Each village is well served by public transport, including mainline stations at Hampton, Hampton Court, Hampton Wick and Fullwell (the latter serving Hampton Hill), and adjoins the simply magnificent expanses of Bushy Park. Once a hunting ground for Henry VIII on the doorstep of Hampton Court Palace, comprising some 1,100 acres of glorious parkland today Bushy Park stands only behind Richmond Park as the largest of London’s Royal Parks, and plays host to Teddington’s rugby and hockey teams and no less than four cricket clubs including Teddington Town, Hampton Wick Royal, Teddington and Hampton Hill.

Spectators are always welcome, with only the occasional strutting stag halting play. Local housing stock is varied and includes some fine Georgian houses, a healthy supply of terraced Victorian homes as well as larger period properties, mid-century masterpieces and later builds. Education is a defining consideration for many moving to the area, with primary schools including Collis (Fairfax Road, Teddington) judged as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted and both Hampton Junior and Hampton Hill Junior (Hampton Road) rated ‘good with outstanding features’. Denmead School in Wensleydale Road is a co-ed preparatory school, while Hampton’s top two private schools sit adjacently on Hanworth Road: The Lady Eleanor Hollis (Girls) and Hampton School (Boys).

The Hamptons maintain their own increasingly impressive selection of primarily independent shops, restaurants and cafes, while the major shopping hub of Kingston is just a short hop ‘south of the river’. Just a splash from Bushy Park, Hampton Pool is one of the last true open-air lidos within London, and is described by The Sunday Times as ‘one of Britain’s biggest, hippest pools’, offering moonlit swims and summer concerts by The Stranglers amongst others.