Frant

FRANT The most striking feature of this hilltop village is its green. Surrounded by superb timber-frame and Georgian houses which now sell for more than £1m a piece, it makes a perfect setting for village cricket. A four-bedroom converted stables on the green, would fetch £735,000. The village has its own shop, a bowling green and a well-attended primary school, though the rural idyll is marred slightly by lorries using the village as a cut-through. The station is actually at Bells Yew Green, where for years the stationmaster ran a wellie-warming service for homebound commuters. Post-journey comfort these days is more likely to be found at the Brecknock Arms, just around the corner.

Lamberhurst is definitely a village worth looking at. A by-pass has saved it from the hammering of the A21, but the welcome quiet it provides has pushed up property prices. The village has some good oak-framed houses, antiques shops, a village store-cum-post-office, and a vineyard. Two-bedroom cottages sell for £200,000 or more. A modern four-bedroom house backing on to Lamberhurst golf course would sell for £380,000.