Commuter home hotspots: Borough Green, Ightham and Wrotham property guide with house prices, time to London, best schools and more
WHY MOVE TO BOROUGH GREEN, IGHTHAM and WROTHAM?
The rural station in busy Borough Green also serves the village's sleepier, more picturesque neighbours Wrotham (pronounced Root-ham) and Ightham (pronounced Item).
The setting for all three villages is lovely, right in the heart of the Kent Downs and close to the National Trust-run Ightham Mote, a heart-stoppingly pretty medieval moated manor house and grounds.
Vital statistics
- Average property price: £450,944
- Price increase since 2007: 32 per cent
- Average price for a house: £492,073
- Journey time: 43 minutes
Borough Green has a school rated "good" by Ofsted, a parade of shops and several neighbourhood restaurants, though there's just one pub.
Ightham is light on amenities but so pretty, and its pub, the George & Dragon, is the model of a country village inn, with a good reputation for real ales. Wrotham has an "outstanding" primary school, a senior school that gets a "good" from Ofsted, plus several more pubs. And since this is Kent, bright children can go on to grammar schools in Sevenoaks, Tonbridge or Maidstone.
In property terms, Ightham commands the highest premium of the three villages. A four-bedroom period house would cost £950,000 to £1.2 million but you could get a pretty two-bedroom cottage for £450,000. Borough Green offers slightly more for your money. A four-bedroom Thirties house would be £700,000 to £800,000.
Wrotham offers best value. Its Georgian townhouses and cottages are gorgeous but its position between the M20 and M26 means some suffer road noise. However, good double glazing and a radio on in the garden should mitigate — and by London standards most of Wrotham seems silent.