Retford Nottinghamshire

[lilylongjohn]

Thinking of moving to Retford in north Notts, anyone had any experience of living there, pros and cons?

My mum lives there. There’s a nice nature reserve nearby (Idle Valley) but the town centre is pretty grim/bleak (lots of vacant premises). I wouldn’t want to live in Retford.

DH grew up there and mil lives there
There are some nice posh villages around but the town centre is a bit grim, it’s also not very culturally diverse and let’s just say a lot of people aren’t very open in their outlook to a lot of things

I know Retford very well. My db and dm still live there though I moved away because of dh's work.

Benefits
The villages around Retford are lovely very friendly, safe for families eg Leverton, sutton, pound etc
Excellent supermarkets Asda, morrisons
Wonderful kings park in centre of Retford with massive amount of green space in it with tennis courts, splash park.
Excellent transport links on east coast mainline train and A1 and airport close by.
Lovely for cycling
Great days out peak district close by, Lincoln, sundown, Yorkshire wildlife park, idle valley nature reserve Sherwood forest
Clean
Chesterfield canal
Great cafes, pubs, restaurants
Not too bad for crime (db is in the police)
Decent schools including g a couple of private ones and opportunity to have a grammar education if that's your thing.
Excellent leisure centre
Great architecture in market square
Very active charity scene eg Lions, civic society
Historically important eg the pilgrims from Babworth

Disadvantages
Not great for teens no cinema/ bowling and local buses are poor
Not great for shopping, empty premises so eg no furniture shops, not many clothes shops, only one shop for white goods but they are great, only one carpet place but again that's great.

Ask me anything!

The town centre is GRIM. Some very nice outlying villages. Secondary schools not very good. Town centre pubs are shut holes and eating out is poor. There is NOT a grammar school. Main line train access is good. The private schools are not actually in Retford. Property around the central town area is not very pricey. Many outlying villages have lovely property and primary schools, but check where the secondary feeder schools are. I live about 10 miles and nothing would persuade me to live there.

There was a thread about Retford a couple of months back (hopefully the link works)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/3970442-Retford-Notts-does-anyone-know-it

As a lifelong resident I can honestly say it is a nice town but nowhere near as lovely as it used to be. The council/gov't are hell bent on building 1000's of new homes without any supporting infrastructure. The primaries can't cope, the secondaries are useless, you stand only a slim chance of getting into a grammar (nearest is Gainsborough. If you want a child to go there you need to live in a village closer to Gainsborough). The indies are good though.....can give you the lowdown on both.

Because of all the new builds the town is flooding on a regular basis.....the park is currently a lake! People have river water in their gardens a good 6inches deep. So depending where you live invest in wellies!!

There is nothing to do for teens - they'd need to travel to Doncaster/Sheffield. Entertainment for adults is limited. There were some nice eating places, but whether they'll survive Covid is highly debatable. Lots of shops are closing.....Amazon in is your friend.....or a trip to Meadowhall or the Frenchgate. There are a couple of nice independent shops, but like the pubs/restaurants it's debatable whether they'll survive Covid.

Work wise......opportunities are limited. Major employer is the prison and the high security hospital as well as the NHS trust. Otherwise you're commuting. Trains to Sheffield/Doncaster are expensive, even with a season ticket. The Sheffield train is unreliable (Northern Trains are awful) and absolutely packed at going home time.

On the plus side.....the countryside is beautiful, access to the A1 is good.....easy to go North/ South. However, accidents on the A1 result in traffic being diverted through the town......and we simply don't have the road capacity for that (it's a very regular occurrence). Town basically becomes gridlocked which is frustrating. Similar happens at school pick up/drop off town as people have to travel due to local schools being oversubscribed.

It's better than Doncaster.

@poppingpotatoes that's hardly a ringing endorsement 😂😂

Retford, Doncaster and Sheffield have their good and bad points as well as lovely areas to live. Personally I'm looking to move and Laxton, Clayworth, Wiseton, Mattersey and Walkeringham are in my sights. Retford itself has been spoilt by too many new houses being built without the investment in schools, roads and facilities. It's a pity as it was a beautiful little market town. Even the market is rubbish now!

that's hardly a ringing endorsement 😂😂

It wasn't meant to be 🤣 it was more a statement about Doncaster than Retford but having spent the night on Retford station in winter I'm not a great fan.

@Serena1977 & @HexagonsHecateAndHecuba

You both mentioned Sutton, do you mean Sutton on Trent? I've seen a house I like in that area, had a bit of a drive round but I'm not sure. Any thoughts?

To clarify, the grammar school is 12 miles away in Gainsborough and many children sit the 11+ that live in Retford.

The 2 private primary schools are either 6 miles away to the east and the other is 1 mile to the west.

Personally, when I look at a place to live I dont base my judgement on shopping and pubs. I look at architecture, history, green spaces, transport links, leisure, cleanliness, closeness to other places, ease of transportation.

I think basing yourself in a village to the east of Retford like Clarborough, hayton, clayworth, walkeringham, beckingham is a good shot providing you have a car.

I was referring to sutton cum lound a pretty village about 2 miles to the north of retford. Sutton on trent is down the A1 before Newark also very nice village and feeder village to Tuxford Secondary Academy which has a good reputation.

I live in a tiny hamlet in Retford. The town centre is very run down. Nothing to do for teenagers. Not a nice place to live. I'm trying hard to get back to my native Yorkshire

Sutton cum lound is bloody awful, unless you are white and rich and have lived in the area for a long time. The Primary school is good but has falling numbers so I don’t know how long it will last as the population there is ageing. There are no amenities and the pub will be closing soon if it hasn’t already. The road through the village is bloody lethal as well

@lilylongjohn no Sutton cum Louis, in my case. Just a couple of miles outside Retford, nice village location and a good primary.

Sutton on Trent is about 10miles north of Newark .....if you commute you'd need to drive to Newark for the train. If I was buying an older cottage type property in SonT I'd check the house history carefully. Same with a new build, I'd want to know what was there before.

Sutton cum Lound....not Louis!

I used to live there! I moved away 38 years ago though and although I have good memories I suspect they have become rose-tinted over time.

OP, I live in Sutton on Trent, pretty much equidistant between Newark and Retford, with a bus route between the two towns. It's a lovely village, has shops, a pub, river walks and an annual 2 day festival. It is in catchment for Tuxford Academy but with a bus that serves the Grantham grammar schools should your kids get in there. About 10 minutes down the A1 to Newark Northgate Station which takes you to Kings Cross in around 1 hour 20, although If I'm going to Leeds I'll sometimes catch the train from Retford instead. The surrounding villages are also very pretty but only Norwell has a shop of any kind.
Also worth looking at Collingham, which is nearer to Lincoln and served by a train line but also in catchment for Tuxford.
PM me if you'd like any more info.

Thank you all for replying. I'm not necessarily looking at Retford I just saw a house I liked.

I don't have to commute anywhere as I work from home. My dh works in Mansfield but I really don't like that side of Nottinghamshire.

My dd goes to Tuxford Academy so I just need somewhere with a bus route into Tuxford.
I like East Markham but the prices are a bit steep and Tuxford itself has limited options on houses at the moment.