Commuting by train to Manchester Piccadilly

[MissElaineNeus]

Considering a potential move to the NW - can anyone help with ideas for towns and villages that are under an hour by rail to central Manchester? Short drive to a local station OK.

Two of us, no kids, one dog. We like hiking in the hills, riding bikes, photography, eating out.

Perfect scenario would be a small town with food shops, pubs and restaurants, ideally a cinema, with quick and easy access to beautiful countryside.

Does such a place exist outside my wildest dreams?

Macclesfield is a largish town but it's on the edge of the Peak District and has a forest (and big hill!) to explore. Lots of frequent trains into Manchester, Liverpool etc.

If anyone's interested in decent pubs in the area one of my favourites at the moment is The Lamb Inn in Chinley. It's a proper country pub that hasn't been mucked about with, excellent seasonal food, plenty of open fires and good wine and beer. (Derails thread).

I wouldn't live in Crewe but anywhere on that line has fast rail links into Manchester.

@imstartingtobemenow not in Altrincham, Hale, Alderley Edge or Wilmslow you couldn't! £500k is a reasonable budget for Cheshire but definitely not mansion territory.

Ramsbottom is lovely

You better off being at a place from where you can catch the tram line as that's much more reliable. There are some lovely places for that budget.

Congleton (South Cheshire) or Biddulph / Biddulph Moor (North Staffordshire)

Train 45 min

Biddulph

Biddulph

Congleton

Bury has good links into town.
The Picadilly line is ok, we are managing that fine, it's Victoria that has had a lot of cancellations as the track isn't finished that should have been in September.
It's pretty much sorted now though as money would have been lost from Christmas markets and shopping if it hadn't been.
I think you need to live pretty close though as the roads are a nighmare if you are more than about 5-10 miles away.
Friends on Saddleworth moving due to fires in summer and being snowed in during winter.

Being snowed in in winter is one of the best things about living in Saddleworth! Providing you don't have to be anywhere of course!

@romany are your friends really moving because of the fires and the snow? Have they lived there long? The fires aren't a regular occurrence ( first time ever?) And this year is the first time we've been properly snowed in for a while. All I hear is people trying to move into Saddleworth not out!

The commute from glossop is pretty good. It's not a through line so you mostly get a seat both ways. It seems to have escaped the worst of the recent problems. Dd goes to college in Manchester and hasn't been more than 8 minutes late since September.

We also have amazing countryside on the doorstep and a great high street but the road traffic is shockingly bad.

Having seen that canalside house in marple I'd buy that in an instant!

Blaa

I absolutely agree, but not fun for those needing to get to work.
yes, they have lived there for about 10 years and just had enough.
They live quite high up the moors, and nearly lost their dog in the snow last year.
It's just not practical for them anymore.
I suppose if you are an office worker with flexible option to work from home it's ok, but they aren't.

I'm in NW, used to regularly commute by train to Manchester. I'd look at the Peak District, or Ramsbottom. Altrincham or Stockport (parts of) could also be good options.

You mentioned the trough of Bowland, which is a large area of amazingly natural beauty, and if you looked at Clitheroe or Whalley, which are both on a train line to Manchester, you'd find some stunning properties.

That's interesting @romany yeah you do need an understanding employer. Especially as we can have deep snow in Saddleworth and absolutely nothing in Oldham/Manchester.

It's also very different living up on the Moors compared to living in one of the villages. When we had the snow last year the whole village pulled together and made sure everyone was okay. Those with 4x4s drove NHS staff into work. We all shared wood and coal with those that ran out and pretty much the whole village ended up in the pub!
I've lived here 11 years and wouldn't live anywhere else

Thanks everyone for all the help and sorry if I didn't get back to you individually. I'll be looking through all the suggestions slowly over the next week.

Northern Rail are rubbish at the moment, and I would avoid anywhere that just has their trains running.

I’ve lived in ramsbottom, Clitheroe/Whalley and now in Lancaster. All commutable on public transport into manc in an hour. And it is pretty much the full hour, but there is countryside to explore in all of these. Clitheroe is in the ribble valley next to the trough of bowl and. Very beautiful. Rams bottom is much closer to manc city but no train directly. Buses and tram from bury though. It’s a lovely little town with Holcomb hill to walk up directly behind it!
Lancaster is between bowland fells, the dales, the Lake District and the seaside! So that’s why we’re here, for the location and because it’s a great place to raise a family.
I commuted to greater Manchester the past few years from here.

Just a few ideas which could tick boxes

Another vote for Clitheroe here, a really nice town with good access to Manchester, Preston etc. The great outdoors on your doorstep and excellent schools - what’s not to like!

Chorley (Lancashire) is really beautiful. We think that's going to be our next move. DP spent a few years working there and loves it too. Manchester train takes an average of 40 minutes from there. Surrounded by countryside with amazing hike trails, but also has a great town centre with everything you could need there.

Please disregard this as the poster is either on crack or living in a parallel universe. I'm from Chorley. I have never heard anyone call Chorley "really beautiful" nor refer to the "great town centre".

I'd suggest looking at Ramsbottom or Todmorden. Maybe even some of the villages in Rossendale (where you'll get a lot more for your money).

I wouldn't say Chorley is beautiful, it's not a bad place, but when we were looking in the area we weren't allowed to buy any houses we liked.
Not sure if still the same but houses were only sold to local people to enable them to buy in the area.

Clitheroe is ok, but there again had problems with teens a few years back. The grammar school is brill though, just like the old fashioned system.

Chorley town centre has some fantastic local businesses trying desperately to create a market town atmosphere, lovely cafes and the surrounding countryside is stunning. And it has a Booths . Many of the outlying villages are fantastic places to bring up a family, with excellent schools, parks and facilities.

Sure, the town isn't the prettiest, but as a base for travelling on the M6 and M61 to nearby cities, the Lakes, London, Yorkshire, Scotland and beyond, it's ideal.