Chalfont & Latimer

CHALFONT & LATIMER Little Chalfont is a mini-town with a station, two schools, a post office, strip of shops, four restaurants, library and a number of very expensive houses in large grounds. ‘Too spread out to be matey,’ said one resident. Latimer is much prettier, with timbered cottages around a triangular green where a two-bedroom cottage will cost at least £450,000. ‘It’s the schools you see – the grammar schools are as good as the private,’ says one agent. The River Chess, flowing past Latimer House, offers trout fishing. Chenies, equally picturesque, was a typical feudal village owned by the Dukes of Bedford for 400 years until 1954. Be prepared to pay £400,000 in either village for even the smallest cottage. A couple of miles north-west of the station is Ley Hill, a particularly lively and friendly spot with golf and cricket on the common, (a couple of nice old pubs) two pubs called The Crown and The Swan and an infant and junior school. There are lots of local activities, including a dog training club, and there is talk of a farmers’ market in the future. The wooded countryside surrounding all these villages attracts hearty backpackers who come to enjoy the spectacular walks.