Hot Spot: Honiton, Devon

Robert Liebman looks at a traditional market town in the heart of an area that mixes coast and countryside, business and pleasure

When the Met Office led an exodus of organisations relocating from the South-east to Exeter, the forecast for Honiton brightened. Convenient for the coast and countryside, Honiton is well placed for workers and students who commute to Exeter only about 15 miles to the west. London, 150 miles away, is a tough daily commute but feasible for those who can work from home during part of the week.

A traditional market town, whose lace and pottery industries have been replaced by antique shops and tourism, Honiton has a community college with a well-equipped sports centre, two primary schools and a specialist school for pupils with severe learning difficulties. "Excellent rail links from Honiton to Exeter allow pupils easy daily access to excellent independent schools," says Gideon Sumption, the regional director of Stacks Search & Acquisition (01884 849144).

According to the estate agent Lee Maddicks, of Fulfords: "Every Tuesday the cattle market comes and brings animal mayhem. Honiton's oldest surviving house is from 1617. The town expanded dramatically and continues to do so to the present day. Property types extend from chocolate-box period cottages to modern terraces."

A resident of Honiton for 24 years, Colin Wright says: "This is a lovely area, people are friendly, the climate is slighter warmer, and it is 20 minutes to the coast, Exeter and Taunton. Honiton is the hub of a wheel of business and pleasure locations in the South-west." Wright, who is a printer and supplies pictures of Honiton to the local council, believes that property demand in Honiton has increased due to Exeter's boom. "We bought our house, an 1840s cottage, for £40,000 in 1986. It was valued at £350,000 five years ago, and recently someone offered us £460,000."

THE LOW-DOWN

Getting there

Honiton has rail links with Exeter and London Waterloo. Junctions of the M5 are at Exeter and farther north at Cullompton. Despite the recent addition of a dual carriageway between Exeter and Honiton, the A30 is "appallingly congested" in the summer, Gideon Sumption says.

Architectural Honiton

Allhallows Chapel (c.1230) houses the museum, which has a collection of Honiton Lace, pottery and bones from hippopotamuses that roamed the area 100,000 years ago. A black marble tomb in St Michael's Church (c.1482) contains the remains of Marwood, the physician to Elizabeth I, who died at the age of 105.

Historical Honiton

Honiton retains traditions, such as "boundary beats", a 12-mile walk to check the parish boundary markers. The Hot Penny Catching Ceremony involves heated pennies thrown to the crowd at the annual fair. In 1841 the town's lacemakers made Queen Victoria's wedding dress and the christening robe of her son, later Edward VII, still used by the royal family.

Prices

Not quite above the shop, a one-bedroom flat above a driveway next to a retail outlet is £84,950. A modern one-bedroom end-terrace with parking, £110,000, and a two-bedroom mid-terrace with narrow garden, £129,950, at Bradleys. A two-bedroom house with garage is £119,950 at Wilkie & Hemming.

Period

A late-Victorian three-bed house with attic room, gas-fired Rayburn and whitewashed façade, £172,000 at Wilkie. On the same road (New Street), a red-brick bay-fronted three-bedroom house, £179,950 at Bradleys.

Shop and house

The Grade-II listed Kingsway House is a period house with an adjoining 29ft showroom currently used as an antiques shop. The main building has a separate basement flat, and the top floor can also be used as a self-contained flat. The house is for sale for £400,000 at Fulfords.

Four-bedroom houses

A modern four-bed, mid-terrace with conservatory is £184,950, but four-bedders generally cost between £225,000 and £300,000. One, for £267,500, is a detached house with two receptions, double garage and gardens to three sides. All at Bradleys.

Villages

In Beacon, a cottage with two attached workshops, views over fields and plenty of renovating opportunities is £199,950 at Wilkie. A two-bedroom, semi-detached barn conversion with a conservatory, in Combe Raleigh, is £185,000; and a period, two-bedroom country cottage in Offwell, is £275,000, at Fulfords. Expect to pay at least £800,000 for good houses in villages such as Membury, Luppitt, Cotleigh, Northleigh and Payhembury, says Sumption.

Bungalows

Plain vanilla or with garages or conservatories, a large array of two- and three-bedroom bungalows is available. A two-bedroom, split-level house with a conservatory is £149,950 at Bradleys; and a two-bedroom semi with sun lounge, a garden and a garage is £164,950 at Wilkie. At the opposite end of the price spectrum, a three-bed modern bungalow with attached double garage is £335,000 at Bradleys.

Estate agents

Bradleys 01404 46555; Fulfords, 01404 44744; Wilkie & Hemming, 01404 45343.