Hampshire has a mixture of very pretty countryside and good rail links to Waterloo station and the City of London – with correspondingly high property values.

The county divides into the commuting areas in the north, centred on the characterless town of Basingstoke. South and west of Basingstoke is some beautiful countryside and villages, including the famous trout rivers, the Test and Itchen with the historic and charming city of Winchester in the centre of the county. In the south is the conurbation of Southampton, Fareham and Portsmouth served by the M27 motorway. To the west is the New Forest, a large protected area of heathland and woodland popular for walking and riding with the town of Lymington and the Beaulieu river providing good sailing facilities. On the eastern border of the county is the market town of Petersfield, which is close to the beautiful unspoilt South Downs of West Sussex.

Communications are excellent. The fast trains from Basingstoke to Waterloo take approximately 45 minutes and from Winchester approximately 60 minutes. The M3 motorway connects Basingstoke, Winchester and Southampton to London and provides access to the West Country via the A303 trunk road and the south coast via the M27 motorway. Petersfield is connected to south London by the A3 dual carriageway and trains to Waterloo, which take approximately 70 minutes.

Hampshire is renowned for its private schools. In particular, Winchester has a good choice of pre-prep, prep and public schools, Winchester College and St Swithun's Girls School being the best known.

The country house market in Hampshire is particularly popular for those moving out of London with young families looking for commuting facilities and good schools. The best commuting areas are south of Basingstoke to the charming small market town of Alresford and west towards the town of Andover. Property values are similar around Winchester but south of the M27 it is densely populated and difficult to commute to London and consequently cheaper. The New Forest is popular with local buyers working in Southampton and weekenders from London attracted by the sailing. It is considered by most buyers to be too far to commute to London on a daily basis.

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