Commuter home hotspots: St Margarets, Hertfordshire property guide with house prices, time to London, marina, best schools and more

WHY MOVE TO STANSTEAD ST MARGARETS AND STANDSTEAD ABBOTTS?

The neighbouring villages of Stanstead St Margarets and Stanstead Abbotts, both served by St Margarets station, are on opposite banks of the River Lee Navigation in east Hertfordshire.

They also share a school and a small but useful high street with a couple of neighbourhood restaurants.

St Andrews CE (VC) Primary School is rated “good” by Ofsted.

On sunny afternoons there are few nicer spots than the riverside patio garden at the Jolly Fisherman inn.

Lucky villagers who have a mooring at Stanstead Marina spend their downtime pottering up and down the river.

Between the towns of Ware and Hoddesdon, the villages have so far avoided faceless urban sprawl.

Their setting within the Lee Valley Regional Park puts first-rate sports facilities, from horse riding to cycling and white water rafting, on the doorstep.

A direct line to Liverpool Street station makes the villages popular with City workers.

Almost the first “true” villages for commuters heading north out of London, they offer value and a real community.

There are old cottages, modern executive homes and manor houses.

A three-bedroom Victorian or Edwardian house will be about £400,000.

If you want a good view of the river you’ll pay a premium of about 15 per cent for the privilege.