THE PICK OF THE ISLES

• ISLE OF WIGHT, HAMPSHIRE.

England’s largest island has it all: towns, pretty countryside, time-warped villages, chalky downs, beaches, walks, woodland and world-class sailing–all within two hours of London, thanks to the rail-catamaran service which does Ryde to Waterloo via Portsmouth. Ryde is the largest and most accessible of Wight’s towns, but the highest property prices tend to go to the Solent coast hotspots (Cowes, Yarmouth, Bembridge and Seaview). Shanklin and Ventnor, on the sunnier south coast, are the island’s quaintly vintage seaside resorts (visitisleofwight.co.uk). Average house price: £271,369.

• ISLE OF ARRAN, AYRSHIRE.

So-called ‘Scotland in Miniature’ is blessed with glens, burns, forests, castles, £246,192.