The best commuter towns to make the most of the great outdoors: surfing, cycling and hiking destinations within easy reach of London

Does sport float your boat? Here are some of the top commuter destinations promising great outdoor activities that are guaranteed to get those endorphins flowing.

Surf's up: Broadstairs, Kent

According to Surfing Today, Broadstairs in Kent will do just fine for surfers, with a quartet of highly recommended beaches close to the town — Joss Bay, Viking Bay, Stone Bay, and Botany Bay.

And, for would-be surfers, there is an accredited surf school at Joss Bay.side from the surf and sandy beaches Broadstairs is a lovely, buzzy little town and high-speed trains via St Pancras have whittled the commute down to an hour and 20 minutes. An annual season ticket costs £5,952.

“It is a town that attracts second home owners, three-day-a-week commuters, and lots of ‘down from Londoners’,” says Simon Backhouse, a partner at Strutt & Parker. “The hipster vibe and value for money have attracted more and more young family buyers from London over the past few years. Quite a lot of the coast around this part of Kent is pebbly, but here you have sand, ideal for kids and dog walking.”

Schools, of a universally high standard, include Dane Court Grammar School, while homes range from classic seaside Victorian to new build, and everything in between. But if you want a sea view you’ll have to pay for it. Backhouse sold a five-bedroom Eighties home on the seafront for £1.5 million last year. Two-bedroom flats can cost £600,000 to £1 million.

Away from the sea, prices calm down. A three-bedroom fisherman’s cottage that’s still a stone’s throw from the front would cost £550,000-£650,000. Further inland a four-bedroom Edwardian house would be £450,000-£550,000.

In it for the long run: Winchester, Hampshire

On the western tip of the South Downs National Park, wide open spaces are on this historic cathedral city’s doorstep. Crucially, it is the starting point for one of Britain’s greatest running routes, the South Downs Way, which will take the super-fit 100 miles to Eastbourne.

Alternatively you can create your own circuit around the vast chalklands, marvelling at views from Beachy Head, and of the Seven Sisters. The park is also great for cycling, walking, and horse riding, and after dark boasts unpolluted, star-studded skies — the park is officially an International Dark Sky Reserve.

Winchester itself is a quaint and charming city, with the fabulous Gothic cathedral dominating the skyline. The schools are good, the old town’s pretty, and the quality of the period housing stock is top notch. There is a buzz which will make a move beyond the M25 less of a culture shock for Londoners, and foodies will be happy with the thriving gastronomic scene, led by modern British dining room The Black Rat, recent recipient of a Michelin star.

Trains to Waterloo take from 52 minutes and an annual season ticket costs £4,952. Gareth Anwyl, associate director of Hamptons International, says about 40 per cent of his buyers are ex-Londoners with £1 million to £1.25 million to spend on a four-bedroom Georgian townhouse in the city centre, or about £500,000 on a two-bedroom flat.

“The London demographic has had a major impact on the quality of the pubs and the number of places to eat,” adds Anwyl. “Winchester has gone from being quite provincial to quite sophisticated.” The suburb of Oliver’s Battery, just south of the centre, is more affordable. Its mid-century houses are not as glamorous as those in town but they are better value. A four-bedroom house would be £700,000-£750,000.

There are great satellite villages, the pick of which has to be Twyford, set prettily among the water meadows of the River Itchen. There’s a school, pub, café, an excellent shop, a station and suitably scenic homes. A three-bedroom character cottage would cost £750,000 to £800,000, with a four-bedroom detached house about £1 million.

Cycling heaven: Rochford, Essex

London cyclists used to pollution and the daily battle with motorists will breathe a sigh of relief to be unleashed on the Essex country back roads. With enough climbs to be challenging, but flat enough to be fun, this is a great place to cycle alongside open farmland or make a trip down to the south coast.

​Rochford, highly rated by Cycling Weekly, sits at the head of the River Roach and is a great staging post for the Essex Creeks, named by the magazine as one of the best places to cycle in Britain. Ride along miles of tiny lanes and bridleways, through cute villages, with wonderful views of water and sky. The Burnham Bends, with sharp, weaving turns for almost five miles, is a particular challenge.

Rochford itself is a big village with a clutch of pubs, several cafés and restaurants, and enough useful shops to keep you going. Southend is three miles south, with a bigger, better range. Rochford Primary and Nursery School and Waterman Primary School are rated “good” by Ofsted, as is The King Edmund School, for seniors.

Trains to Liverpool Street take from 50 minutes. An annual season ticket costs £3,772. Craig Wakeling, manager of Horizon estate agents, has noticed an increasing flow of priced-out Londoners moving to Rochford. Property runs from ancient cottages to new build.

With Southend airport on the doorstep, some of the homes to the south and south-west of the village get flight path noise but the rest of the town is blissfully quiet.

Buyers should budget anything from £200,000 for a two-bedroom new flat to £400,000-plus for a four-bedroom detached house.

For a more rural feel, the pretty village of Paglesham is a five-mile drive east. With river views and almost no modern homes, Paglesham has the back-in-time vibe some Londoners want. Wakeling says a two-bedroom period cottage would be priced at about £350,000. Buyers in search of a four-bedroom family home with an acre or three would need £1 million-plus.