Dorset is a fascinating county with a varied landscape. We give you 5 of our favourite facts about living in Dorset.

• The Celtic name ‘Dorseteschire’ means the place of fisticuffs!
• Enid Blyton bought Purbeck Golf Club for £1 and she used to holiday in Swanage. Many of her ‘Five’ series of books are based around the Isle of Purbeck and Poole Harbour
• Gold Hill, Shaftesbury has been immortalised by advertisements for Hovis bread with a delivery boy seen pushing a bike up the steeply cobbled street lined by thatched cottages
• A chilli pepper grown in Dorset claims to be the World’s hottest. The Dorset Naga is so fiery that gloves have to be worn to handle it.
• At the Bloody Assizes in 1685 following the Monmouth Rebellion, Judge Jeffreys was responsible for sending 74 people from the Dorchester area to their execution and transporting a further 175

If you are looking for property in Dorset, let us help you with your search for a countryside home.

In the past cycling was thought to be the preserve of the French but over the last decade there has been a huge explosion in the number of people getting on their bikes in this country and it has now become a British institution. Inspired by GB’s tremendous success in the Olympics and Tour de France over the last decade, cycling is enjoying an extraordinary surge of interest. It is not only a relatively cheap and excellent form of exercise but an ideal way of getting some fresh air and enjoying the wonderful British countryside.

Although the sight of middle aged, overweight men kitted out in lycra wobbling along our country lanes (I include myself amongst this group!) provokes a certain amount of sniggering, cycling actually appeals to all sectors of society irrespective of age, gender and indeed, ability. Whether a solitary peddle, family expedition or mass participation organised event, there is no doubt that it is now one of the UK’s most accessible and popular pastimes.

Anyone looking to buy or rent a country or village property in Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset will find miles of well signed and varied routes along country lanes or off road tracks. Cycling in the area offers a wide choice of easy, intermediate and challenging rides suitable for both the road and mountain bike enthusiast. Route maps of many of these trails can be found on the internet and links to just some of these can be found below.

Whilst many are happy to peddle around the locality on their own or with friends and family, there several cycling groups in the area; some are local clubs and associations whilst others operate at a national level. Most of these arrange group outings, some of which are for just small numbers of riders whilst others can include several hundred. For example ukcyclingevents.co.uk sponsored by Wiggle hosts well organised events with maps, feeding stations, stewards and mechanical back up. In spring 2015 this included the Wiltshire Wildcat which covered the Nadder and Chalke Valleys and Cranborne Chase whilst the autumn’s New Forest 100 Sportive took in the New Forest and the countryside around Salisbury and the Hampshire/Dorset border.

1. Stourhead – Mere/Stourhead Loop via Zeals: http://www.discovernadder.org.uk/uploads/docs/Cycle%20Trail%2010.pdf

2. Wiltshire Cycle Way – Mere to Broad Chalke via East Knoyle & Donhead St Mary:
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/wiltshire-cycleway-section04-mere-to-donhead-st-mary.pdf
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/wiltshire-cycleway-section05-donhead-st-mary-to-broad-c.pdf

3. Nadder Valley – Hindon & The Great Estates Loop: http://www.discovernadder.org.uk/uploads/docs/Nadder%20Valley%20Cycle%20Trail%205.pdf

4. Nadder Valley – Tisbury/Semley Loop:
http://www.discovernadder.org.uk/uploads/docs/Nadder%20Valley%20Cycle%20Trail%208.pdf

5. The Wylye Valley – Warminster to Salisbury via Wyle:
http://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/dbimgs/Cycle%202.pdf

6. Lower Wylye Valley – Wilton/Wylye Loop: http://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/dbimgs/Cycle%205.pdf

7. The Woodford Valley – Salisbury/Amesbury Loop via The Woodfords:
http://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/dbimgs/Cycle%204.pdf

8. Cranborne Chase – Sixpenny Handley/Farnham Loop:
https://www.dorsetforyou.com/media/137260/Route-2—Sixpenny-Handley/pdf/Route_2_-_Sixpenny_Handley_.pdf

9. North Dorset – Gillingham/Buckhorn Weston Loop:
https://www.dorsetforyou.com/media/137259/Route-1—Gillingham/pdf/Route_1_-_Gillingham.pdf

10. New Forest 100 Sportive – New Forest/Cranborne Chase/Ringwood Forest/East of Salisbury:
http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/maps/ukce-wss-nf100-2015-map.pdf

When buying a new property, most people spend a tremendous amount of time, thought, effort and emotion in choosing the right property. It can take many hours of scrutinising the internet portals for suitable properties, carrying out viewings and deliberating before finally making a decision as to which property would make the perfect home. After the excitement of having an offer accepted comes that anxious period of uncertainty before contracts are exchanged and the knowledge that the purchase is a definite reality.

Once a sale has been agreed it seems everything goes quiet whilst the legal conveyancing process is undertaken. It usually takes around five or six weeks to get to the point when contracts are exchanged. In this digital age one would have thought it ought to be done more quickly but house sales in some areas actually take considerably longer due to delays in one of the key steps involved in a house purchase; the local authority searches.

A search is normally instigated by the buyer’s solicitor and its purpose is to check whether there are any issues that might adversely affect the property or its immediate surroundings such as planning applications, road schemes, statutory controls, environmental hazards. The length of time it takes for a search to be returned is something of a lottery and depends on which council area the property is located in.

The variation in response times of different authorities is extraordinary. For example Wiltshire County Council (South) are currently taking a staggering 42 days before a search application is actioned. It is little better in West Wiltshire, however if one heads over the county border into North Dorset or Hampshire’s New Forest, the picture is very contrasting where search results are returned after only five days.

The problem is not down to the quality of the staff dealing with search requests, indeed they are often very helpful and dedicated people, but that there are simply not enough of them at a time when council leaders are slashing budgets.

How can the problem of search delays be mitigated? Here are some ideas:-

– A seller might chose to put searches in hand ahead of a sale being agreed. They cost circa £125 but have a limited shelf life of up to six months before they need to be renewed.

– If a buyer requires a search, they should pay their solicitor the necessary fee and instruct them to apply for the searches without delay.

– Some solicitors appoint third party agencies to carry out searches, check if this is the case because they can sometimes take longer.

– Subject to the approval of a mortgage lender, a buyer might consider taking out insurance (about £50) before the searches come back to allow contracts to be exchanged.

– Communicate. Make sure at the outset that everyone involved in a sale, including those up and down a chain are aware that there may be a delay in matters progressing so that there is a realistic expectation of timing.

The long waiting time for property searches can have a serious impact on the progress of a sale, jeopardising whether it reaches a conclusion and affecting the ability of home owners to move when they need to. This does not help the stress levels of buyers and sellers but also affects the fluidity of the local property market and the local economy.

We’ve had a good run so far this year and while we have a record number of buyers on our books there simply isn’t the supply of properties that we would expect.

The traditional complaint heard from those looking to buy good quality village and rural property in South Wiltshire and North Dorset is that there is nothing around. This is why our books are normally crammed with ready and often desperate buyers who will jump at the first sign of an attractive period house. This year it is even worse though and there is no rhyme or reason for it.

We would have expected the decisive Election result to pave the way for greater confidence and while it has done so in terms of buyer sentiment, people just aren’t putting their properties on the market. Whether it is an anomaly and the Autumn market will produce greater volume, one doesn’t know.

One reason is often that owners want to find something to move to before doing so, but this leads to a classic catch 22 because if there is nothing to market then there is nothing to view. Their concern may be that they will be put under pressure to move, but the owner of a good house should always be in the driving seat in a strong market. They may also not want to have scores of viewers disrupting their lives until absolutely necessary, which is understandable, but a simple solution is for an agent to market quietly to a select number of able and flexible buyers.

The property market is a funny beast and because it is regionalised it is never an easy one to call. There are no local concerns to influence decisions and no wider economic problems to rock the boat (although Europe is bubbling), so what is happening at the moment is mystifying. We can only hope that once the holidays are over there will be some fresh impetus and demand can be satisfied…as much as it ever is.