Living in Fowey

Fowey stacks itself on the west bank of the estuary. China clay ships still use the deep water. Polruan looks back from the other side, and the ferry is how a lot of ordinary journeys happen. The town has a literary reputation and a very physical one: you are always going up or down.

A car is the wrong tool in the centre. Residents know which road is even worth trying. The reward is an estuary that stays interesting in January, with woods above Readymoney and the open sea a short walk away.

It is one of the hardest towns on this list to treat as a normal housing market. If you need space, a driveway and a school run that is not a puzzle, look at St Austell and visit Fowey on purpose.

Who it suits. People who like arriving by water, or by a lane they have already learned.

The catch. Second homes, steep streets, and a summer of visitors on a pavement built for a village.