by The army of Londoners who decided they wanted out during the pandemic turned Oxfordshire – and especially the Cotswolds – into one of the hottest property locations in Britain in 2021 and 2022.
The smart market towns and charming country villages were seen by many as the ultimate antidote to life in locked London, and prices soared.
Things have certainly eased this year, but prices in the county that gave us Inspector Morse, Soho Farmhouse, the dreamy spires of Oxford, and retail mecca Bicester Village are now 22 per cent higher than they were in 2019, according to research with. Hamptons estate agent.
If you’re planning to make 2024 the year you escape to Oxfordshire, here are Homes & Property’s picks of the towns, cities and villages you need to know.
Value for money: Wantage
In a county full of expensive city suburbs and extremely affluent towns and villages Wantage is a rare find.
This small but well-established market town is set in the stunning countryside of the Vale of Whitehorse, with 17th and 18th century town center buildings lining charming cobbled streets and lanes.
Despite its picture-postcard qualities, the average property price in Wantage is £402,000. You could build an average house for £442,000 and an average flat costs £208,000.
Prices remain in the black, just, with an average increase of two percent during the last year. But values have risen 15 percent since the start of the pandemic and 45 percent since 2013.
There is one major compromise about Wantage: its lack of stations.
Commuters need to go to Didcot Parkway, a 20-minute journey away (there is also a bus). From there you can be in Paddington in about 40 minutes.
If this is successful then Wantage will be a great choice for people who want the disadvantages of the city as well as easy access to the countryside.
It has a very active cultural life with a month-long summer festival of music and arts, and a separate literary festival.
A market brings an extra buzz to the town center twice a week, and all schools in the town are rated good or excellent.
Nightlife basically means the pub, but there are some really good traditional pubs in town (we especially like the veggie restaurant at The Shoulder of Mutton), and more independent cafes than chains, which makes a difference refreshing.
Most like London: Jericho, Oxford
Wandering through streets lined with pastel painted houses, watching canal boats moored on the Oxford Canal, or popping into the Jericho Cafe for brunch, this suburb has London villages to spare less than a mile from the city centre. .
Unfortunately, Jericho has more in common with the capital than artisan cafes and pubs.
The average prices are among the highest in the city, and indeed in the county.
Despite a difficult year in property, average prices rose by 3.5 per cent over the past year, breaking the £1 million mark for the first time. Houses sold for an average of £1.45 million, and flats for £514,000.
One of Jericho’s traditional two-up two-down houses would set you back around £600,000, while you can expect to pay around £450,000 for a two-bedroom period renovation.
Local residents include Slumdog Millionaire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and author Mark Haddon, of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and — like Hampstead decades ago, before it got so expensive only an international millionaire could consider moving in – Jericho has a lovely artsy vibe, with an independent cinema, a summer community festival, and weekend mini-festivals regularly hosted by the canal.
For commuters, the station is a 15-minute walk away, and trains to Paddington take around 50 minutes.
And when you want to get back to nature you can ooh and ahh as the horses graze at Port Meadow or immerse yourself in Wytham Woods.
At least like London: Burford
This medieval town is in many ways the complete antithesis of London: country wonder from its dreamy Cotswold stone cottages to the quaint high street running down to the River Windrush, packed with old-school tea shops and independent shops selling antiques and homewares .
No wonder public relations guru Matthew Freud chose Burford as the perfect location for his hospitality.
The newly opened Bull at Burford, a boutique hotel squarely aimed at soothing the nerves of stressed Londoners with a dose of country air, featuring a 24-hour snack pantry and yoga sessions, and four restaurants.
Parents need not worry about school places in Burford as there is only one primary school in the town, and one secondary school. Both are rated “good” by Ofsted.
With the Cotswolds on the doorstep, access to open space is not a problem.
And while London has the Notting Hill Carnival and New Year’s fireworks, Burford commemorates in early summer the massacre of a group of anti-Cromylian soldiers during the English Civil War with music, a procession and speeches.
When your shopping needs go beyond tea cakes and vintage plates Oxford is 19 miles west, and Charlbury Station is seven miles away. Trains to Paddington take around an hour and a quarter.
Burford prices have jumped sharply during the pandemic as Londoners rush there to escape the lockdown life in the capital. Partly as a result, average prices now stand at £856,000, a massive 33 per cent rise compared to 2019.
Best link: Henley-on-Thames
If you are still tied to London’s daily commute then traveling from Henley to the capital is a breeze by Oxfordshire standards.
Rush hour trains to Paddington take from 43 minutes. You need to change at Twyford, but from there you could choose to stick to mainline services or pick up Crossrail to Central London and beyond.
There are local bus services to Maidenhead, High Wycombe, Reading, or Wallingford, and the Henley Hopper, which operates midweek bus services around the town centre.
Henley is famous for its annual royal engagements – and if middle-aged men wearing their stripey club blazers aren’t your thing then it’s a good chance to Airbnb your house for a few days.
Day to day Henley has a huge amount going for it. Its primary schools are rated good or excellent by Ofsted, while Gillotts School, its only secondary, has the highest marks from the school watchdog.
The Chiltern Hills rise to the north and west of the town for long dog walks in the country. And the nearby village of Hambleden sits on the stretch of the Thames immortalized in Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows and is great for a swim around Ferry Lane.
The town center is simply beautiful – only the hardest of hearts could be moved by the sight of its stone bridge spanning the Thames (you’ll have to ignore the traffic jams queuing over it) or the very pretty cottages along Friday Street.
Henley is full of picture-perfect pubs such as The Bell or, just over the river, The Little Angel , where you can dine on a menu of ready-made traditional pub grub or pick at a charcuterie table.
And although most of the big café chains are represented in the town centre, there are also Indians like the Geo-Café.
For something a little different the Kenton Theater offers a program that includes ballet and stand-up comedy.
Henley’s mix of commuter-friendliness and lifestyle means it is one of the most expensive towns in Oxfordshire. Average prices start at £866,000, up 5.5 per cent over the past year and 57 per cent over the past decade.
You’ll have to pay up to £5 million for one of the town’s grand riverside houses, and well north of £1m for one of the stunning Georgian townhouses.
But you could opt for a three-bedroom terraced house (around £500,000). There is not a wide choice of flats in Henley, with prices starting at around £375,000 for a two-bedroom flat, in a period or character building.
Family friendly: Watlington
Just on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, this close-knit market town has everything an outdoorsy person could want – walk up the National Trust’s Watlington Hill to survey the stunning surrounding countryside, tennis and squash clubs, skate park and playground, lots of cycling. trails, and visits to the outdoor pool (heated thankfully) at nearby Wallingford.
Back in town, Watlington Primary School is rated “outstanding” by Ofsted, while Icknield Community College (seniors) receives a “good” report from the school watchdog.
There is plenty of country beauty in the town centre, and there is an amazing amount to do.
There are traditional pubs like the Fat Fox Inn, as well as cafes like the Spire and Spoke – young people will love their pizza menu and the teepees in their garden.
There’s also an award-winning butcher, Calnan Brothers, a bakery, The Orange Bakery, which operates a weekly pop-up where you can stock up on sourdough and pastries, although it’s not a candle maker.
Homebuyers also get a decent amount of bang for their buck in Watlington.
Average prices have remained flat over the past few years at an average of £527,000, and have increased below inflation by 35 per cent over the past decade.
This lackluster performance is partly due to the fact that Watlington does not have a train station.
Commuters must drive to High Wycombe, 14 miles east, for trains to Marylebone in just under 26 minutes, or hop on board the Oxford Tube coach from Lewknor, a village three miles away, for an hour-long journey to Central London.
