Saunderton

SAUNDERTON Though Saunderton itself is not much more than a station surrounded by small housing estates, it is the most convenient station for some of the prettiest villages in the region. To the west, in an area of outstanding natural beauty, is Bledlow. A compact collection of thatched cottages with a few modern arrivals, it dozes beneath Wain Hill, site of one of the two huge turf-cut crosses in the county. No further building is allowed at present in the village, because of its conservation status. There is a village hall and a pub, but no post office or shop. Young residents take their children a mile down the road to Longwick junior or to secondary school in Princes Risborough. Nearby Lacey Green is a sprawling village with a popular school, and an ancient windmill run by The Chiltern Society. Life is convivial and centres around the two pubs and busy village hall. A lot of new housing overshadows the few cottages, and the whole area is less cottagey than you might expect. If you can find something small with two bedrooms it will cost £200,000, but property in general here does not come up very often. Many houses are large, detached and swimming in ample grounds. A restored, period four-bedroom house would cost £750,000 to £850,000. The window dressing to look for is the superb view over the Vale of Aylesbury. Unlike other areas, where houses in outlying districts cost more than they do in town centres, prices in the villages around here vary little from those in Princes Risborough.