The best places to live for commuters: West Sussex
Two villages in West Sussex have been selected for our list of the best places to live near London for commuters.


Lindfield
Commute: Haywards Heath (London Victoria, 44 minutes). Drive to station: about 5 minutes. Frequency of trains: 10 per hour (peak). First train in: 4.34am; last train home: 1am. Annual season ticket: £3,844. Annual car-park ticket: £1,166.
The Country Life verdict: Pevsner described Lindfield as having the ‘finest village street in East Sussex' (the county boundaries were later redrawn). It's won the best-kept village in Sussex title so often, it was once withdrawn to give others a chance.
Best address: Rupert Coles of Prime Purchase says the very attractive house overlooking the duck pond has to be the highlight on Lindfield's high street.
Alternatives: Haywards Heath, Ardingly, Horsted Keynes, Scaynes Hill.
Lurgashall
Commute: Haslemere station (London Waterloo, 52 minutes). Drive to station: about 15 minutes. Frequency of trains: 3 per hour (peak). First train in: 5.26am; last train home: 11.45pm. Annual season ticket: £3,900. Annual car-park ticket: £1,050.
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
The Country Life verdict: Typically English village set in the South Downs with an active cricket club, one of the best pubs in the area (The Noah's Ark), an excellent village shop-which sells fresh bread and local produce - and even a winery. It's a bit of a drive to the station, but worth it.
Best address: ‘The Old Rectory is very sweet, but, from The Malthouse, you could sit in the front garden and watch the cricket matches,' says Russell Grieve of Knight Frank, Haslemere.
Alternative: Lodsworth (an Archers-esque village in which the shop-the Lodsworth Larder-was started by villagers and sells produce from the nearby Cowdray estate.
** Read our selection of the best places to live near London by county
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
The hero who inspired this great monument? Country Life Quiz of the Day
Our daily quiz tests your gut instinct, powers of deduction and downright luck. Unless you happen to know all the answers for sure.
By Toby Keel Published
-
Strutt & Parker: Property sales gather apace
The year has started with a burst of positive energy in Strutt & Parker offices around the UK.
By Toby Keel Published