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Towns don’t come much prettierr than Harpenden in Hertfordshire but, if you want to live there it won’t come cheap.

And it has a reputation for being it a little bit posh.

So posh, in fact, that Red Dwarf and Coronation Street actor Craig Charles told listeners to his BBC Radio 6 show that he moved away for that very reason.

The affluent town, home to some 30,000 inhabitants, boasts outstanding state schools, a bustling high street and a short train journey for anyone who works in London.

In fact, travelling from London to Harpenden takes just 40 minutes, making it ideal for commuters.

Estate agent Ken Whittaker, of Whittaker & Co in Harpenden, explained that the pandemic and consequent increase in working from home has only added to the town’s appeal.

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He told the Herts Advertiser in 2021: “Who wants a ground floor flat in Clapham with no garden now? No one.”

But much like in London, properties don’t come cheap. In fact, house prices in the town are more than triple the national average.

Properties in Harpenden had an overall average price of an eyewatering £934,505 in the last year, according to Rightmove.

In comparison, the UK average house price was £285,000 in March of this year according to the ONS.

And there are only a handful of towns in the country with a higher average house price.

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Detached properties in the pretty town fetch even more with the average selling for £1.38million in the last year.

It follows that in 2021 and 2020, Harpenden was one of the towns with the most streets on which homes are valued at £1million or more.

According to Zoopla, it had 100 streets with properties costing at least £1million the year the pandemic struck the UK and by the following year, this had increased to 115 streets.

Similarly, many other towns within commuting distance of London had several streets with £1million-plus homes in both 2020 and 2021, including Guildford with a staggering 176 in 2021 and Reading with 137 that same year.

Harpenden has been a playground for the rich for some time.

In 2003, Euro Direct undertook a survey of Britain’s wealthiest areas and found that the town came 16th with 148 millionaires calling it home, ranking higher than the likes of Knightsbridge in London and Sevenoaks in Kent, which were anticipated to be higher on the list.

Harpenden’s mayor at the time, Albert Pawle, told St Albans & Harpenden Review: “It’s nice to know that Harpenden has so many millionaires. It seems to have become a popular place for rich people who like to keep a low profile.”

Harpenden has attracted several famous faces over the years such as Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore.

McFly’s Harry Judd tied the knot with Izzy Johnston in St Nicholas’s Church in Harpdenden in 2012. And rugby union player Ben Foden lived near Harpenden when he was married to former The Saturdays singer Una Healy.

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