This barn-style home near Godalming in Surrey blends beautifully into its surroundings and is for sale through Savills. Photo: Nick Ayliffe
Who could have guessed that, five years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home would become a way of life? More than 40% of employees are now home-based for all or part of the week and without the grind or a daily commute, they have much greater flexibility in where they live.
If a move to the countryside beckons but you don't want to feel isolated, scroll this selection of rural homes, all within a 10-minute drive of amenities such as public transport, shops, schools, cafes and pubs.
1. St George’s Place, Reydon, Suffolk, from £529,950
Chose from brand-new three, four or five-bedroom houses, five minutes from Southwold. Photo: The Hill Group
Get ahead of the pack and take your pick from these new-build three, four and five-bedroom houses which officially launch on 22 March.
Their traditional facades are inspired by local architecture, and inside you’ll find Shaker-style kitchens, spa-like bathrooms and open plan living spaces with bifold patio doors.
They’re just five minutes from Southwold, a fashionable seaside town famed for its pier, bright beach huts and unspoiled coastline. By The Hill Group.
2. Blitterlees, Silloth, Cumbria, £600,000
The beach and a town are in easy reach of this period cottage. Photo: Finest Properties
Rose View is a delightful period cottage with three bedrooms, a kitchen diner, two sitting rooms and a study.
Views over the Solway Firth can be enjoyed from the beautiful gardens, and there’s also an orchard, meadow and paddock. a studio — previously an artist’s retreat — and a stone summerhouse, suitable for use as a gym, office or guest accommodation.
A path leads through sand dunes to the beach and the Victorian coastal town of Silloth is down the road. Contact Finest Properties.
3. Hopperton, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire , £695,000
Great transport links enhance the appeal of this attractive house. Photo: Dacre, Son & Hartley
On the market for the first time since 1973, The Old Gate House lies between the market towns of Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.
A station and the A1(M) can be reached in under five minutes, and Harrogate, Leeds and York are easily accessible by road or rail.
The property has been altered and extended over the years and includes four bedrooms, four reception rooms, a kitchen breakfast room and a half-acre garden. Available from Dacre, Son & Hartley.
4. Whatstandwell, Matlock, Derbyshire, £750,000
You can walk to a station and restaurant from here. Photo: Burchell Edwards
Not only does this stone-built cottage have wonderful views over the Derbyshire countryside, but it’s a short walk from a restaurant and a station on the Matlock to Derby line.
It comprises three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an eat-in kitchen utility, living room and a ground floor study or fourth bedroom, a wraparound garden, a field and several outbuildings. Through Burchell Edwards.
5. Higher Batson, Salcombe, Devon, £775,000
Rose Cottage is a short distance from the centre of Salcombe. Photo: Ursu Ionel Photography
A scenic walk or short drive takes you into the centre of Salcombe from Grade II-listed Rose Cottage, which sits in a secluded spot above the town and estuary.
There’s a large, full-width reception room, a kitchen and cloakroom, and an unusual curved staircase leads up to three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor. Get in touch with Luscombe Maye.
6. Duncow, Dumfries, Dumfries & Galloway, offers over £975,000
The extended house comes with lots of land. Photo: Fine & Country
Although it seems very remote with green views as far as the eye can see, Mill Grange is only six miles from Dumfries, a historic market town.
Originally a modest two-bedroom cottage, it’s been extended over time and is now a spacious four/five-bedroom house set in over nine acres of land with a small loch, woodland, a tennis court.
A two-bedroom detached lodge is currently rented out and the ruins of an old mill offer development potential, subject to getting planning permission. From Fine & Country.
7. Shrawley, Worcestershire, £2.25m
Farm shops and pubs are a short drive from tastefully renovated Severnbank House. Photo: Morgan Aps
Georgian gem Severnbank House has been extensively renovated and is so impeccably finished that the new owner can move straight in and won’t have to do any work.
The Grade II-listed residence is spread over 7,000 square feet and has eight double bedrooms, four reception rooms and grounds of around 12 acres with a swimming pool and new outbuildings.
Two farm shops with cafes and several pubs are minutes away. Find out more from Morgan Aps.
Accommodation is flexible in this charming house, on the edge of a well-served village near Circencester. Photo: Butler Sherborn
Cirencester is just five minutes from Waterton Stables, a substantial house on the edge of a village with a primary school and pub.
It consists of a three-bedroom main house, a three-bedroom annex that can be closed off to form a separate dwelling if required, and an attached one-bedroom cottage that could be rented out for holiday lets.
The landscaped gardens feature a swimming pool and tennis court, and there are paddocks, outbuildings and stables. Via Butler Sherborn.
9. Loxhill, Godalming, Surrey, £2.75m
The modern house nestles in a secluded but convenient location. Photo: Nick Ayliffe
Situated in an idyllic spot in the Surrey Hills National Landscape (previously called an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), barn-style Mare Pond Copse was built in 2016 and incorporates six bedrooms, a kitchen/breakfast room with an island, a log burner in the drawing room and a vaulted sitting room.
The nearest villages, Hascombe and Dunsfold, both have pubs and Godalming — for shops, supermarkets and eateries — is four miles away. Through Savills.
