Lure of the high street
Traditional town centres with bakeries, butchers, markets and independent shops are attracting a new wave of buyers, says Anne Ashworth
Nostalgia for the traditional High streets of yesteryear is at its height during the festive season.
Even those too young to remember when these thoroughfares were the shopping and social heart of their communities can feel regret at their demise.
Yet, despite the burden of business rates and the rise of online retailing, some high streets still bustle with Christmas customers.
Burford in the Cotswolds and Marylebone High street in london are two prominent examples of the magic a mix of moneyed residents and free-spending tourists can create.
But elsewhere, committed traders and supportive locals can ensure a High street remains a thriving hub that supplies the essentials and the luxuries, plus the chance to eat out simply, or in style.
For many urbanites — as well as some country dwellers — looking to move house, a dream home cannot be too far from a smart coffee shop and a bakery.
Here are four such vibrant places, at a time when the relationship between house prices and the health of an area’s centre is becoming closer . . .
KIRKBY LONSDALE
tHE awesome view over the river lune, a favourite of the poet John Ruskin, is one reason to visit this handsome town just outside the lake District.
But Main street, with its many independent shops, including a baker and a butcher, is an equally powerful draw.
on the way to lunch at the sun pub, you stroll past antique dealers, the Bath House which sells its own soaps and lotions, and Parma Violet, which is full of hip gifts.
occasionally, a visitor from the south can be heard to mutter: ‘i feel like i’m in the Cotswolds.’ But it’s best not to express such thoughts out loud: Kirkby lonsdale is proudly northern.
sophie Walker, of estate agency Fine & Country ( fineandcountry.com), says ‘it’s a very special place’, and the film-makers and tV producers who use the town as the location for period dramas agree.
a four- bedroom townhouse will set you back about £ 750,000; a twobedroom cottage £385,000.
YORK
MiCKlEgatE is this city’s most celebrated high street. But the fame of Bishopthorpe Road — Bishy Road to locals — is growing to such an extent the neighbourhood has been dubbed ‘the Notting Hill of the North’.
indeed, Bishopthorpe Road, south of the city centre, is a mix of fashionable and slightly scruffy, like its london counterpart.
the reasons for Bishy’s resilience include traders who have ‘ upped their game’ and locals proud to support their street, says Ed stoyle of estate agency Carter Jonas ( carterjonas. co.uk).
Nick talbot, of estate agency Jackson- stops ( jackson-stops.co.uk), lists the area’s attractions: ‘there’s a village feel. You’ve got a butcher, fruit and veg stores, coffee shops and delis.’ a two- bedroom terrace house in the Bishopthorpe enclave costs from £250,000 to £300,000.
MARLBOROUGH
tHE arrival of upmarket skincare store space NK has added extra lustre to the High street of this Wiltshire market town.
the large Waitrose is ‘ where everyone in Marlborough bumps into everyone else’, according to Johanna Cole of Hampton international ( hamptons.
co.uk), the estate agency. there are other chain stores, plus some ‘ good’ charity shops, but there is also a drive to retain the independent names and preserve the heritage feel.
a detached period house will fetch £850,000-plus; a two-bedroom terrace in the centre is about £300,000.
SAFFRON WALDEN
tHis medieval market town in north-west Essex (the county’s rural area) inspires envy among property professionals in adjacent East anglian towns and cities.
Bruce King, of Cheffins estate agency ( cheffins.
co.uk), says saffron Walden’s High street success stems from the twice- weekly market which draws people into the centre.
this, in turn, gives a helping hand to the shops which are a combination of independents and chains, such as Monsoon.
Residents praise the retail offerings and the opportunity to drop into historic sites, such as the 13thcentury st Mary’s Church.
a three-bedroom semidetached house, a short walk from the centre, costs about £475,000; a central three- bedroom terrace around £399,950.
INTERIORS — Page 74
Concocting the optimum ambience is one of the most challenging tasks in the home — and scent is at the heart of it.
Bread baking in the oven, fig notes burning off a wick and a delicate spray of sweet peas in a tiny vase: we all have our favourite nostalgia-inducing fragrances, but recreating them correctly for our homes is proving to be big business.
PERFECT PERFUMES
the Library of Fragrances ( thelibraryoffragrance. eu) understands the importance of the time- travelling power of reminiscence.
their 30ml bottled scents — of which they have almost 300 — pack a punch and remove the need for any of us to work too hard to conjure up an old smell.
the collection spans from ordinary jasmine and vetiver to bottles that will spray notes of churros, black pepper, condensed milk, earth and wet garden ( should you really have a hankering for such scents).
Blue spruce proves a favourite in the winter months long after the christmas tree has had to be taken down.
And they’re not the only ones: the White company’s home Fragrances, £8 ( thewhitecompany.
com), are hugely popular gifts, and Rituals ( rituals.com) sells a detergent-looking spray as a
Parfum D’interieur. the practicality of the packaging is indicative of how keenly customers spray bad smells away.
DIY FRAGRANCE
You can, of course, achieve it by yourself. At christmas, sliced oranges dried in the oven not only transforms them into striking ornaments, but also leaves you with a warm, festive scent which is more authentic than any candle might achieve.
handcrushing cooking herbs or using small drops of essential oils on leaves or the soil of house plants is an exceptionally productive way of inexpensively changing the fragrance of a room. Lining and tying up cinnamon sticks around a lit pillar candle will give you something attractive to place on your table as it burns off sweet notes into the room.
‘i personally love strong smelling flowers like lilies,’ says interior designer Joanna Wood ( joannawood. co.uk) from her Belgravia studio. ‘there’s nothing quite like the smell of a real wood-burning fire, coffee or baking, and potpourri seems to be making a comeback due to the recent concerns surrounding scented candles,’ adds Joanna. ‘You can, of course, never go wrong with a good oldfashioned lavender, which works particularly well in bowls, drawers and wardrobes. the scent is truly timeless.’ Scents have been exploited and economised from the times of the Ancient greeks when herbs were crushed, bunched and sold to passing traders as incense, usually with a tale or two about their medicinal benefits. today, making the most of powerfully scented, yet inexpensive items that connect to the seasons, like snipping from abundant, wild-growing hardy shrubs of rosemary, or other garden gems, such as jasmine or hyacinth, is still encouraged and continues to be a huge market.
BOOST YOUR MOOD
excePt there has been a shift: environmentalists are increasingly showing disdain at the middle-class habit of gifting expensive candles and burning them to engineer a false smell — this is especially because they’re burning formaldehyde, limonene and other harmful chemicals linked to asthma and cancer.
the introduction of alternatives, including electric and reed diffusers, such as the Black Lily Reed Diffuser by gisela graham, pictured, (£12.75, co.uk) giselagraham.
and soy candles, is where the new focus lies.
Sara Allbright, a buyer at John Lewis ( johnlewis. co. uk), also adds: ‘ customers are certainly more engaged and interested in their overall wellbeing, with this being a key factor in purchasing home scent, including both candles and diffusers.
‘these products are no longer just a scent for home, but a way we can change our moods and the way we feel in our home spaces.’
EARTH FRIENDLY
ReBeccA DAnieL founded Wxy Scents ( wxycandles.com) after years of working with high Street retailers trying to attain the perfect scent for clients’ homes.
‘We wanted to create a home fragrance range that was designed to perform, but at the same time didn’t cost a fortune,’ she says of the paraben-free (a preservative linked with health risks), soy wax brand that has a meditative bamboo leaf candle called om, and a tobacco and sugar candle called nights, both from £12.
She adds: ‘ i think scent is something that transcends gender or fashion or decor — place and memory are so much more important.
‘Scent is really powerful. Before we can see properly as newborns, we can smell.
‘i love the reaction when our customers smell our scents. People tell me all sorts of things which i find touching — “it reminds me of these sweets my grandad had.” it is so remarkably specific.’
While ethical brands in the business of promoting their earthfriendly hand-poured soy candles — like cedar candles ( cedarlifestyle. whose packaging is also committed to the environmentally-friendly cause — are still in competition with wellknown traditional names to which most of us will flock, their presence at shoppers’ fairs and independent shops is growing.