We suspect that this period of lockdown has shifted one or two priorities for those living in London. Perhaps you’re willing to spend a bit longer getting into work to be able to have a garden, or would like some extra space to take the hobby you’ve picked up while self-isolating to the next level? Whichever way you look at it, a move outside the capital will make your budget go further, and so in this new series we’ll be taking a look, county-by-county, at where to buy. First up: the best commuter towns in Kent. 

‘The Garden of England’, as the coastal home county likes to brand itself, has the UK’s first and only stretch of high-speed rail, HS1, a 67-mile track that runs from St Pancras International to the Channel Tunnel, stopping at Stratford, Ebbsfleet and Ashford along the way. 

Any town within striking distance of Ebbsfleet or Ashford, both in Kent, makes connections to London a breeze, and also comes with the bonus of connections to the continent. The architectural playground and windswept landscape of Dungeness is one such option, with Ashford under half an hour away by car. 

Otherwise, consider Maidstone, for example, where this 1964 family home with a half-acre of gardens would make a worthy upsize. A jaunt to Paris begins at Ebbsfleet, just half an hour’s drive and, for commuting, services run from Maidstone East to London Victoria in just over an hour, and from Maidstone West to London St Pancras in approximately 50 minutes. 

For something more bucolic, this former agricultural building near the quintessential English village of West Peckham has been transformed for modern living and comes with landscaped gardens and views over rolling hills. West Peckham is well-positioned to suit the commute to London, with a choice of rail routes to Victoria, London Bridge, and Charing Cross that take less than an hour, and easy routes to St Pancras. At the weekends, the village’s pub, Swan on the Green, overlooking the cricket green, has a microbrewery and serves Sunday lunches. 

Away from the two high-speed stations, commuting to London is still doable in under an hour from many places in the county. This 1960s home, inspired by the work of Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen, is just four miles from Sevenoaks, which has train services that reach London in half an hour, all while being situated in the peaceful town of Kemsing and within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 

For many, a move out to Kent from London is about access to the sea. This striking contemporary home, with access to a private beach, is well-positioned for the independent, creative scenes of the seaside towns of Broadstairs and Margate, and yet is a stone’s throw from services that get to St Pancras in an hour and 20 minutes. 

And we’d be remiss to not mention Whitstable, where the process of gentrification is at its most realised. Ok, the day-trippers from London might be a bit much during the summer, and its relentless change might have eroded some of its ‘authenticity’ for some, but few can deny its enduring appeal, borne from its trove of independent shops, vernacular wheatboard housing and epicurean offering that includes the much-loved Sportsman pub down the coast and oysters served beachside. The apartments at Haddo Yard are well-designed starter homes and are available on the government’s Help to Buy scheme.