Rutland Water is about six miles west of Stamford and it changes the price of everything within sight of it. Here is the honest version of what that premium buys.
What a view is worth
On our sales over the last three years, a genuine, year-round water view added ten to fifteen per cent over an otherwise identical house in the same village. "Glimpses in winter when the trees are bare" added nothing measurable and we do not describe it as a view. Being within a ten-minute walk of the water without a view added around five per cent, and in our opinion is the better buy.
The villages
- Empingham — the largest of the northern villages, primary school, shop, pub, and the widest range of housing. Our Crocket Lane listing sits here at £545,000 for four bedrooms with a genuine view.
- Exton — estate village, beautiful, tightly held, very little ever comes up.
- Edith Weston and Manton — closest to the south shore and the sailing club; strong demand, small supply.
- Oakham and Uppingham — not on the water but ten minutes from it, with the schools, the station and the shops. If you want the walks without the premium, this is where the value is.
Things people find out in July
- Summer traffic. Weekend queues into Whitwell and Normanton are real. If a house fronts one of the approach roads, come and see it on an August Sunday before you offer.
- Cycle-hire season. The circular track is busy from Easter to October. Lovely if you cycle, less lovely if your gate opens onto it.
- Anglian Water land. Some boundaries back onto reservoir land with public footpaths and no right to fence differently. Check the title plan against the fence line — they disagree more often than you would think.
- Wind. It is an exposed landscape. West-facing gardens above the water are colder in March than the estate agent's photographs suggest.
What it is genuinely good for
Twenty-three miles of traffic-free cycling, sailing and fishing from three points, the Egleton bird reserve, and a landscape that stays quiet from November to March. Families who move here for the water tend to stay: our repeat instructions in Empingham run at almost double our average across the patch, and they are usually people moving up within the same village.
If you are thinking about the area, the Empingham and Rutland Water page has the streets, the schools and the price per square foot, and Gareth runs valuations from our Oakham office.
