Cupar is the most in-demand rural town in Scotland for home-buyers just now.
According to property website Right Move, the Fife town ranks just behind Frodsham in Cheshire as the most desirable town of its type in the UK.
And it’s the only area north of the border on the site’s list of top 10 locations for people looking for their dream home.
Right Move ranked towns, villages and hamlets with populations of fewer than 100,000 people.
And it found the most popular ones offered a good range of period houses, as well as handy rail links to major cities.
For those living in Cupar, the market town’s appeal is no surprise.
But what is it about the area that attracts people and makes them want to stay?
Cupar has ‘serious country houses and a vibrant town centre’
The average asking price for a house in Cupar is £215,356 – well below any of the other nine towns ranked.
Right Move says: “There are some serious country houses on the outskirts of this ancient town in east Scotland, and its location just 10 miles or so from the glorious east coast is hard to beat.
“Alongside farmhouses and stone-built cottages, Cupar offers affordable houses and flats in the vibrant town centre.
“Commuter trains to Edinburgh take just over an hour.”
But Cupar solicitor Bill Pagan says there’s more to it than that.
Bill is chairman of Cupar Development Trust and has had family living and working in the town since 1827.
He says: “Cupar is punching above its weight and there are a lot of reasons people want to come here.
“One of the main ones is it’s so easy to get to Cupar.
“We’re on the main railway line but we’re also at the crossroad for Stagecoach Express buses.
It’s a great place to both live and work.”
Businessman Jim Hair.
“Buses come from Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow and St Andrews and you can get a bus direct to Glasgow airport.
“That means it’s easy to travel out but also very easy for family of people who live in Cupar to visit.”
Independent shops and a welcoming atmosphere
Bill adds: “I live in the town centre and within walking distance I have four supermarkets and endless local quality independent shops.
“I can get anything done within about a five to six minute walk.
“And we’re very welcoming – people are absolutely delighted when others move into the town.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Thomson, chairman of the CuparNow steering group, says the last 20 months have changed many people’s thinking and many are looking to make life changing moves.
“Cupar’s town is vibrant and through CuparNow we are working hard to make more people more aware of all that the town has to offer,” he says.
Jim Hair, chairman of ABCD (the Association of Businesses in Cupar and District) agrees.
He set up his accountancy business in the town 40 years ago and says: “I’ve been here ever since and never regretted it for a moment.
“It looks like the rest of the UK is wakening up to the fact that this is a great place to both live and work.”
Right Move’s 10 most in-demand rural locations for buyers
- Frodsham, Cheshire – average asking price £322,242.
- Cupar, Fife – £215,356.
- Manningtree, Essex – £376,764.
- Cromer, Norfolk – £275,106.
- St Ives, Cornwall – £494,393.
- Iver, Buckinghamshire – £633,810.
- Carnforth, Lancashire – £261,986.
- Denham, Uxbridge, Middlesex – £601,585.
- Alnwick, Northumberland – £260,183.
- Pulborough, West Sussex – £613,589.
Take a look at some of the houses for sale in Cupar.
