Waterloo and London's South Bank: 2,000 new homes
The South Bank's residential population is about to get a significant boost with nearly 2,000 new homes underway on the doorstep of Waterloo station - including 877 flats with spectacular views next to the London Eye at the iconic Shell Centre.
New riverside homes along London's historic Embankments
London’s riverside embankments — Victoria, Albert and Chelsea — are to be transformed in a regeneration scheme that will replace existing post-Blitz office blocks with contemporary new apartments, curvy skyscrapers, parks and promenades.
Rochester spotlight
Rochester sits close to the river Medway in Kent, 30 miles south-east of London. The cobbled streets of this ancient city have set the scene for some of Dickens's most famous works, while its mix of period homes and riverside flats attract Londoners.
Welwyn Garden City spotlight
Welwyn Garden City first sprang up in the Twenties with long, wide grassy boulevards and charming red-brick homes. Today this Hertfordshire town has a good choice of new-build flats and neo-Georgian houses within a 30-minute commute to London.
Home aboard the Mary Rose
Henry VIII's famous Tudor warship capsized more than 500 years ago. Now, the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth is a time capsule that reveals the elegant simplicity of this astonishingly well-preserved early English oak furniture.
Find a rated tradesman
Want to add value to your property, make your house a home, or sell your place fast? With 1,000s of tradesmen nationwide, rated and recommended by previous customers, this is the smart way to find a reputable tradesman.
Buy of the week: Earls Court, SW5
This neat little Earls Court number has polished concrete floors, exposed brick walls and a glossy, aubergine kitchen alongside stairs up to a mezzanine sleeping area.
Out of town: Alcester, Warwickshire
This former manor house in Warwickshire's rolling countryside has two en-suite bedrooms, a kitchen/dining room for entertaining, a cellar and a large garage.
Life-changer: Corwen, Denbighshire
This five-bedroom beauty comes with two holiday-let cottages. Plenty of beams, open fires and exposed stone can be found in the main house, along with bags of family space.
Banbury spotlight
The small town of Banbury in Oxfordshire is a home-hunter's dream, with good-value elegant family houses and charming cottages surrounded by attractive countryside villages - all within an hour's commute to London.-
Buy of the week: Earls Court, SW5
This neat little Earls Court number has polished concrete floors, exposed brick walls and a glossy, aubergine kitchen alongside stairs up to a mezzanine sleeping area. -
Out of town: Alcester, Warwickshire
This former manor house in Warwickshire's rolling countryside has two en-suite bedrooms, a kitchen/dining room for entertaining, a cellar and a large garage. -
Life-changer: Corwen, Denbighshire
This five-bedroom beauty comes with two holiday-let cottages. Plenty of beams, open fires and exposed stone can be found in the main house, along with bags of family space.
Property search
Family-friendly hotspots: Wokingham and Woodley
Londoners need a really good reason to move out. Is this it, asks Ruth Bloomfield
The modest market town of Wokingham in Berkshire has taken top spot as the ideal choice for young London couples searching for a family-friendly area in which to bring up their children — ticking all the boxes from affordability and best schools to living environment.It is 33 miles from central London and took top prize as Family Friendly Hotspot after researchers analysed 67 categories, including exam results, childcare, crime rates, property prices, culture and green spaces. Family Investments, the investment mutual, awarded second place to nearby Woodley.
© Alamy
Wokingham town centre has some interesting Tudor buildings
WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE
A recent Halifax study also found Wokingham was the best place to live in Britain — it even gets more sunshine than the UK average.
Property for sale in Wokingham: the oldest homes in Wokingham are Tudor, and you could buy a four-bedroom beauty on Rose Street for about £600,000. A three-bedroom Victorian townhouse would cost from about £240,000, according to David Cliff, owner of David Cliff estate agents. Alternatively a modern mews on Poppy Place goes for about £250,000 (two to three bedrooms).
View sold house prices in Wokingham
Check area stats for Wokingham
See current property values in Wokingham
Commuter facts: trains to Paddington take from 49 minutes; an annual season ticket is £3,256.
Top schools: parents who prefer single-sex education vie for The Forest School (boys) or The Holt School (girls), but the town's mixed senior schools Emmbrook and St Crispin's are equally well thought of. For fee payers, Ludgrove School, where Princes William and Harry were prepped, is just outside town.
Unique selling point: being the best town to live in Britain might suffice, but the town centre manages to be both buzzing and low in crime, and a plethora of good schools means there's no admissions bloodbath.
Downside: parts of the town centre around the Town Hall are rather grotty but regeneration is on the way.
WOODLEY, BERKSHIRE
Woodley is a quiet, small and friendly town with great schools.
Property for sale in Woodley: three-bedroom houses cost from £240,000 — or you could buy a four-bedroom home from £324,000, according to Mike Nutt, sales manager at Woodleys Estate Agents. The poshest homes are on the "Sonning borders" and four-bedroom detached houses close to smart restaurants and the River Thames start from £500,000.
View sold house prices in Woodley
Check area stats for Woodley
See current property values in Woodley
Commuter facts: there is no station in Woodley but homes in the south of town are five minutes' walk from Earley station, with services to Paddington in 47 minutes (annual season ticket £3,448). Homes in the north of the town are about 10 minutes from Winnersh station, with Paddington trains taking 54 minutes (annual season ticket £3,344).
Top schools: parents' favourite senior school is Waingels College.
Unique selling point: great monthly farmers' market; kids can learn to sail at Black Swan Lake.
Downside: short on period property; very short on nightlife.
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Spotlight on Berkhamsted
Nestled in the rolling hills of Hertfordshire, Berkhamsted is 30 miles north-west of the Londonand has a pretty high street, a picturesque canal and a good mix of family houses and town centre flats.
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Sell in London and buy two homes in the country
New research shows that enough money would be raised by selling the average London family home to buy a property in a commuting area, with enough left over to purchase a buy-to-let flat in a good rental area, providing an income and a pension pot.
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Honor Oak Park, Denmark Hill and Bushey
The London Overground offers commuters the most punctual service in Britain. We take a look at some of the best value-for-money locations to find homes along the line's new orbital route, taking in Bushey, Honor Oak Park and Denmark Hill.
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Banbury spotlight
The small town of Banbury in Oxfordshire is a home-hunter's dream, with good-value elegant family houses and charming cottages surrounded by attractive countryside villages - all within an hour's commute to London.
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Borough spotlight
Borough has gone through a transformation from the ground to the skies. Now the area attracts food lovers and City professionals who want live in the shadow of The Shard where an array of property is on offer.
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Sell in London and buy two homes in the country
New research shows that enough money would be raised by selling the average London family home to buy a property in a commuting area, with enough left over to purchase a buy-to-let flat in a good rental area, providing an income and a pension pot.
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Spotlight on Berkhamsted
Nestled in the rolling hills of Hertfordshire, Berkhamsted is 30 miles north-west of the Londonand has a pretty high street, a picturesque canal and a good mix of family houses and town centre flats.
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Banbury: new homes
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Banbury spotlight
The small town of Banbury in Oxfordshire is a home-hunter's dream, with good-value elegant family houses and charming cottages surrounded by attractive countryside villages - all within an hour's commute to London.
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Rochester: best-rated primary and secondary schools
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