Biggleswade- yes or no?

[Booklife]

Hi everyone, we are thinking of moving out of North London (Barnet/Cockfosters area) as looking for a more reasonable house prices so we can hopefully get a small house with a garden (currently in a flat).

Need to be able to commute to North London, car or train (Oakleigh Park), max 45min car journey. Looked at so many places and getting a little confused and overloaded with information. So much contradicting advice out there.

Found Biggleswade and considering this village. We did visit it and loved the leisure centre and the retail park but the town centre was very quiet despite the large Kings Reach development. I also read online that the area can be troubled- is this true? There are a lot of houses for sale here (not just the new built)... is this something we should worry about?

Does anyone live here? Is it a friendly village? How long have you lived there and what do you over the weekends? We have a 13 year old who would be going to school there, what is Stratton Upper School like?

Sorry for all the questions, we feel overwhelmed with the choices and looking to settle for years to come so need to make sure we choose the right place.

Your help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you :)

[Katerina111]

Hi
We recently moved from Cockfosters to biggleswade two years and have no regrets.
I have not seen or experienced any trouble here. Having lived in north London all my life I would regularly hear a lot of trouble around north London such as drugs burglary.
When we moved to biggleswade the biggest change was that I was shocked at how small the population was and how I would see regular faces daily. I never experienced this before coming from London. Living in biggleswade has changed my life for the better I hear less sirens I not scared to walk in the street at night. Everyone is friendly and people actually say morning to you in the street! And shop assistants actually look you in the eye and tell you to have a nice day.
Commuting to London is easy as I regularly do, driving will take 45min to north London or train 30min to kings cross. I believe I made the best decision moving out of London. Good luck x

[MissCherryCakeyBun]

I have a close friend that lives in the village of Langford Nr Biggleswade and we go there for coffee etc it's not the most beautiful town but it's very convenient for London and friendly
I would say go for it

[Piggywaspushed]

Bit worried about your 45 minute car journey! This the A1! It can be a giant car park!

Stratton is OK : not amazing, but just a normal school really. If you must live around there, I'd say Baldock and Hitchin are a lot nicer : but much more pricy, especially Hitchin.

[Piglet208]

I live near Biggleswade and I also moved from Barnet over 20 years ago. It is a growing town with lots of new developments. Schools are pretty good. No big troubles especially compared to London. Good access for Herts, London, Milton Keynes and Cambridge. There are some lovely villages nearby..look up Northill, southill for nice pubs to eat out in. Well serviced by different supermarkets and a good retail park. Good community. It's not the prettiest town (not a village) not the most exciting but I love living in Bedfordshire.

[Piglet208]

I'm not sure how old you are but there are lively pubs and bars in Biggleswade if that is your thing. Cinema at Stevenage, Bedford or St. Neots. Nightclubs are in Bedford, Mk, Cambridge, Stevenage. Eating out in all of those places and the villages as well as Potton. The A1 can be a nightmare at rush hour and the trains are crap at the moment.

[AnnaMagnani]

I live nearish Biggleswade - round here it's a town not a village!

Yes the town centre is quiet but everywhere is round here compared to London (I also moved from London). In the same way, nothing here is troubled in the same way areas are in London.

If you really want village, you need a place with just a pub and a church and no shop

[Piggywaspushed]

Definitely not a village : classic A1 corridor market town!

[SharpLily]

Biggleswade is not a village and it's awful! Hitchin much better.

[Ellieboolou27]

We moved from muswell hill to Broxbourne a few years back, we were going to buy in biggleswade, thing that put us off was the drive back to North London (visit regularly as have family) it’s quite flat and not overly keen on Bedford as a county

[Piglet208]

Hitchin is much more expensive though.

[Owllady]

I used to manage a shop in Hitchin and I'm always amused at how naice people think it is there when they have HUGE shop lifting problems! If you think Biggleswade is troubled, you've lived a sheltered life tbh

[CambsAlways]

Anyone living in St Neots love to know what ppl think good or bad comments please. Good areas. Not so good areas. Also Eaton ford area. Same good n bad and Paxton. Thanks so much

[WburgWanderer]

@CambsAlways

I live in a village outside of St Neots and we really love the area, having come from London. St Neots itself is fine, not particularly interesting, but it has some decent shops and pubs. They have a very active Facebook group that you could join if you have specific questions. There is a big new development going up near the station and Love's Farm that looks like it'll be ok. I am not very familiar with the schools, except that Ernulf Academy is very poorly regarded - I've heard people say it's the worst school in the country, though that might be a touch dramatic. There are excellent senior schools in the area though, Comberton Village College comes to mind.

Eaton Ford is essentially St Neots, just a different part of it. Great and Little Paxton are fine, Little Paxton is right on the A1, but is probably ok, depending on where you live. There are some really lovely villages all around St Neots, however, and commuting into the station is not difficult (though parking is expensive!).

One thing to be aware of - soon (2020?) they will be starting work on the A428 (between Black Cat roundabout on the A1 and Caxton Gibbet), which will likely cause some traffic misery in St Neots and surrounding areas for a while. That said, once it's finished it will be so much better. There are also proposals for a new rail line in the area, but nothing has been decided on that yet.

Hope that helps! Happy to try to answer any more questions.

[CambsAlways]

Thanks wburgwanderer I know BIGGLESWADE area but have never lived there have got a few friends that live there though. Thanks for your reply.not really bothered about the schools in st NEOTS as our children are older.yes agree that once the works finished on the A428 will be much improved.just really was interested in ppls comments about living in st Neots area.or close by.and would like to know the good roads to live in. As unfortunetly we all have good n bad roads in our areas we live in.

[Helenjohanna]

Hiya,

Did you end up moving to Biggleswade? I wondered how you’re finding Stratton Upper, if so. (I realise that this is an old thread.)

Helen