Morris Bricknell estate agents

For anyone living in a cramped city flat and longing for a garden, green space and fresh air, Ross-on-Wye could be the ideal destination. Prices average between £125,000 and £200,000 for a three bedroom semi, £175,000 to £250,000 for somewhere detached.

Four bedroom detached properties range from £200,000 to £350,000. So the dream of owning a house in Ross could easily become a reality for those on reasonable incomes.

‘For cottages you're talking about £50,000 higher pro rata,' says Norman Bricknell of local estate agents Morris Bricknell. ‘The majority of country houses go for between half a million and a million. Over that and it's usually something a bit special.'

So what would his advice be to someone who's tired of urban living and wants a better quality of life without being cut off from all the amenities they need and expect? ‘I'd say come,' he says. ‘I've been around this area for 35 years or so and what started as a trickle from the south east of England and Birmingham is now a flood. There are large numbers of people who've been doing this for the last 15 or 20 years, but what's made a big difference in the last 10 is the ‘net. It's meant that so many people who once needed to be in Guildford or London no longer need to be there - it's been given a new impetus by the web.'

So has the market noticeably changed in that time? ‘Maybe 20 or 30 years ago it was people who were retiring, but in the last ten years it's been all sorts of people - young singles, professional couples, young families, people who've taken early retirement, the whole lot. It's because of the slower pace of life, beautiful scenery, good communications - one of the great things about Herefordshire is the M50 motorway and the connections to Newport, Cardiff and Bristol. The communications are fantastic. People can move their family here, change their lifestyle and get more for their money - especially from the South East.'

And what about in the current property market - how is Ross weathering the storm? ‘It's has been slow, undoubtedly but we have noticed significantly more enquiries since Christmas,' he says.

How would he characterise the housing stock - what sort of things can potential buyers expect to find? ‘There's been some modern development over the last ten or 15 years, but the three sectors that are always in high demand - even in a slack property market - are country houses with a bit of land, country cottages with a bit of land, and quality building plots,' he says. ‘They're not making any more land - you can't create a 200 year-old house. They're a fixed supply so those sectors will remain competitive and always appealing, because that's what so many people aspire to - a cottage in the country.'

www.morrisbricknell.com