THE World of James Herriott museum is one draw to the North Yorkshire market town of Thirsk. Jill Miller, of the estate agent Luke Miller, says that people often come out of the museum, which commemorates the life of the literary vet, and drool over properties for sale in agents’ windows. But another lure is the prices, which are lower than in Yorkshire’s so-called Golden Triangle between Leeds, York and Harrogate, 30 minutes’ drive away.

The average price in the smartest parts of Harrogate is £300,000, according to the property data company Hometrack. In Thirsk it is £233,900; a two-bedroom terraced house can cost less than £100,000. No wonder that Toby Cockcroft, of the upmarket agent Carter Jonas, claims: “Thirsk has always been the poor relation to more fashionable market towns, but it is going to catch up, especially with the new direct train service to London, which cuts the journey time to two hours and 35 minutes.” The lower prices in Thirsk have allowed Edward Hoyland, 29, who works as a project manager for IBM in Sheffield, to return to his childhood town before the predicted upturn. Hoyland and his wife, Laura, 25, who are expecting their first child in September, moved in February to a £225,000 new four-bedroom house built by George Wimpey on the old auction site overlooking Thirsk Racecourse.

“Ten miles further south this would have been £20,000 more,” he says. “I grew up in Thirsk and spent the first 18 years trying to get out of it. Then I went to university in Sheffield and later worked in Manchester. We thought about buying there, then we thought: why do that when we can get something in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside?

“There wasn’t much happening here when I was growing up, but now there is a real spark and it’s a great place to bring up children.”

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers