Commuting from Kent: HS1 links some of the county's best villages with London St Pancras in 19 minutes

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Ruth Bloomfield11 September 2019

Southeastern is a rail company of two halves. Its very name conjures images of exhausted, exasperated passengers stranded on crowded platforms. It is, according to consumer group Which?, one of the worst rail operators in the country.

On the other hand, Southeastern, which runs services from London to Kent, is also responsible for the UK’s only high-speed rail link, HS1, and this is an entirely different story.

For the past decade commuters have been able to use the 67 miles of track linking St Pancras International and the Channel Tunnel, which stops at Stratford, Ebbsfleet and Ashford.

According to the National Rail Passenger Survey, carried out annually by Transport Focus, a resounding 92 per cent of HS1 passengers are satisfied with their train journeys, with 83 per cent happy with the punctuality and reliability.

The only glaring problem with the service is where it takes you. In 38 minutes you can be in Ashford (annual season ticket: £4,988) and in only 19 minutes you can be in Ebbsfleet (annual season ticket: £4,816).

The arrival of HS1 trains was supposed to trigger regeneration in these towns — two of the least appealing places in Kent.

Today, there is little sign of improvement except for a surge of housebuilding around Ebbsfleet (the jury is still out on how successful a mammoth housing estate tacked on to the town will be).

But for those who know their way around the single-track back roads of the county, both towns make great staging posts for some outstandingly nearby villages.

Homes to buy near Ebbsfleet

Head south or east out of Ebbsfleet and you will find some lovely villages with a rural feel but easy access both to the station and to better places to spend an evening or a Saturday afternoon shopping.

Shoreham is a convenient five miles from Sevenoaks and is an exceedingly pretty village with a well-stocked shop and four independent pubs.

Locals like to keep old traditions going: every May Day they hold a duck race on the River Darent, with hundreds turning out to cheer on the contestants.

“You have got little cottages in the high street and further out you have got individual detached properties with land,” said Geraldine Higgins, branch manager of Ibbett Mosely estate agents. “It’s a very pretty village, with lots of footpaths for walkers.”

A three-bedroom cottage in Shoreham would cost, said Higgins, £395,000 to £450,000, while a five-bedroom pile with a couple of acres is around £1.2 million.

Shoreham is a 13-mile, half-hour drive from Ebbsfleet, where parking costs £1,411 a year in the station car park — though there are less painful options to be found a short walk away.

And Shoreham has its own stations with (regular-speed) services to London and Sevenoaks. Shoreham Village School is rated “good” by Ofsted.

The other option between Ebbsfleet and Sevenoaks is Otford, a historic village with a good — and very pretty — parade of shops and cafés. Otford Primary School has a “good” report from the schools watchdog.

Though bigger and better resourced than little Shoreham, Otford’s proximity to Sevenoaks — it is around three miles away — means that prices are higher; a three-bedroom cottage is around £450,000 and a five-bedroom house on one of its private roads costs at least £1.5 million.

Another point to consider is that Otford’s almost-suburban location is reflected in its housing stock, which is heavy on contemporary-ish executive homes.

Homes to buy near Ashford

North-east of Ashford International is a lovely cluster of villages just aching to be explored.

On the map, Great Chart looks like a suburb of Ashford, and is just two miles from the station (with a good regular bus service) — but don’t let its proximity to town put you off.

This ancient village is fighting off urban sprawl and still feels like “proper” country with its views of open fields, two pubs, a cricket club and medieval church. Great Chart Primary School is rated “outstanding” by Ofsted.

Charing is six miles from the station and has the advantage of its own station, with services into Ashford taking just 11 minutes. There are also trains to London Victoria.

This good-sized village has a parade of useful shops, two pubs, and a cricket team. Charing CE Primary School is rated “good” by Ofsted.

Charing sits right at the foot of the North Downs, and was popular with pilgrims on their way from London to Canterbury.

Six miles from Ashford International station, Charing has good shops, two pubs and a cricket team

The Archbishop’s Palace, beside Charing’s Church, was once owned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and King Henry VIII stayed there while making the journey.

“Charing is a really popular village, said Marilyn Froud, sales negotiator at Saddlers estate agents.

“It has got a lot of shops and small businesses, so you can live here without having to go out anywhere else if you don’t want to. It's got the really good transport links and a real mix of people, from young couples with children to retired people.”

Property in the village is equally mixed — expect to pay £400,000-£450,000 for a quaint 500-year-old cottage on or near the high street, or £600,000 for a four-bedroom executive home in one of the modern estates built around the A20.

A little further afield, Pluckley is a smaller option for those who like their villages intimate in size.

It is seven miles from Ashford — and drivers shouldn’t forget the cost of parking: a space in the station car park will cost from £980 a year, though there are cheaper options in town.

Pluckley railway station, which lies a mile north of the centre of the village, offers a rail alternative.

Pluckley is surrounded by lovely countryside and keen walkers can break in their boots along the Greensand Way.

And it is good looking enough to have been one of the main filming locations for the popular 1990s TV series The Darling Buds of May.

Though it is pretty tiny, Pluckley does have the essentials of village life: a shop, a pub, and a primary school rated “good” by Ofsted.

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