Dickens’ holiday favourite is the seaside property hotspot

IT was the favourite holiday destination of Charles Dickens, and combines beautiful sandy beaches with old-world charm.

Now Broadstairs in Kent can add another accolade to its list, having overtaken neighbouring Margate as the top seaside town property hotspot.

Broadstairs has seen average property values rise by 10.45 per cent in the past 12 months.

The town is a magnet for families wanting a day out at the seaside, and Dickens was a regular visitor in the 1840s and 1850s.

Fans of the author will be aware that David Copperfield’s aunt Betsey Trotwood was based on Miss Mary Pearson Strong, who lived at Broadstairs. Her former home there now hosts the Dickens House Museum.

Margate was pushed into fifth place in this year’s study, according to Zoopla. The property website analysed average property prices across popular seaside locations over the past 12 months to find the strongest and weakest-per- forming coastal towns for 2017. Southern England continues to dominate the rankings, with Walton- on- the- Naze in Essex, Sidmouth in Devon and Penzance, Cornwall, following Broadstairs and seeing average price increases of 9.43 per cent, 7.51 per cent and 6.99 per cent respectively.

Blyth in Northumberland, a filming location for ITV’s detective drama Vera, was the only place in northern England to make the top ten. Average prices there have grown by 5.64 per cent since June 2016 to reach £130,566.

At the other end of the spectrum, Aberdeenshire’s Collieston and Cruden Bay came bottom of the league of house price movements, with average property prices falling by 4.79 per cent over the past 12 months. Whitby in North Yorkshire followed closely behind with a 4.49 per cent fall, along with North Berwick, Scotland, with a 4.41 per cent decline.

Salcombe in Devon continues to be the priciest seaside town, with the average property there costing £635,435.

Cornwall’s Port Isaac, the location for the popular ITV series Doc Martin starring Martin Clunes, is fifth on the list – although at £388,620, the average value of a home there has fallen by 0.13 per cent since June 2016.

Saltcoats in Scotland was identified as the least expensive seaside location, with the average property there costing £110,761. It was followed by the bright lights of Blackpool, where the average home is valued at £ 120,239, Cleethorpes where the typical property is priced at £130,323, and Kilchattan Bay on the Isle of Bute in Scotland, where the average property price is put at £130,380.

A Zoopla spokesman said: ‘With Broadstairs’ Dickensian history and proximity to London, it’s easy to see why it tops the list of this year’s best- performing seaside hotspots.’