Cumbria Western Lakes

[holmessweetholmes]

Anyone live in this area? We are looking to move somewhere more rural, preferably near the coast. Had been looking at North Devon or Suffolk coast, but just spotted a possible job in Egremont. The area looks totally stunning, but is it terribly insular? Thanks!

[mejon]

DH left as soon as he could - went to school in Egremont and lived in various bits nearby before ending up in Whitehaven. I've brefly visited once or twice - it is a long way from anywhere else (the drive from the motorway seems endless) and it looks OK as a visitor but I've no idea how it'd be to live there permanently.

[holmessweetholmes]

Thanks for the reply, Mejon. Not a glowing recommendation !

[mejon]

Sorry! Hopefully you'll get some more positive responses from proper locals. Maybe try 'Chat' as it's busier there.

[RCheshire]

I know the lakes pretty well although not Egremont. Generally I find the western/coastal parts of the lakes pretty depressing. Could you not be slightly more central lakes?

[holmessweetholmes]

Well I wasn't even considering the Lakes originally. I was just browsing job adverts, saw the one in Egremont, looked at it out of curiosity, then sat there open-mouthed at the stunning pictures! We want to 'get away from it all' and wanted lovely scenery and to be near the coast. It ticks all our boxes but it's a bloody long way away! I have never lived further north than Oxfordshire...

[CrispyFB]

The in-laws live in a very small town a few miles away from Egremont, DH grew up there.

It is beautiful, no doubt about that. I love to visit and there are always new places to explore. There are some fabulous pubs for eating in. And it is crazy cheap to buy property there especially just outside the actual physical lake-y bit. But it is isolated. It takes forever for us to get there for visits - by the time we've reached the Lake District we still have another 60-90 minutes to go, a large proportion of that along very very twisty turny single lane roads. And worse - whenever you want to go somewhere it takes forever to get there along the same old twisty-turny road. Any journey seems to be at least 30-60 minutes (got to get to Cockermouth and then usually Keswick too) unless you're popping in to the local "shops" in Whitehaven etc. Public transport is crap, naturally.

The towns also feel quite run down and depressed in my opinion - lots of people are employed locally at Sellafield and that is no longer the employer it once was (imagine a mining town losing its mine) and there are not many (any!) other jobs, I'm amazed you found one! Most young people try and escape as soon as possible.. DH tells me (and I'm not entirely sure it's tongue in cheek) that his schoolfriends either left the area or ended up in jail or on benefits. If you have DC, expect them to leave as soon as they can, and not be anywhere near you as adults.

DH says it is pretty insular too - he grew up there, his dad is from the south of England, his mum and her family a local but he says he didn't have much of an accent (it's all relative, ha ha, to me he does!) so people would ask him where he was from regularly. They left him be when he said he was a local.

His mum is retired now, can't drive and has big mobility issues and is extremely lonely with nothing to do and nobody really to see, despite it being her home town and then some.

It is lovely though physically, and I feel very lucky that we get to visit regularly. I would not want to live there however, and I say that as somebody who grew up in a rural area by the sea myself, albeit the other end of the country.. I love the countryside and the coast, it's in my blood - but it is just too depressing and isolated up there. As cheap and beautiful as it is!

[holmessweetholmes]

Eek - ok! I've got 2 threads going on this subject atm and am (unsurprisingly) getting some conflicting opinions! Dh and I are both teachers, so the jobs thing might not be so much of an issue as it would be for most people. Your other comments are certainly food for thought though. ..

[Elansofar]

Hi I once lived at Coldfell at a farm above Wilton which looks out across Egremont and to St Bees. I walked and rode all over the area extensively and found the countryside breathtaking - but it was cold in winter! I have fond memories and the people there were fun loving, kind and generous in nature. It is true that you are a long way from airports and large cities, but I just used to hop on the train to get to a large city for shopping purposes and these days you can order off the internet!
Please have a look at the village of Gosforth, to the south of Egremont. I spent time there and had many friends. It might be that I was there when life was good - they were building EPIIa at Sellafield and there was a buzz of good humoured contract engineers around the place.

[holmessweetholmes]

Thank you! I'll have a look. I've been looking at the houses on Rightmove - you certainly get a lot more for your money than you do down here. I'm gawping at the big gardens and spacious kitchens!

[rallytog1]

I've commented on your other thread, but just had a thought - if you find somewhere that you like, it might be worth you coming back on here so we can give you the lowdown on what the immediate area is like, particularly with regards to how offcomers are viewed!

For the record, I'd recommend the following places:
Cockermouth, Papcastle, Torpenhow (ask how this is pronounced before you say it!), Egremont, St Bees, Lamplugh, Gosforth, Boot, Ennerdale Bridge, top part of Whitehaven.

I would avoid Frizington, Cleator, Pica, Seascale, Distington.

[holmessweetholmes]

Thanks rallytog1 - I certainly shall. For questions like these, I really don't know how I'd manage without MN!

[TerrysNo2]

SIL lives in Cockermouth which is lovely, it does take aaaages to get anywhere though. Great place to bring up kids. It's too cold for me though!

[struggling100]

North Devon and Suffolk will be worlds away from the Western Lakes. A lot depends on how well you deal with isolation and cold!

I do not deal with it well. I made a huge mistake a few years back and moved from London to a pennine village for the stunning scenery. I have never been so miserable in my whole life, and never so relieved as when I moved back out to the city. Place matters A LOT! Tread carefully!

[holmessweetholmes]

Ah, well I used to live in the city and would hate to go back to that. Oxfordshire felt quite rural by comparison when we moved here, but I now find I want to get further away from it all!

[struggling100]

In that case, I reckon you will be a lot better at living in the country than I am. I think I am just too disorganised to do it! And I missed takeaways too much!

[ShoeWhore]

I posted on your other thread but do look at the Peak District.

[holmessweetholmes]

Haha - not organised!

[holmessweetholmes]

Yes, Peaks are a possibility I guess. I think now I've stretched to looking as far afield as Cumbria, there are various places I could look at... Northumberland, bits of Wales maybe...

[RCheshire]

Parts of Northumberland are amongst the most stunning in the country but you are definitely keen to experience cold and wet with these digressions!

[RCheshire]

Digressions == suggestions!!

[holmessweetholmes]

Yes I suppose I am! I don't think it would bother me too much but I guess you can never be sure!

[CrispyFB]

Cockermouth is indeed nice (and slightly less far to get to places, but still not ideal - not as depressing or isolated though) but the house prices reflect that, sadly. Or at least that's what I was told by my in-laws who sold his late father's house which was half the size for twice the price of their house in the village they're in.

[ElsieMc]

I live in a larger town in Cumbria now but spent a lot of my childhood in the area you are looking at. It is very remote and insular, particularly Millom which it is best you avoid. Some of the towns mentioned are also bleak and run down.

I lived near Holmrook off the Saltcoats Road at Carleton Green which is very rural and I was happy there. This is about ten minutes away from Muncaster Castle, Boot etc which is very beautiful and I still go back several times a year.

As an adult it would be very different. It is a very long way from the motorway along winding, precarious roads and the shortcuts such as Corney Fell are notorious.

The work is mainly at Sellafield or at Haverigg Prison, outside Millom. People also travel to Barrow in Furness from around this area to work at BAE Systems.

If you need any more info, do PM me.

[holmessweetholmes]

Yes, from the sound of it we'd probably be best living in Whitehaven, Egremont or St Bees. Cockermouth is a bit further away from Egremont where the job is, I think. Prices may be higher there but they are still a hell of a lot cheaper than where we are now!