5 lovely, period family homes in towns you may not have considered… all within 70 minutes of London.

Coronavirus, working from home and the threat of flash lockdowns are making people living in London re-evaluate their living arrangements.

Sacrificing living space for a quicker commute has, in the past, been a sacrifice we’ve been willing to make, but in this uncertain climate where people are spending more time at home, and where five-days a week spent in the office could be thing of the past, it’s time to consider a different way of living.

The government’s stamp-duty holiday is not due to end until March 2021, so we looked at what four-bedroom period properties you could buy, with a budget of £450,000 or less within 70 minutes train ride to central London.

Andover – Hampshire

How quickly can I get to London?

The fastest train is 67 minutes straight into London’s Waterloo Station.

With around 37 trains a day, this has got to be worth considering.

What can I get for my money there?

£435k buys you Chantry Cottage – this is a fabulous four bedroom, rebuilt and restored Tudor cottage. The cottage has bags of room and bags of history. Only half a mile from the mainline station and it has a lovely walled courtyard.

If you’re looking for a unique property with space to breathe – this is for you!

The property is marketed by Pearsons and the owners have created their own website: https://chantrycottage.info

Chantry Cottage

What’s the town got?

Andover is a small market town on the mainline to London. There is a street market every Thursday and Saturday in the High Street (which dates back to Saxon times) and it has a small indoor shopping centre. Andover was once was once a stopover for coaches on their way to London, Southampton and Oxford.

The town has 10 primary schools, three secondary schools, two independent schools (one with a 6th form) and a further education college. It’s well serviced with supermarkets including Waitrose and Lidl, lots of eateries and a five- screen Odeon cinema.

What else?

Andover is in leafy Hampshire surrounded by picturesque villages, ancient woodland and glorious country pubs. It’s around a 30-minute drive to Southampton Airport and closer still to Salisbury, Newbury and Winchester.

The town looks to be on the up – with the council in the final stages of its Andover Masterplan

Grantham – Lincolnshire

How quickly can I get to London?

The fastest train is 66 minutes straight into London’s Kings Cross.

What can I get for my money there?

This lovely 3 /4 bed, Victorian terrace. Arranged over three floors has a fixed price of £300k. The property is less than ½ mile away from Grantham’s mainline station and is marketed by Grantham’s Fine & Country

What’s the town got?

Another historic market town, probably most famous for being former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s birthplace. The town boasts quaint old pubs, cafes, bars and clubs – there are lots of places to eat and fast food outlets of every variety. All the big supermarkets are represented and there are two shopping centres.

There is a variety of different educational institutions in the district including two grammar schools, independent schools and a further education college.

The town picked up two accolades recently when it was named as one of the top commuter towns in the country.

What else?

The National Trust’s Belton House is located a short distance away as is Belvoir Castle. This part of Lincoln boasts many historic houses and leafy walks along the canal. It is surrounded by rolling countryside and woodlands, such as nearby Ponton Park Wood.

The A1 runs along the side of the town and its closest international airport is East Midlands. Grantham’s closest cities are Nottingham and Lincoln, both around 23 miles away.

Swindon – Wiltshire

How quickly can I get to London?

The fastest train is 52 minutes straight into London’s Paddington Station.

What can I get for my money there?

A sizeable Victorian terrace with 4 bedrooms. This property is just over a mile away from the mainline station and will set you back £425k. The house is arranged over two floors and has has a courtyard garden. It is in walking distance of all the town’s amenities.

The house is marketed by Swindon’s Richard James estate agents.

What’s the town got?

Swindon is a very large town, so what it lacks in charm it makes up for in amenities – it’s got the lot! It’s particularly good for shopping boasting the Swindon Designer Outlet is an indoor shopping mall for reduced-price goods (mainly clothing), most of the buildings it uses were former railway works. The outlet is adjacent to the Stem Museum and the National Trust’s HQ.

Swindon has 12 secondary schools, and sixth-form colleges. Two secondary schools also have sixth forms. There is one independent school.

What else?

Swindon is particularly accessible – it’s equidistant between Bristol, Bath and Reading, only 12 miles from Marlborough and around 26 miles from Oxford.

Swindon is surrounded by beautiful countryside, picturesque villages and fabulous country pubs. There are also plenty of historic houses and gardens to visit at the weekend.

Rugby – Warwickshire

How quickly can I get to London?

The fastest train is 50 minutes straight into London’s Euston Station

What can I get for my money there?

This four bedroom Victorian terrace will set you back around £425K – It’s a ‘doer upper’ with loads of scope for improvement. It has out buildings and a garden and is less than 1 mile from Rugby’s mainline station. The house is marketed by Picklescott Homes.

What’s the town got?

Rugby is a sizeable town has a population in excess of 70k, it’s most famous for the invention of the game of Rugby. The main shopping area is in the streets around the Clock Tower.

There are 25 primary schools, four comprehensive schools, three grammar schools and two independent schools serving the town. Rugby School is one of England’s oldest and most prestigious public schools and was the setting of Thomas Hughes’ semi-autobiographical masterpiece Tom Brown’s Schooldays published in 1857.

What else?

Rugby is approximately 35miles away from Birmingham. As well as being on London’s mainline, it’s well served by the motorway network, with the M1 and M6 merging close by Rugby’s nearest airports are Birmingham and Coventry.

The county of Warwickshire is famous for Stratford upon Avon – the birthplace of William Shakespeare and the Warwickshire city of Coventry was the setting for the story of noblewoman, Lady Godiva who rode naked through the streets in protest against taxes.

Huntingdon – Cambridgeshire

How quickly can I get to London

The fastest train is 62 minutes directly into London’s St Pancras

What can I get for my money there?

19th century townhouse which used to form part of Huntingdon County Gaol will set you back around £315K. This character home has plenty of potential to modernise throughout. The accommodation is arranged over three floors and is in a traffic free location, it’s being marketed by Harvey Robinson

What’s the town got?

Huntingdon is a small historic market town dating back to the 1100s. The town has a good variety of shops and outlets. A regular weekly market is held on Wednesday and Saturday. There are plenty of pubs, restaurants and bars.

Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon in 1599. The name Huntingdon derives from the old English term ‘huntedun’, which means ‘Hunte’s hill’. There are sixprimary schools and two secondary schools in the town

What else?

Just south-west of Huntingdon you’ll find Grafham Water, a large fresh water reservoir that provides a range of outdoor activities and watersports including, cycling, sailing and fishing.

Huntingdon is around 25 miles from Peterborough and 20 miles from Cambridge, most famous for the university, which dates back to the 13th century.