Lincoln, Notts surrounding villages...help !!!

[clairehills]

Hi, my partner and I need to rent within a commutable distance of Lincoln. We would like to move to a village/town with good amenities ie nice shops and a few nice pubs or restaurants. It needs to be within 50mins - at present we have identified Southwell but would love to hear of any other options - Stamford would be my choice but it is just that too far.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks

Claire

[herladyship]

I wouldn't want to commute from Southwell into Lincoln everyday..

What about villages on the outskirts of Lincoln - theres loads! Many that are very pretty with good schools, nice pubs & community orientated

[MuttonCadet]

Is Tickhill / Bawtry too far out for you?

[herladyship]

I live on outskirts of Lincoln & commute to Retford, in rush hour traffic that's an hour.. Tickhill/Bawtry is probably another 20 or 30 mins I would think?

[thenightsky]

Commuting from the South of Lincoln appears much much more difficult than the North. I live 16 miles North of Lincoln and get to work in about 25 mins. Colleagues who live only 3 or 4 miles south of Lincoln take about the same.

[herladyship]

agreed nightsky! I live south side & getting to Lincoln Hospital (6 miles) used to take at least 30 mins at peak times..

[clairehills]

Hi - Southwell is only 40 minutes as it is straight up the A46 (once you get to it ) :-). I have heard retford is nice but then read mixed reports so a little unsure, is it pretty ? Does it have good shops, restaurants etc ? Does anyone else think that Southwell is to far out ? We would leave home at about 7.30 am, not sure what the traffic is like at that time round there.

[clairehills]

herladyship can you suggest some villages with good amenities ?

[herladyship]

You would be very lucky to get into Lincoln on A46 in that timeframe if you are travelling before 9.30 or after 3pm! I live in a village off A46 6 miles from city centre & sometimes it takes me that long

[herladyship]

I would say as a starting point you could look at Nettleham, Welton or Cherry Willingham?

[MrsPnut]

Southwell is only 40 minutes, except during rush hour.
Lincoln comes to a crawl regularly. Which part of Lincoln do you need to commute to?

I live in one of the cliff villages and it has everything we need, however I commute to Newark and my OH commutes to Tritton road (but he leaves at 7:30am so his commute only takes 15 minutes)

[clairehills]

MrsPnut, thanks, we would be leaving at around 7.30 to get to the university, how long do you think that would take ? herladyship, we looked at Netttleham but at 34 and with no plans to have children it doesn't quite have what we need in terms of amenities. I love Woodhall Spa but a bit too far from anything and really disliked horncastle.

[MrsPnut]

To get to the university, you might be alright with the A46 from Southwell but it is a long commute.
We moved from London where OH commuted from Stoke Newington to the strand which took him an hour each way but he was never stressed about it unlike being here.

I would look at navenby, there are shops, pubs, take aways etc and you can cycle along the cliff villages to some other great restaurants. Leaving there at 7:30 you would be at the university within 30 minutes and have the added bonus of a bus service to the city if needed.

[clairehills]

Thans MrsPnut. I have not looked at Navenby as so many of the villages appear to be quite remote and lacking in amenities. I love Southwell as it has some really nice shops and delis and I feel it is a place I can go into on a saturday afternoon and feel satisfied that I have popped out and done something, our other thought was Old Lincoln which we like too. How long roughly do you think it would take to get from Southwell to the uni if we left at 7.30 ? DO you think we could do it in 40mins or do you think it would be an hour ?

[thenightsky]

Have you looked at Bassingham? Very close to the A46 and Lincoln itself, but still very villagey.

[thenightsky]

I have a colleague who lives on the outskirts of Newark and she regularly takes an hour or more if driving.

[MrsPnut]

Southwell is lovely, we adore the place but it will take well over an hour commuting at both ends of the day.
You would get stuck coming into Newark and then again coming into Lincoln.
Uphill lincoln is also great, there are loads of places to wander around and eat but we visit there almost every other weekend and enjoy it. Living there is much noisier than living in a village due to the tourists and massed housing.

[herladyship]

Without children I would say uphill (old) Lincoln.. I'm very jealous of our friends who live in a beautiful 3 storey house overlooking the cathedral

What about North Hykeham.. It borders Lincoln but still has a separate feel.. It has supermarkets, shops, theatre, library, gym etc (although it's v.popular so traffic into the city can be shocking)

[Fluffybastardcloudkittens]

I'd vote uphill, it can have a nice community feel and the shops, cafes etc are bloody lovely. Also not so bad a walk to town or even to the uni of you felt active.

[Fluffybastardcloudkittens]

Also, you'd save a packet on petrol not having to commute. Traffic in Lincoln really is poor so I would really recommend minimising daily driving if possible.

[clairehills]

her ladyship My OH does not like Hykeham at all so that is out of the question i am afraid. Does anybody know what Gunthorpe is like, pretty ? Amenities etc ? We currently live in Leamington Spa and are looking for something on a smaller scale with a similar feel, if such a place in Lincolnshire exits, thats why Southwell seemed appealing - I love my trinket, home shops ;-)

[Cascumpec]

Another vote for Navenby here.

[thenightsky]

Welton is nice... Just north of Lincoln.

Uphill (old) Lincoln is great and your commute to could be on foot if you wanted.

Further out, to the East, is Louth, which has shops, cafes etc. Not officially a village, but a very small market town.

[GreatSoprendo]

I'd say move in to Lincoln! Lots of the villages don't have a huge amount going on if you are looking for the quirky shop/cafe/deli type of culture - Lincolnshire is not really there yet, and most of the villages tend to be a bit more old school. There is some fabulous characterful property in uphill Lincoln, and parts of the West End too - don't get put off by some of the more 'towny' parts of the high street etc. You can find lovely houses, shops, cafés, pubs and community in the uphill area.

[herladyship]

Obviously I've never met you but based on what you've said you are looking for, I think uphill Lincoln would suit you!

Navenby is also nice but perhaps not enough there for your tastes? And Gunthorpe would be the same I'd think?