 2020, while last year,
Parent Power highlighted St
Albans as one of its top five
education hotspots outside
the capital.
A new initiative, Blue
Plaques St Albans, aims to
hammer this point home,
honouring people who were
born, lived — or died — in the
city. The first plaque to go up is
for John Ball, key leader of the
Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, who
was tried at the town hall and
hung, drawn and quartered.
The city seems to be in a
constant state of self-Inspire-ing
Clockwise from
left: St Albans;
Olney;
Stockbridge
high street;
Reading
festival; cows
from the
Leckford
Estate, near
Stockbridge
celebration. With the 100-acre
Green Flag and Green
Heritage Site of Verulamium
Park at its heart, St Albans has
ridden out the pandemic with
aplomb. The shift in work/life
balance is clear here and
small-office space is in high
demand, as people decide to
set up their own businesses.
There has also been an
influx of big brands, alongside
independents to add to the
shoppers’ and snackers’
delight that is the high street.
Add fringe and pop-up food
markets to the mix, amid an
intoxicating line-up of
medieval and Georgian
buildings, world-famous beer,
the Gin and Jazz festival — and
you’ll get the picture. The
recently reopened Odyssey
Cinema is testament to the
community spirit: the art deco
gem has been saved and
lovingly restored.
Best place to live if... You
think you’ll get the leaving-
London blues.
Best address Spencer Street,
Pageant Road and BernardApril 10, 2022 11