Stretching from the commuter belt to the coast, Hampshire is a key county for Londoners looking for a life-changing move that won’t take them too far from the capital.
Trains to central London tend to take an hour or two, but in return you can select from some of England’s most quintessential country villages, buzzy city suburbs, charming towns, or take a big lungful of fresh sea air.
Like most of the UK 2023 has been a tricky year for Hampshire’s property market – rising interest rates have taken their toll on the number of buyers looking for new homes and on their budgets.
But research from estate agent Hamptons shows that in the longer term Hampshire has outperformed.
Prices have jumped an average 54 per cent in the past decade, compared to 41 per cent across England and Wales.
If New Forest ponies, regattas, and historic market towns tick your boxes then this is our essential guide to the best that Hampshire has to offer:
Value for money: Petersfield
One of those rare finds that feels more expensive than it actually is.
Petersfield is a good looking market town with a strong sense of community. It is slap bang in the middle of the South Downs National Park, schools and transport links are strong, and the town centre is full of good quality independent shops, cafes, and restaurants.
Despite this, the average price in town stands at £520,000 — some £100,000 less than better known Winchester 20 miles away.
And while rising interest rates meant sale prices slipped 1.7 per cent in the last year they are up 20 per cent since 2019, and an outperforming 58 per cent over the past decade.
A weekend in Petersfield could include a walk around Petersfield Heath — its open air pool should probably wait until summer — or a trip to meet the deer at the Sky Park Farm in West Harting. Back in town, head to the award-winning Madeleine’s Kitchen for a hearty bowl of porridge or an epic toastie.
Then you could peruse the stalls at Petersfield Market for some speciality bread or pastries for later on.
For fans of retail therapy Pages Court, The Folly Market, Bakery Lane, and Lavant Street are filled with interesting independent shops.
And for sporty types there are cricket, football, and squash clubs, and a leisure centre with a swimming pool. The community run New Savoy Cinema runs regular film screenings, you could catch an exhibition or workshop at Petersfield Museum.
Chichester, with its theatre and annual arts festival, is a half hour train ride away, and the lovely seaside village East Wittering is a 45 minute drive.
Although school standards are generally high parents considering a move to Petersfield will need to be slightly careful with school catchment areas — there are four primary schools in town with “good” Ofsted reports, but one in a sub-optimal “requires improvement” situation. For older students The Petersfield School holds an “outstanding” report from the schools’ watchdog.
Trains from Petersfield to London take just over an hour. If you plan to commute by car, road access has been improved by the Hindhead Tunnel, which has helped reduce the notorious bottleneck on the A3 between London and Portsmouth.
Most like London: Winchester
Londoners have been beating a path to this historic city since ancient times. The earliest arrivals were pious types keen to worship at its gothic cathedral. But during the pandemic a very different breed of pilgrim began flooding into the city of Winchester.
Before WFH, Winchester was seen as beautiful, but inconvenient.
The 65-mile journey to the capital takes more than an hour on the train — too far for many daily commuters to consider.
The instant many Londoners were freed from their offices everything changed, and Winchester was one of the real property powerhouses which emerged during the pandemic — along with Cornwall and the Cotswolds.
Halifax calculated buying a property in the city costs 14 times its average salary, the largest gulf between wages and house prices found anywhere in the UK.
Unaffordable property is not the only thing Winchester has in common with London. It has the same mix of history plus all the mod-cons of city life. If you like your artisanal coffee shops, theatres, galleries, cinemas and bars you will feel perfectly at home; unlike some provincial towns you aren’t plunging into a complete cultural void.
Winchester is home to plenty of brands that will be familiar to Londoners – think The Ivy and Brasserie Blanc – but it has some fantastic one-offs too. Inn the Park has a clubbish feel with a bar, terrace, main dining room, and cozy private rooms, a modern British menu, and a neat range of signature cocktails.
For sushi, Kyoto Kitchen has become a bit of a local institution, laid back and authentic. If you need a sourdough fix head to Hoxton Bakehouse, founded by a couple of London exiles who spent years learning their doughy craft London before heading to Winchester to set up on their own.
For home buyers the key Winchester locations to get to know are St. Cross, with its narrow streets of quaint cottages Fulflood, a Victorian suburb close to the station, and Hyde, with its good sized houses and proximity to the River Itchen.
All three are within a ten minute walk of the city centre.
Its pandemic-fuelled price growth means Winchester is one of Hampshire’s more expensive options, with average property prices of £631,000.
Prices have flatlined over the past year, but are still 18 per cent higher than at the start of the pandemic, and values have jumped an outperforming 61 per cent in the past decade.
Least like London: Lymington
For a real change of pace this coastal Georgian market town feels a world away from land-locked London — even though its actually only a couple of hours from Waterloo.
Perfect for lovers of surf and turf, upmarket Lymington is sandwiched between the New Forest and the sea.
You can walk, cycle, and horse ride to your heart's content, and messing around on the water is a definite option; the town has two marinas and two sailing clubs and hosts an annual dinghy regatta.
A regular influx of weekend sailors gives Lymington’s pubs and restaurants a buzz during the summer. And because it is a hit with tourists it has a better-than-average range of shops, cafes and galleries set on cobbled streets.
You’ll find plenty of places to hang out, to the upscale Elderflower, with its Anglo-French fusion menu, to the Salt Bar at Stanwell House, where you can sip a cocktail when you are missing London’s nightlife, or The Tinker’s Granddaughter, which offers a scrumptious vegan selection.
Average prices in the town stand at £557,000.
Values have held firm during 2023, and are 16 per cent higher than in 2016. Since 2013 they have increased 61 per cent, thanks to interest from a mixture of fit retirees, young families (the vast majority of Lymington’s schools are highly rated by Ofsted), and second home owners.
Best connected: Hartley Wintney
Pretty cottages overlooking the cricket ground, historic pubs and cute cafes, and even a duck pond.
Not only does Hartley Wintney tick every country village fantasy box but it is only an hour away from central London.
This is a good sized village with a well-stocked high street, so not a complete culture shock for London exiles who will still be able to get a curry, a coffee, and do some satisfying window shopping in its boutiques without jumping in a car.
There is also a rather chi chi weekly foodie market on a Friday — if you don’t overthink it you could almost be in Northcote Road.
The Cricketers is the alpha pub in town — a Georgian village inn where you can cozy up and tuck in to a plate of sausage and mash, complete with onion gravy.
The village has an infant and a primary school, both rated “good” by Ofsted, sports teams (football as well as cricket), plus a walking-distance golf club.
When you need to get away, Winchfield Railway Station is less than two miles south of the village. Trains to Waterloo take around an hour.
For drivers, the M3 motorway is a five minute drive away, and there are also bus services to nearby towns including Hook and Fleet.
The average property price in the village stands at £647,000.
Just like most of today’s other Hampshire locations, prices have been stable in the past year. Since 2019 average sale prices have increased by eight per cent. Prices are up a moderate 34 per cent up since 2013.
Family friendly: Stockbridge
A super cute riverside town set beside the River Test, where you might possibly find an off-duty King Charles honing his fly fishing skills, and at the foot of the 172 acre Stockbridge Down.
Stockbridge is more than a pretty face with access to some wonderful countryside.
Its high street is full of independent shops and restaurants — like Prego, when you fancy a taste of Italy, or Clos du Marquis French, and Thyme & Tides, when only a splendid full English breakfast will do. The 15th Century Greyhound on the Test is a sublime country pub — settle yourself beside the firepit and watch swans drift past.
Families see Stockbridge as a great place to give kids an old fashioned country childhood — they can attend the town’s primary school, rated good by Ofsted. Test Valley School, for seniors, has been criticised by the school’s watchdog but, since a new management team was installed improvements have been made and it is on track to be upgraded by 2024 according to an inspection carried out last year.
At weekends families could pay a visit to the town’s inspiring army flying museum, go for a canter with the Stockbridge Riding School, or just paddle in the shallow stretch of the River Test at the village of Houghton, three miles south of town.
The New Forest is a half hour drive away, or you could enjoy the sandy beaches of Bournemouth, a 40-mile drive south west.
Stockbridge’s railway station was one of many rural stations closed in the sixties. Today’s commuters have to make their way to Andover, eight miles away, to pick up services to Waterloo. Fast trains take just over an hour.
Stockbridge is too small to generate average property price data, but property ranges from massive country piles on the outskirts of town to dinky picture postcard cottages.
A budget of around £800,000 will secure a four bedroom detached home. For £500,000 you could be looking at a two bedroom thatched cottage.
