What slump? House prices keep rising by the seaside

It already boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant and a helipad, and Prince William, Hugh Grant and Jemima Khan have all chosen it as a holiday destination. Now, a survey has found that house prices in the seaside town of Rock in Cornwall are rising faster than any other coastal settlement in the country.

Average property values in the town, which has been dubbed "the Kensington of Cornwall" thanks to its ability to attract fabulously upmarket clientele, rose by 28 per cent during 2007 to £362,000. And the findings as a whole confirm that much of coastal Britain has well-and-truly shaken off the bucket-and-spade, kiss-me-quick image and become a glamorous location for a posh bolt-hole, or a place to relocate from the City.