Arabella started off on Thursday looking at York – you can read that article here – while on Friday she took a look at Oxford.
Up for consideration now is Winchester, a city in miniature that's picturesque, tiny and well laid out – ideal for those who love a place where they can exist almost entirely on foot. ‘You can walk into the centre from wherever you choose to live,’ says George Clarendon of Knight Frank.
‘The main areas are all pedestrianised and there’s plenty on offer in terms of coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques.’
Beyond the cathedral lie the water meadows, where walkers can stroll beside the River Itchen and out into the surrounding fields. The 100-mile South Downs Way starts here and leads all the way to Eastbourne.
The city is perennially popular with downsizers, while an added level of competition comes in the form of couples in their fifties who move to the city to put their children through sixth-form college. And as if that weren’t enough, more and more people are discovering that the road and rail links are good enough to make it a viable commuter option – albeit a pricey one, at £5,300 for a season ticket to Waterloo.
You’ll need a budget of around £1 million to buy a three or four-bedroom house but if you can stretch that far you could get something central and beautiful such as this one, for sale at £925,000 via Charters.
If you can stretch further, some of the properties on the market are breathtaking, as this spectacular place for sale at £1.485 million via Jackson-Stops demonstrates:
As pretty as it is outside, it's arguably even finer inside:
You don't have to be a millionaire to enjoy the Winchester lifestyle, however. This four-bedroom townhouse is for sale at £600,000 via Winkworth, yet still boasts character, charm and a central location:
The best places to live for commuters: Hampshire
Overton, Winchester and Kingsclere offer a commutable country lifestyle.
The enchanting Hampshire home that hosted Henry V before he marched to Agincourt
During the Middle Ages, The Palace House was one of the finest residences of the Bishops of Winchester.
The man who created the 'Gun That Won the West' – and how he never lost a wink of sleep
BBC reporter Laura Trevelyan tells the story of her great-great-great grandfather - the man who brought the world the 'Winchester
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Debo Mitford on her childhood at Asthall Manor, from Nancy's 'coming out' dance to Unity's peach-pinching waysThe Dowager Duchess of Devonshire looks back on her childhood in the Cotswold idyll of Asthall Manor.
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A billionaire's thatched cottage is for sale in Surrey, once owned by the oil magnate J. Paul Getty
Chestnut Cottage is a joyous little home — albeit one with the most unusual bedrooms to acreage to price balances we've ever seen. Toby Keel takes a look inside.
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The homes of two 1980s TV icons are both up for sale at the same timeThe houses where Bob Monkhouse and Sir Terry Wogan spent decades of their lives are currently on the market. Annabel Dixon takes a look.
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Living on the edge? A lighthouse for sale on a clifftop on one of the most remote islands in BritainBressay Lighthouse was built by the father and uncle of the 'Treasure Island' author.
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Alan Titchmarsh is selling his Hampshire home (and the garden that comes with it): Exclusive pictures and interviewAfter many happy years in Hampshire, the writer, broadcaster and national treasure Alan Titchmarsh is selling up and looking to move. He spoke to Penny Churchill about his years at Manor Farm House.
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A Lake District escape with views that will make you feel like the king of all you can seeMellguards's many guest rooms and dual staircases make this property perfect for people who love to host, but tire of their guests quickly.
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One of Yorkshire's great houses, burnt to the ground three generations ago, is back on its feet and on the market for the sixth time in a millenniumPenny Churchill looks at Riseborough Hall, a great house, rich with fascinating history and beautifully apportioned, which burnt to the ground but rose again.
