Liss, Hampshire

Liss is two villages that agreed to share a name and then kept the River Rother between them, which is how most successful marriages in Hampshire work. The old half at West Liss had the history, the new half grew up round the Victorian railway station, and these days most of the village drives straight past the station it was built for. It sits inside the South Downs National Park, so the listings sell you the hills, and what you actually get is the A3. Petersfield up the road is for people who want a high street with ambitions; Liss is for people who've made their peace with the one it's got.