Located in rolling countryside between London and Brighton, it's easy to see Mid Sussex as the quintessential British borough. It marries sleepy town life with subtle countryside, lies between the city and the sea, and is represented in parliament by the Conservative grandson of Winston Churchill.
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It's just a hop skip and a bounce from the south coast and home to Ashdown Forest, the original inspiration for Winnie The Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood. So, why did Mid Sussex land so high on our list of lovelies?
Well, luckily for Tigger and chums, the sun here shines and shine and shines, but they'll be hard pushed to play pooh-sticks with rainfall way below average. Mind you, things are looking bright for homeowners... Pooh corner must be worth a mint by now. Or should that be honey?
At around £280,000 for the average property, it's noticeably more expensive than the national average, but unexceptional for the south. Prices are rising steadily, up 11.5 per cent in the last year with no recent slowdown: a good investment, and a detached house will set you back a fairly reasonable £420,000. The average worker will earn comfortably above the national average, but again, earnings are fairly similar to those across the region as a whole.
None of this is to suggest that Mid Sussex is lacking in unique character. More than half of the borough is within Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with the dramatic chalk landscapes of the Sussex Downs giving the lie to any rumours of this district's mediocrity. Elsewhere, the varied inclines of the High Weald conceal the ridge that linked Britain to continental Europe until a mere 200,000 years ago.
Its traditional status is firmly underlined by its educational establishments, with Hurstpierpoint and Ardingly hosting famous independent schools. Both formed part of the initial triumvirate of schools founded in the mid 19th century by Nathaniel Woodard, aimed at providing an affordable education to middle-class students. While that education may seem somewhat less affordable in 2007, parents won't struggle to find a decent school, with solid performances at all stages across the borough.
Other notable features of Mid Sussex include a stretch of the historical Bluebell Railway, and Wakehurst Place, administered by the Royal Botanic Gardens and thus popularly known as 'Kew in the Country'. The latter was the National Trust's most visited admission-charging property in 2004-5, and in another charming statement of British quaintness, contains the largest growing Christmas tree in the country.
In 2004, the District Council implemented the first of a series of 'Master Plans' aimed at large scale redevelopment of the town centres of major towns like Burgess Hill, East Grinstead, and Haywards Heath. Despite their prime location and surroundings, there had been the perception that these towns had somewhat let themselves go in the latter half of the 20th century, but the future's certainly looking bright for this well-connected area with a surplus of homely charms.
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Find out which borough made it to the top 15 in 2007 >>
Local area info on Mid Sussex from upmystreet.com >>
Mid Sussex District Council >>
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