Villages are becoming increasingly desirable places to live in the UK, property experts have said. An upturn in demand for rental properties in the quiet rural locations during the pandemic was noted by around 60 per cent of estate agents working for Savills.
Real estate consultants Knight Frank made its highest number of sales in the countryside for 15 years in 2021, The Mirror reported. The number of prospective buyers also increased by 35 per cent over the same period.
Some tenants are thought to be spending large amounts of money renting in less appealing areas for months and sometimes years while waiting for the perfect home to go up for sale in the right village. A majority of them are prospective buyers who are currently unable to purchase what they want so choose to rent while they wait.
Explaining the reasons behind the trend, Savills analyst Frances Clacy told The Telegraph: "People want villages that have a bit of everything from schools to stunning countryside, with accessibility to cities and transport infrastructure.
"Less well-trumpeted factors count too, such as the main road through the village should only lead to other villages."
Villages' all-round aesthetic and surroundings also play a part, with those that are older and greener being generally more appealing. History and a strong sense of community are also big draws.
So, which are the UK's most desirable villages? Research by Savills has broken the UK down into its different regions are come up with a list of the UK's 54 poshest villages. In alphabetical order by county, they're as follows:
Bedfordshire - Studham
Berkshire - Sunningdale
Buckinghamshire - Turville
Cambridgeshire - Hemingford Abbots
Cheshire - Nether Alderley
Clwyd - Vale of Conwy
Cornwall - Rock
County Durham - Brancepeth
Cumbria - Hawkshead
Denbigshire - Llanarmon-yn-Ial
Derbyshire - Edensor
Devon - South Pool
Dorset - Studland
East Lothian - Gullane
East Riding of Yorkshire - Sutton upon Derwent
East Sussex - Kingston-near-Lewes
Essex - Ramsden Bellhouse
Fife - Elie
Gloucestershire - Bourton-on-the-Hill
Greater Manchester - Haigh
Hampshire - Beaulieu
Herefordshire - Bosbury
Hertfordshire - Little Gaddesden
Isle of Wight - Fishbourne
Kent - Ightham
Lancashire - Newtown Linford
Lincolnshire - Burghley House
Merseyside - Hightown
Monmouthshire - Shirenewton
Norfolk - Burnham Market
North Yorkshire - Kirkby Overblow
Northamptonshire - Chapel Brampton
Northumberland - Warkworth
Nottinghamshire - Colston Bassett
Oxfordshire - Chiltern Hills and Henley-on-Thames
Pembrokeshire - Newgale and Roch
Perthshire - Strathtay
Rutland - Burley
Shropshire - Cound
Somerset - Wellow
South Yorkshire - Cawthorne
Staffordshire - Shenstone
Stirling and Falkirk - Kilearn
Suffolk - Walberswick
Surrey - Shackleford
Tyne and Wear - Dinnington
Warwickshire - Whichford
West Glamorgan - Oxwich
West Midlands - BarstonWest Sussex - Lurgashall, Lodsworth and Lickfold Triangle
West Yorkshire - Scarcroft
Wiltshire - Avebury
Worcestershire - Ombersley
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