Bawtry in Doncaster is named as one of the most up and coming places in the UK to move to by The Sunday Times

Bawtry is part of Doncaster – a city not traditionally known for its booming housing market – yet the historic town and Hull are the only Yorkshire locations to have been selected by Times writers.

The article, published today as an addition to last week’s annual Best Places to Live Guide, moves the focus to areas with ‘next big thing’ potential, for investors, first-time buyers and others looking for affordable properties.

Criteria for locations on an ‘upward curve’ and improving rapidly included transport links, new shops and restaurants, and the cultural scene.

Doncaster was initially considered but narrowly missed out on the 25-strong list, according to Guide editor Tim Palmer, before his writers realised the merits of the Georgian coaching town of Bawtry, in the south of the borough and close to the Nottinghamshire border.

The high street is known for its 18th-century architecture, with many of the townhouses built by merchants who made their money from the inland port on the nearby River Idle or during the prosperity of the coaching age, when the inns were ‘stages’ on the Great North Road. Many of these buildings are now home to high-end boutiques, wine bars, salons and restaurants.

Bawtry Hall, for years a Christian conference centre, was the home of RAF Bomber Command during World War Two, when Winston Churchill visited the country house, and has recently had a revival as a wedding venue owned by the company behind The Crown Hotel, a historic coaching inn.

The surrounding area is rural, with walks in King’s Wood, Bawtry Forest and nearby villages such as Scrooby and Austerfield, where some of the leading Pilgrim Fathers lived before they founded America.

The Sunday Times’ confidence was inspired by the recent announcement that countrywear brand Fairfax & Favor, notoriously selective in its locations, will open a store in the former town hall in Bawtry this summer. It only has one other Yorkshire branch, in upmarket Helmsley.

Transport links are excellent – Bawtry is a short drive from the A1(M) and it was announced this week by Doncaster Council that they have secured a lease to re-open Doncaster Sheffield Airport, 18 months after its closure. Once a private operator has been appointed, the terminal will be in the nearby village of Finningley.

Although the East Coast Main Line passes through Bawtry, the town lost its railway station in the 1960s. However, stations at both Doncaster and Retford are a short distance away for connections to London, Sheffield, York and Leeds.

Writers said: “Doncaster is coming out of the doldrums and it’s all about the connections. This city has the fastest direct trains from Yorkshire to London: one hour, 39 minutes to King’s Cross. Plus, it’s next to the A1 and the M18, linking to the M1. As well as the high fashion stakes at Doncaster Racecourse - more fascinators than flat caps - dear old Donny is home to one of the top ten independent schools in the north, co-ed 3-18 Hill House, according to Parent Power.

"Leading the field are smart suburbs such as Bessacarr, where a flutter on one of the finest detached mansions will set you back £1million-plus, and the Georgian town of Bawtry, where terraced cottages are from £175,000. Independent shops and wine bars pepper Bawtry’s marketplace. Designer-smart rural outfitters Fairfax & Favor — Zara Phillips wears their tall Regina boots, £415 — is joining them this summer, opening its second Yorkshire store in the former town hall.”