Olney wins the race

THE claim to fame of Olney, London commuterland's best-kept secret, is a little eccentric. Every Shrove Tuesday in February, the good matrons of this bustling Buckinghamshire market town put on smocks and pinnies and race through its broad streets tossing frying pans bearing pancakes.

Locals have been doing this since 1445. According to legend, the ritual began when a housewife, late for the "shriving" service at church, set off with the pancake she had been making. It gives headline writers a feast every year.

Olney (pronounced "Owney") is little more than an hour's rail commute from central London, via nearby Milton Keynes or Bedford. Property prices here are 20 per cent less than in St Albans or Harpenden, only 30 minutes down the M1.

Yet Olney, with its honey-stone houses and winding river Ouse, is the gentle hub of a 30-mile axis with countryside to match the Cotswolds.

To discover the area by car, leave the M1 at Junction 14 and curve east, roughly following the Ouse as it twists sinuously through some of the most attractive parts of Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.

Beautiful, sparselyinhabited villages lie scattered in a broken line from Newport Pagnell to Olney.

The best are Tyringham and neighbouring Gayhurst, described by Simon Jenkins as having the finest landscape in Buckinghamshire, and the idyllic Weston Underwood, where 18th century poet and hymn writer William Cowper lived.

Then pass through Olney into north Bedfordshire, where rich, commuter villages of Stevington, Odell, Turvey, Felmersham and Pavenham rescue the county's reputation from the blight of Luton and the planners' desecration of Bedford.

This is farmland, dotted with plant nurseries and country parks, as at Harrold and Emberton. There is the occasional grand, old pile, such as Hinwick House, a Queen Anne property in the curious "island" hamlet of Hinwick, and 16th century Castle Ashby, in Northamptonshire, now a thriving centre for conferences, weddings and arts and crafts fairs.

There is also a strong motoring theme. Silverstone's grand prix track lies just beyond Newport Pagnell, itself linked historically to Aston Martin, while speed freaks flock to Santa Pod, home of European drag racing. But property buyers be warned, especially in Podington and tiny Farndish: it really is, as it claims, "the loudest motorsport on earth".

A farmhouse in the region will cost about Pounds 750,000, a four- bedroom family house, about Pounds 450,000 to Pounds 550,000. A restored two-bedroom cottage, 100- to 150-years-old, might go for as little as Pounds 150,000, and a flat, between Pounds 100,000 and Pounds 120,000. Stephen Oakley, Olney's most experienced estate agent, says value of properties at the top end has fallen by between five and 10 per cent in the past year, but points out that the local economy, by contrast, is thriving. Few commercial properties lie empty for long, and there is a great diversity of shops.

For example, grouped around the town's Market Place are the large Olney Saddlery, popular with the tweeds-and-horses set; an upmarket dress shop called Woosters; a good bakery, deli, tea-room and old- fashioned pub, The Bull. On Tuesdays, a large van arrives selling fresh fish, and on Thursday there is a covered market. The one desperate omission is a decent restaurant.

The great draw for families is the schools. Next year, an upper- school comprehensive will open in Weston Underwood, two miles from Olney. There is already a popular comprehensive in the Sharnbrook, once attended by Olympic runner Paula Radcliffe. Affluent parents favour the four Harpur Trust public schools, 15 miles away in Bedford, which take pupils aged from seven to 18.

Manufacturing in the area has suffered, but the schools attract boarders from all over the world.

To them, a pancake race must seem a bit odd.

What you can buy

Pounds 659,950: Riverside, Midland Road, Olney. This five- bedroom Regency-style house is in the town's most exclusive development and backs on to river meadows. Through Stephen Oakley (0845 223 7731)

Pounds 395,000: East Street, Olney.

Grade II listing comes with this three-bedroom stone and thatch detached cottage, which sits in the centre of town.

Through Stephen Oakley (as before)

Pounds 315,000: East Street, Olney.

Victorian grandeur comes through in this three-bedroom detached home in the centre of the town.

Through Stephen Oakley (as before)

FACTS you need to know

Local councils: for Olney, it is Milton Keynes Council (01908 691691); for north Bedfordshire, Bedford Borough Council (01234 267422).

Council tax: in Olney, a band F home (Pounds 120,000 to Pounds 160,000) is Pounds 1,687.99; for band G (Pounds 160,001 to Pounds 320,000) it is Pounds 1,947.69, and in band H (more than Pounds 320,000) it is Pounds 2,337.22.

Schools: there is a good choice of independent schools. Bedford School (01234 362200) for boys takes pupils from the age of seven up to 18, as does Bedford High School (01234 360221) for girls.

Both take day pupils and weekly boarders. There is also the independent mixed school Bedford Modern (01234 332500) and Dame Alice Harpur School for girls (01234 340871).

Among the non-fee paying schools, Sharnbrook Upper School (01234 782211) has been included by school inspectors among "the best of the best" comprehensives.

Travel: an annual season ticket from Milton Keynes to Euston is Pounds 3,284. An adult cheap-day return is Pounds 11.20. The journey time is usually one hour. An annual ticket on ThamesLink from Bedford to King's Cross (about an hour) costs Pounds 2,980, the same price as on Midland Mainline to St Pancras (about 45 minutes). A cheap day-return costs Pounds 15.50.

Luton airport is within an hour's road or rail journey.

Where to eat: in Bedfordshire, The Strawberry Tree in Radwell (01234 823633), is open Wednesday to Saturday; and St Helena in Elstow (01234 344848), is open Tuesday to Saturday. In Northamptonshire, The New French Partridge in Horton (01604 870033) is open Tuesday to Saturday, and Sunday for lunch only.

Where to drink: The Bell in Odell, Three Cranes in Turvey and Old Swan Inn at Astwood are all excellent places for a beverage.

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