Fleet

FLEET The train service from Fleet to London is good, and the town is popular with commuters. Another attraction is Fleet Pond, where 133 acres of freshwater lake, woodland, heath and reed beds are fiercely protected by the Fleet Pond Society. Fleet itself divides neatly into quarters, each one conveniently date-stamped. If you have a taste for the Twenties, you’ll find a good selection of Arts and Crafts houses with three-bedroom semis around £230,000. If you prefer the architecture of the Fifties and Sixties, closely-packed in leafy roads, then you’ll find a range of choice at between £225,000 and £275,000. The other two quarters are modern, built in the last few decades, with many of the three- or four-bedroom houses aimed squarely at that archetypal creature of the Eighties, the yuppy. You could pay £285,000 to £300,000 for four bedrooms; £400,000 to £500,000 for a house with five bedrooms and three or four reception rooms. Creatures of the Nineties and Noughties are here, too – over 2,500 new houses have been built in the last 25 years and another 1,200 are planned. Victorian houses in large gardens can be found in the conservation area to the north of the town.