Winchfield

WINCHFIELD Around the station there is scarcely a village to speak of. Little more than a mile away, however, is Hartley Wintney, practically two centuries removed from Fleet. It has old coaching inns with archways leading into cobbled yards, five village ponds and five village greens with ancient oaks, and the second oldest cricket ground in England. The centre is full of antique shops and has an art gallery that specialises in English paintings and sculptures. ‘Very Hampshire,’ says one local. There is a butcher, a bakery, two coffee shops and a market on Wednesday mornings. Social highlights include productions by the local dramatic society, and there are all the usual clubs and societies, including WI, Scouts and Brownies, and a golf course. High prices follow the 17th- and 18th-century architecture; council houses are tucked out of sight. A classic four-bedroom cottage overlooking the cricket ground might cost £650,000. A modern four-bedroom house would be around £400,000, while a two-up, two-down Victorian cottage on the common might be had for £250,000.