Padel, private members clubs, wellness and wildlife are on the wish lists of a new generation of city dwellers heading for the countryside.
The Cotswolds may be hot but for the cognoscenti, the patch of Somerset in and around Bruton, the countryside around Compton Abbas in North Dorset and East Sussex close to Glyndebourne are where the new country set are putting down roots.
Speaking on a countryside special episode of the Winkworth Property Exchange podcast, Will Hosie, Lifestyle Editor of Country Life magazine, said: “Anyone can leave London and be happy. After covid saw many move to the country for the first time, we’ve seen more urban exports cropping up in rural areas in the intervening years. More private members’ clubs, for starters, many of them focused on wellness. Businesses are keen to capitalise on people wanting to be in nature, close to wildlife and open water. Retreats seem to abound. Yeotown in North Devon is my personal favourite.”
“You certainly don’t get the immediacy of services in the country that you get in London, but the big coffee debate has definitely moved on. And no trouble getting a milk-free alternative.”
The unmistakeable thwack of padel has also penetrated the countryside. Will said: “Padel has that clubby element. Sam Pullin, who sold the clothing brand Beaufort & Blake a few years ago, is building with his wife Mary what the two are calling ‘Britain’s most beautiful padel court’, Racquet Garden, just outside Bruton.”
Over in Petersfield, Hampshire, padel has also become a big hit. The difference is courts are £15 an hour compared to £100 an hour in London, according to Harry Wilde, of Winkworth’s Petersfield office.
The popular market town is a magnet for London leavers, attracted by a friendly, welcoming community, great transport links to London in just under an hour, excellent schools and surrounded by the exceptional setting of the South Downs National Park.
Harry told the podcast: “People like working in the city and escaping to the country to come home and enjoy rural life. We are close to Winchester and Guildford and some people commute there for work and return to the Petersfield area to live. Prices start from around £500,000. You can get a large, detached house in Petersfield for up to around £1.5m. In a more semi-rural location with more space, prices tend to be £1.5m upwards. We see lots of people from London and other cities who visit Petersfield and love the markets and the friendliness of the place and decide to make the move.”
On the Country Life rural radar, Will Hosie told the podcast that while the Cotswolds is still most talked about, particularly since J D Vance and his motorcade rolled through Charlbury last summer, there are other places attracting London leavers. He said: “My favourite place is the patch of Somerset in and around Bruton, where there happened to be the highest level of house sales transactions post-covid. It has an amazing arts scene, with nearby Glastonbury and Hauser & Wirth being a big draw, a Michelin-starred restaurant called Osip, and surrounded by beautiful landscapes. North Dorset, where Guy Ritchie has bought an airfield at Compton Abbas, is another favourite place as well as the Sussex countryside close to Petworth and near Glyndebourne.”
