On the up...
Nottingham has suffered
from the Broadmarsh
shopping centre closure, but
assuming they go ahead the
latest plans will be a real
asset. Fast-rising ‘burbs such
as Sherwood Rise look like
good bets for the future.
Commuters keen to keep
Birmingham and London
within reach have tended to
congregate in Warwickshire.
Its credentials are well
known, though Kenilworth is
a more exciting prospect
than it used to be. Lichfield
also has the connections.
Northampton doesn’t get
the best press but has
excellent schools and links.
Rural Northamptonshire is
one of the best of the
Notswolds (those non-
Cotswold Cotswoldy areas)
with similar properties in
villages such as Nassington,
Fotheringhay or Oundle.
For scenery without the
crowds that flock to the Peak
District, the villages in
Staffordshire’s Churnet
Valley are as bucolic and
unfairly ignored by all but the
thrillseekers heading to
Alton Towers. Alton and
neighbours such as Farley
and Oakmoor are full of
homes with character.lovely villages that surround
it. Life here is unpretentious,
proudly independent and
kept grounded by the
Coventry postcode. And
even though the town has
expanded in the past decade,
the robust community spirit
has remained intact. Helping
hands were extended far and
wide during the pandemic by
Shipston SOS.
“It’s the sort of place where
everybody gets together and
helps everybody else,” says
Ian Cooper, an accountant,
and now the mayor, who
moved here 16 years ago. Pick
from an impressive number of
clubs and organisations, from
am-dram, literature and
music (there’s a town band
too), to the knitting group —
Shipston’s woollen Banksys,
who brighten the town by
“yarnbombing” bollards,
fenceposts and traffic cones.
It all comes together in June
at the Shipston Proms, a
two-week, volunteer-run
musical jamboree of concerts
and shows catering for all
tastes and styles, culminating
in a big Last Night of the
Proms-style outdoor concert,
where everyone gathers in the
market square.
Is it a high street or a
market square? Whatever you
call it, the pretty Georgian
town centre is where a lot of
the magic happens, helpedalong by the far-sighted
decision to keep parking free.
Independents include the
Richard Harvey Collection,
which sells everything from
fine furniture to cushions, and
hardware at John Lyne Home
Improvements. Traditional
tastes are catered for at
Turners greengrocer and
fishmonger; Time in Hand, a
clock and watch repair shop;
and EH Spencer, for country
clothing. Two institutions
dominate the hospitality
scene: the George
Townhouse, for everything
from a veggie breakfast to
35-day-aged steaks, and Mrs
Brown’s Tea Rooms for bacon
rolls and homemade scones.
You’ll need a car — there are
few buses to Stratford-upon-
Avon, ten miles north. The
nearest railway station is at
Moreton-in-Marsh; trains to
London Paddington take^
1 hour 45 minutes, though
Banbury is a better bet for
commuters, taking as little
as an hour to reach London
Marylebone.
Best place to live if.. .You’re
looking for a country town
like they used to be.
Best address Sheep Street for
a cottage or Callaways Road
for detached houses. Or head
to one of the surrounding
villages: Tysoe, Upper and
Lower Brailes, or Ilmington.
£498,000a tenner, get thee to Chipping
Wotnot. Instead feast on
a £2.80 sausage cob (that’s a
roll if you don’t speak
Midland), pork pies, stilton
and much more besides —
delicacies that have earned
it the title of Britain’s capital
of rural food.
With 1,000 years of
experience, Melton knocks
every other English market
town into a trusty flat cap.
From the smell of dung and
the sing-song hum of the
livestock auctioneer to the
clusters of farmers and the
butcher’s amplified offering of
cut-price chops, the sights,
sounds and smells of
traditional trading are
everywhere, from the
three-times-weekly street
markets to the nonstop buzz
of the town-centre livestock
market where more than
3,000 sheep and 600 cattle
change hands every week.
There’s something
invigorating about staying
true to tradition while
adapting to thrive in the 21st
century. There’s something
happening at the revitalised
livestock market almost every
day of the week — farmers’
market, boot fair, antiques
market — and while the
farmers are well looked after
(it costs just £8 for a haircut at
the on-site barber), the
award-winning Market Tavern
also serves a varied menu,
including a vegan three-bean
chilli (£9.95) for lunch, as well
as its regular fry-ups. An old
poultry shed has been turned
into a cocktail bar and gin
distillery, while the Round
Corner Brewery serves
champion craft beers and
pizza from its taproom. The
pandemic has even been a
blessing in disguise, with the
focus on shopping locally
giving a little boost to footfall.
The M1 and A1 are both
within a half-hour drive, as are
the mainline stations at
Loughborough and
Grantham. Long-delayed
work on a new bypass is due
to start this spring, to the
delight of almost everyone.
Best place to live if... You
think the stalls are the best
seats in the house.
Best address New-builds on
Dalby Road, or in Thorpe
Arnold. For a quieter life, try
villages such as Burton Lazars
or Kirby Bellars.
£296,000SHIPSTON-ON-STOUR,
WARWICKSHIRE FIf you want the Cotswolds
without the coach tours, make
a beeline to the honeystone
homes here. Pretty and
practical, with shops, schools
and a hospital, Shipston is the
perfect hub for the manyGREG BALFOUR EVANS; PA IMAGES; CHRIS HARRIS/ALAMYApril 10, 2022 29