Why more home buyers are making a beeline for the cathedral city of Ripon

On the first floor, there are three double bedrooms, a bathroom and a W.C. A staircase provides access to a fourth bedroom and the two attic spaces are also accessible and could, with permission, be converted into additional bedrooms.

The house sits on a third of an acre plot with a patio, vegetable patch, lawns, parking, a greenhouse and garage.

Among its most compelling attributes are the long-range rural views from the rear, which stretch over to the White Horse at Kilburn and the Hambleton Hills.

Saying goodbye to this much-loved home is due to downsizing but leaving all that it has will be hard.

Daryll Digpal, managing director of Beadnall Copley estate agents, says: “This is an architecturally significant house with many original features as well as potential for the new owners to enlarge, modernise and create their own long-term home.”

He also makes the point that if the house was in the Golden Triangle hotspots of Harrogate or Wetherby, it would be much more expensive.

According to Rightmove figures, homes in Harrogate have an average price of £409,541 with overall sold prices up 13 per cent on the previous year.

In Ripon, the average price is £306,445 with overall sold prices up four per cent up on the previous year.

“The pandemic induced price boom in Harrogate had a ricochet effect,” says Daryll. “We saw more people looking at Ripon, which offers better value for money and a lot more besides.”

The latter includes a sense of community, good schools, including the renowned Ripon Grammar, a magnificent cathedral, three supermarkets, including Booths, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, a host of independent shops and eateries plus plenty of amenities, not forgetting the racecourse, regarded as one of prettiest places to watch the sport of kings.

One of the biggest draws is quick and easy access to the A1M putting Teesside/Tyneside, Leeds, York and Harrogate all within easy driving distance.

There are also rural and riverside walks from the doorstep in Ripon and you can be in the countryside within minutes, with the Dales and a host of chocolate box villages just a short drive away.

North Yorkshire based buying agents The Search Partnership have done their own number crunching and their latest price index shows that when Ripon and its surrounding villages, including Kirby Malzeard, are taken into account, there was a 16.4 per cent average uplift in property values between March 2022 and March 2023.

The Search Partnership’s Toby Milbank and Tom Robinson say that Ripon has changed in recent years attracting more well-heeled buyers who are well served thanks to good road links, shops, restaurants, cafes, a swimming pool and the Curzon cinema.

They say: “Some people have got fed up of driving in and out of Harrogate, which can be difficult. You don’t have that issue in Ripon plus schooling is good as is access to countryside and road links.”

Tom and Toby also believe that the uber upmarket hotel Grantley Hall, five miles away, has brought more money into the town.

The only issue buyers may find in Ripon is a risk of subsidence and sinkholes caused by a thin band of geology containing gypsum and that is why a good conveyancer and surveyor, familiar with the area are needed when you buy.

For those contemplating moving there, we asked Ripon resident Emily Butterill, a lighting designer and founder of www.glowlighting.co.uk, which produces beautiful handblown glass lighting, for her take on the cathedral city and its best bits.

Her top tip is to visit the cathedral at evensong, which is most evenings, when the choir sings. “It is open to the public but not many people are aware of it. It really is wonderful,” says Emily.

As for cafes and restaurants, she likes The Storehouse, Vanoras bakery and deli, Oliver’s Pantry and Realitea, a tearoom and Indian bistro.

Favourite shops are antique store Kirkgate House, Moonglu bike shop and the Little Ripon Bookshop where Jill gives great book recommendations.

As for walks nearby, her favourite is the Seven Bridges Valley walk from Fountains Abbey.