Tranquil canalside Lancashire village named by Daily Mail as one of UK’s best to invest in

Compiling a list of desirable but less well-known village locations, which are proving increasingly popular with buyers looking for value and space out in the countryside, the newspaper mentioned Downholland, located just outside Ormskirk in West Lancashire, as one of its hidden gem villages where currently-low prices are set to rise.

The civil parish of Downholland, which contains several villages including Haskayne, Barton, and Downholland Cross as well as sitting on not only the famous Leeds and Liverpool Canal but the A5147, has a population of just over 900 people. The average price of a property in Downholland is £259,000, according to the research.

The Mail described the villages’ investment potential as ‘great, not only because [it is] seen as family-friendly retreats which buyers gravitate towards when leaving cities, but because - in some cases at least - they are likely to see sizeable expansion if the government’s house building programme succeeds.’

It went on to say: “Commutable from Liverpool, Preston and Bolton, Downholland has the pretty Liverpool and Leeds canals running through it. This is village life in its rawest sense - volunteers undertake most of the work looking after public spaces, including preparing for a new village sculpture in the Jubilee Park.”

Best UK villages to invest in

Here is the full list of the best UK villages to invest in, according to the Daily Mail:

• Abbotsbury, Dorset

• Alnmouth, Northumberland

• Appledore, Kent

• Belford, Northumberland

• Downholland, West Lancashire

• Laugharne, Carmarthenshire

• Lavenham, Suffolk

• Melrose, Roxburghshire

• Ogbourne St George, Wiltshire

• Old Alresford, Hampshire

• Rufforth, North Yorkshire

• Sadberge, County Durham

• Sampford Courtenay, West Devon

• St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire

• St Mabyn, Cornwall

• Wicken, Northamptonshire

• Woolpit, Suffolk

• Thorverton, Devon