What makes the dream village? The answer is of course subjective and will generate varying responses from different people. For some, a large bustling community with lots going on and a long list of amenities is vital whilst for others a small sleepy hamlet with just the most basic of facilities would be the preferred option as long as it is surrounded by beautiful countryside.

For most, the aesthetic look of a place is important and we are blessed in this area for having a number of picture perfect villages full of chocolate box cottages and houses, possibly with a stream or river meandering through it such as at Rockbourne or one of the Woodfords. Perhaps a duck pond like the ones in Ashmore or Sherrington completes the picture. A healthy mix of differing ages and backgrounds of the residents is good as it helps to maintain the social vitality of a community rather than one that is too uniform and staid.

Most people like the idea of a village being somewhere fairly rural but just how rural will depend on many things and for some, the ideal location would be one just two or three miles away from the nearest town or conversely, the more completely away from it all the better. Convenient road links might be all important for example the villages of the Wylye Valley have good access for both the A303 and A36 whilst close proximity to a railway station such as the one at Tisbury could be the deciding factor.

The key features of a village are many but one of the necessities we hear most often is a good pub. Many communities have lost their local in recent years which is sad as they are often a focal point for village life and it is interesting that the residents of Swallowcliffe got together to re-open their pub recently after it had be closed for many years. A village with a well-run inn serving good food will be seen as having a distinct advantage or as in the case of Hindon, better still, two pubs!

Next on the list of must haves would be a shop/post office. Like pubs, these have come under economic pressure and several villages have seen theirs shut over the last decade. What has been encouraging is the number of community run shops that have sprung up across our region including those in East Knoyle to Broad Chalke, Martin and Dinton to name just a few. A good nearby farm shop such as the one at Boyton can also be helpful.

A well regarded school, whether at primary or secondary level, is certainly a draw for some families who will focus on where to buy their next home based purely on the catchment area of a favoured school.

Other things that buyers might consider are proximity to medical facilities, footpaths, horse riding, an active church and availability of sports or leisure clubs such as cricket, tennis, gardening or bridge.

Ticking many of these boxes, Rural View are about to start marketing a super barn conversion on the edge of Semley, a village with a shop/café run by local volunteers, a popular primary school, award winning pub, church, a busy community social programme, tennis club and it is within easy reach of both Tisbury station and the A350 with Shaftesbury just four miles away. Get in touch with Mark or Charlie for more information.

We are pleased to announce that the winner of our Sloe Gin competition is Mrs F of West Wiltshire who will be presented with a bottle of Dorset distilled Conker Spirit​ Dry Gin.

Last year the Chancellor of the Exchequer was the home buyer’s friend when he overhauled the way Stamp Duty on the purchase of residential property is calculated. He is now seen as the pantomime villain with his further tinkering of this already unpopular and insidious tax in the latest autumn statement.

From the 1st April 2016 all buyers of second properties will have to pay a whopping additional 3% on top of the current bands of stamp duty. Whilst those purchasing just their main home, which accounts for the majority of house transactions, will be unaffected by this amendment, anyone buying a holiday home or investing in a buy-to-let property most certainly will be.

Previously buying a £150,000 property would cost the purchaser £500 in tax but in future for someone buying an additional home to one they already own this will be pushed up to £5,000. An owner-occupier buying a £600,000 currently pays a huge £20,000 but from next spring an investor landlord or weekend cottage buyer will have to pay an eye-watering £38,000.

There will be some who will have little sympathy for those with the ability or means to buy properties that will not be their full time homes and who might be under impression that this category of buyer artificially drives up property prices, depriving local people of the opportunity to stay within their local communities. There is more to it than this however.

Second home or weekend cottage owners bring money into the areas they buy in and often employ local tradesmen. As this part of Wessex is such a lovely place to live, these occasional residents often end up moving here full time, disposing of their previous main home in London or wherever. They are very important for house sellers and over the last couple of years have accounted for a significant proportion of property sales in the region. Without them there will be a much smaller pot of potential buyers.

Buy-to-let investor buyers are also important for the local economy and if there are not landlords around, there will not be any properties available to let and for many, renting is a more suitable or perhaps only option. There is the very real danger that landlords enlarging their portfolios will push up rents to cover the cost of the additional tax, surely something the chancellor should have but clearly did not envisage.

The change was intended partly to boost the chancellor’s coffers and also to free up more housing stock for first time buyers however it will actually have ramifications across the whole of the housing sector. Driving away second home/investor buyers by making it financially unattractive for them to buy property cannot be good news for what is already a fragile market.

It’s sloe gin making season and we would love to hear about your favourite sloe gin recipes, sloe picking tips and gin related stories, preferably with accompanying photographs!

Go to our Facebook page (you can click on the F logo), Like, Share and post your Comment by midday Friday 18th December to be in with a chance to win a bottle of delicious, 5 star rated Conker Spirit Dry Gin ( www.conkerspirit.co.uk ) from Dorset’s first gin distillery.

Whatever one’s view on shooting may be, there is no doubt that it is an integral part of country life and much of the beautiful English countryside has been shaped and landscaped over the years with the management of game in mind. Shooting is important to the rural economy, providing income and employment whilst for many it is also intrinsic to the cultural and social fabric of rural life.

Whilst the origins of hunting, shooting and fishing was all about providing food for the table, this is of course not it’s primary purpose although the ‘produce’ resulting from these activities is still highly appreciated. As has been the case for centuries, the means of achieving the end, is what it’s all about.

In Wiltshire and its neighbouring counties there are several large commercial, run for profit, estate shoots employing specialist gamekeepers and attracting the rich and famous from around the World, some of whom have ended up buying country properties with shoots or rural homes which are close to good shooting. A couple of A List stars come to mind who have bought homes in recent years near our Tisbury based office for this reason.

In contrast, for many farmers and landowners, shooting is carried out on a more informal basis, perhaps with a syndicate of friends putting down a few birds every year for a bit of social sport. Alternatively for some, shooting could just be one man and his dog bagging a rabbit or a brace of pigeon for the supper pot.

The creature most often associated with shooting is of course the common pheasant. The handsome iridescent autumn colours of the cock bird are seen everywhere in the country, frequently squashed on our lanes! Roughly 35 million birds are released each year of which around 15 million end up being shot. Grey partridge at one time were the most popular sporting quarry but their numbers have plummeted since the introduction of farming herbicides in the 1950’s which led to the disappearance of weeds inhabited by the insects that they relied on for their diet.

Shot in lesser numbers are waterfowl, mainly ducks (usually mallard) but also woodcock and snipe whilst grouse shooting is a more exclusive sport limited to the moors of Scotland and Northern England.

The game shooting season controls when in the United Kingdom shooting is permitted and depends on the type of species being hunted with slight regional variations. The pheasant shooting season is from the 1st October to February 1st, whilst the shooting of partridge starts a month earlier but finishes at the same time. Probably one the most famous dates on the calendar is the 12th August, the start of the red grouse season and known as the Glorious Twelfth, it ends on the 10th December.

When it comes to mammals, rabbits and hare can be shot throughout the year except on moorland or unenclosed land whilst the shooting of deer depends on the variety and whether the animal is a stag or hind. Although not common in our part of Wessex, there is no close season currently for wild boar although best practice recommends avoiding killing a sow with dependent offspring.
Whether you shoot or not, Rural View are established specialists in the sale, letting and management of country, village and market town property and can be contacted on 01722 716895.