Average house price: £233,226

A farmers’ market with artisan breads, meat and fish befits this Saxon hilltop town, famous for Gold Hill as featured in Ridley Scott’s 1973 Hovis advert. Its pubs have roaring fires and traditional ales, and many of the cafés, shops and restaurants are independent.

“The huge attraction is the wonderful views across the Blackmore Vale,” says Fiona Pengelly of Strutt Parker. Shaftesbury also has a thriving arts centre run by volunteers offering year-round dance, drama, film, music and choir events.

The town hall hosts antique fairs, flea markets and yoga classes. A project named Shaftesbury Snowdrops is under way to create Britain’s first snowdrop town with more than 160,000 planted already. The most sought-after cottages and family homes are those with a level walk to the town or in the centre.

Alderley Edge, Cheshire

A residential estate set in beautiful countryside. The Grade II listed house has six main reception rooms and eight bedroom suites. Price on application to Knight Frank.

Average house price: £498,398

Manchester footballers past and present have lived in Alderley Edge, including the Beckhams. But the affluent town, 15 miles from the capital of the North, is a close-knit community. The newly refurbished Twenties Festival Hall hosts classical concerts and the village orchestra is looking for players.

Wrap up warmly and head to the top of the Edge, says Crispin Harris of Jackson-Stops Staff. The red sandstone clifftop boasts views of the Cheshire countryside.Wienholt, the baker, which has sold its pies for more than 60 years, thrives alongside the boutiques and upmarket bars and restaurants.

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Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

The Rising Sun pub on the canal towpath outside Berkhamstead

Average house price: £516,160

The 5,000-acre Ashridge Estate, once home to Henry VIII, has a rabbit warren of bike tracks and bridleways for family adventures on clear, crisp days, and provides a picturesque backdrop to the Hertfordshire town where William the Conqueror was handed the crown of England.

The Grand Union Canal has a stream of inviting canal-side pubs and a year-round monthly farmers’ market. Berkhamsted, full of Victorian cottages and town houses, will suit those looking for a period property with original features.

Totnes, Devon

The kitchen in Sandra Tate’s home on the market with Strutt Parker, in Totnes

Average house price: £254,774

“Totnes has a unique atmosphere,” says Sandra Tate, a food writer and potter. “There is a palpable warmth and friendliness the minute you get out of the car, as well as a creative scene. You can also buy all sorts of unusual ingredients.” Sandra is selling her home in the town to downsize now that her two boys have moved to London.

Sandra Tate outside her Totnes home, Hembury House

A slog to the top of the medieval “pie-crust” castle is worth it for the far reaching views and there’s nothing better than sitting outside the Royal Seven Stars hotel watching the town go by, according to Tanya Bedford from Marchand Petit. There’s a monthly Sunday food market while weekly markets sell secondhand books, furniture and crafts. Independent butchers and bakers are said to be some of the best in the region, and the community food, seed and clothes swap days perpetuate its bohemian tag.

There’s a thriving art and music scene, too, welcoming new artists and musicians, and 200 clubs and societies. Victorian villas, terraced town houses and cottages sit alongside new developments in the town. However, the highlight of the winter months is the Totnes Young Farmers’ Charity Log Chop that takes place every November.

Deal, Kent

Homes overlooking the seafront and pier in Deal, Kent

Average house price: £254,774

Blink and another eatery or hotel opens in Deal, the Kentish seaside hotspot where the queen of shops Mary Portas is thought to be the latest holiday-home catch. “Deal is beginning to challenge Whitstable, its more well-known neighbour,” says Nigel Colebrook from agents Bright Bright.

The Saturday market sells meat, cheese, bric-a-brac and antiques, and Bloody Mary’s wine bar showcases local art. Fishermen’s cottages line the streets behind the pebbled beach and long pier on which dogs are allowed to take their owners for a walk in the bracing sea air. There’s a Grade II-listed, one-bedroom cottage in the conservation area for £245,000 with Bright Bright.

Dunster, Somerset

The winding road through Dunster in Somerset  Photo: Alamy

Average house price: £225,948

If you dream of living in a chocolate-box cottage and hacking on Exmoor then look no further medieval Dunster. Homeowners rarely sell up here, preferring instead to pass down homes to the next generation, says Simon Hawley from Fox Sons.

But it’s not style over substance, there is plenty to do. Dunster Castle, owned by the National Trust, puts on a folk dance and is holding a Mozart concert in early February. Snowdrop Valley, at nearby Wheddon Cross, is in full bloom from late January. At Christmas you can the tour the castle and the working watermill by candlelight.

Lytham, Lancashire

A four-bedroom house in Lytham, for sale through Lytham Estate Agents (£695,000)

Average house price: £252,056

Lytham’s tree-lined streets of smart Edwardian and Victorian terraces and semis are sheltered from the windy Fylde coast, and you’re never far from a cosy café or buzzing wine bar. Clifton Street has designer boutiques and homeware shops with Stringers department store, which has been trading since 1852. Whelan’s fish and chip shop is another old timer, frying for almost 80 years, while Lanigan’s fishmonger is best known for its Lytham-landed shrimp.

The Lowther Pavilion presents year-round theatre, comedy and quiz nights with Jenny Eclair headlining in March. The average house price is £252,056 according to Savills, but for those with a bigger budget there is a grand four-bedroom home on offer with a £925,000 price tag listed on Rightmove, or a £695,000 property with Lytham Estate Agents.

Marlborough, Wiltshire

Eagle House, Marlborough, on the market with Hamptons International for £1.15m

Average house price: £358,889

January’s event calendar includes a high society ball and a folk-roots concert, while the town’s choral society performs two concerts a year and is looking for members. “It’s a wonderful place to live in the winter with the beautiful scenery of the Marlborough Downs and The Ridgeway,” says Rosie Souster from Humberts.

The side streets are lined with pretty cottages while larger properties with views lie on the outskirts of town. Rosie Hill is selling her large, six-bedroom, detached house which overlooks the green. It’s on the market for £1.15 million through Hamptons International. She plans to buy something smaller, but she is staying local, and wants to be nearer to the high street.

Narberth, Pembrokeshire

A Georgian, Grade II listed manor house called Sodstone House, on the market withe Savills, on the outskirts of Narbeth

Average house price: £164,863

The foodie town of Narberth hosts a not-for-profit food festival and has excellent eateries including Spanish Ultracomida and Caffle Brewery. The charming high street of multicoloured Edwardian and Georgian houses is interspersed with boutiques, antique shops and independent retailers selling locally-sourced meat and fish. Next month the A Cappella Voice Festival features gospel, jazz, beatbox and Welsh folk acts while The Queen’s Hall hosts comedy nights, lectures and dance evenings throughout the year. Book clubs, sports teams, poetry and quilting groups are well established. For walkers, the tranquil Preseli Mountains beckon and blue flag beaches are nearby. “The Gulf Stream ensures we have mild winters so Narberth seldom has snow for more than one day,” says Carol Peett from West Wales Property Finders.

The kitchen at Sodstone House (£1.7m)

Ilkley, West Yorkshire

A three-bedroom house in Ilkley, on the market with Dale Eddison for £699,000

Average house price: £358,349

“You’d think you were in Switzerland or the Pyrenees when it snows,” says Lester Hurst from the estate agent Hunters. Ilkley is only a short hop to Leeds on the train but this gateway to the Yorkshire Dales thrives on its own. A 57-seat cinema has just opened and come the autumn, residents support the annual well-attended Literature Festival followed by the Ilkley Art Trail when the town is turned into a huge art gallery welcoming the public into artists’ homes and studios for free. Marco Pierre White’s Michelin-star restaurant The Box Tree and family-owned Emporio Italia are favourite eateries alongside the legendary Bettys Tea Rooms. Wide streets of Victorian homes are within walking distance of the station, while trains to Manchester take just 90 minutes.