Oundle

Oundle's high street is stone-fronted and independent-shop heavy, the kind of place where the sightlines are church spire and school buildings rather than chain retail, and the presence of Oundle School's buildings woven through the town centre gives it a slightly academic, unhurried air. It attracts an older population than the national norm, a mix of long-settled homeowners and people who've moved out from bigger towns for the quiet, and at that population size and density it still feels like a village that happens to have most things you need rather than a commuter dormitory.

There's no rail station in the town itself, so this isn't one for people who need a daily London or Leicester commute by train — the 42 local transport stops suggest a place built around cars and buses rather than rail. Schools are the stronger card: Oundle Church of England Primary and Prince William School are both rated Good, and Prince William's Progress 8 score of 0.41 is a genuinely solid number for a secondary. Then there's Oundle School itself, the independent that dominates the townscape and pulls in families who wouldn't otherwise look twice at a town this size. Housing leans heavily detached and freehold — of the recent sales sampled, the large majority were detached houses bought outright rather than leasehold flats — which tells you a For Sale board here usually means a family house with a garden, not a starter flat. Prices sit close to the national median but comfortably above the regional one, and around 41% above the wider North Northamptonshire average, so you're paying a premium for the town's particular character within its own county.