What's Lincolnshire/The Fens like as a place to live?

[CarinaMarina]

We are a couple approaching 50, looking to move to a rural/semi-rural area with plenty of country walking on the doorstep, but with good links to London (e.g the train from King's Lynn doesn't take long, I wouldn't mind driving there for the infrequent occasions I'd need to go). We've found some affordable detached bungalows around parts of Lincolnshire and the Fens that look ideal (perhaps not Boston, we drove through it and it found it a bit soulless). We have been further discouraged by comments from a family member that the entire area is bleak, dismal, dark, there's no decent walking as it's all farmland, and that "the people are weird".

It can't be that bad surely? We come from a coastal city in the south known for its rougher areas so we're not snobs, we just want a slightly more rural lifestyle out of town. Max price £200k.

Any suggestions for reasonable areas - and areas to avoid?

We have lived in Lincolnshire for 11 years. Where we are is flat! It can be hard to find decent walks but we do drive to walk hounds because we are quite remote. Woodhall Spa,Welbourn,Fulbeck,Navenby...basically the Cliff villages are nice. We used to go to London for fun from Grantham..takes about an hour. I think the people can be odd..but as there are loads of 'blow ins' it might not be a local thing. The Wolds are hilly..get a map re walks,we intend to! Mabletborpe beach is one of the most fantastic beaches ever! We have lived in lots of parts of the country. I think,culturally,it is rather disappointing but that can be said for a fair few places. Uphill in Lincoln round the Cathedral is nice. There are some rough areas..some mentioned by other posters. I have spoken to a few people round your age who relocated and really like it. One person didn't. We are hoping to move to Suffolk one day( I grew up there.....but too expensive!).

Just seen your update! All the best op..exciting stuff.

I live in a village near Bourne - there's an excellent drs surgery in Bourne which gives same day appointments.Loads of good walks and Bourne wood is lovely. There's also easy access to Peterborough or Grantham station. I don't think we're weird though! Stamford is lovely but on the more expensive side.

I'm not sure the allegation about 'small family trees' aka 'weird' is true anymore, even if it was.

Has anyone mentioned broadband connectivity in these places?

I grew up in Lincolnshire (the Humberside part). I loved it. The Schools were small and had a mix of people and I loved village life. It is a great place to grow up, although when I was a teenager it felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. I would love to move back to the village life

I grew up in Boston, which I would suggest avoiding now. It always had its rough elements, but has got worse. If it were me moving back to Lincolnshire, I'd head to the villages around Lincoln. Really, pretty countryside in the Wolds, Lincoln is pretty too. But doesn't meet your needs for quick links to London. So you might be better looking at the north Norfolk coast, with decent access to Kings Lynne.

We've spent the best part of an evening trawling Right Move, and in an interesting twist, DH is suddenly in love with the villages north and east of Lincoln (and around the Wolds). We upped the budget a bit and have found some places with promise - @WarmSausageTea, you picked out one that is on our favourites list!

I'm especially keen on one in Coningsby, and thanks to a PP (was it @MrsPnut?) I've discovered the footpaths map I never knew existed.

So what do we think of Coningsby, Ruskington, Sleaford etc? We've stayed at a campsite in Woodhall Spa and we thought the area was lovely. All seem to be just outside the Fens and a good distance from Boston...! There's also a couple further up and east of the Wolds on the coast.

I think I'd be better off nearer to Grantham though, for that train link.

We have friends at Ruskington and they love it, Conningsby has the RAF base which has Typhoons stationed there. I’d check out aircraft noise before buying there. Woodhall spa is just delightful, I can’t wait until the cinema reopens.

As well as Grantham, check driving time to Newark. The train from there to KX is only 75 mins. We do it as a day trip regularly for work and leisure as we are 20m drive from the station.

Avoid Wisbech. West Norfolk better, good train to Cambridge/London, close to great beaches in West and North Norfolk.

Always treble the amount of time you think you will need to get anywhere by car.

Just a warning... The next set of major roadworks is set to start in Grantham on Monday (on top of the A1 roadworks and bypass works). While I'm not saying driving in the centre of Grantham is usually plain sailing (the one way system needs a bit of getting used to)the next few months won't be normal. Driving through Grantham is governed by the railway bridges... Which lorries have a habit of hitting. They are strengthening the bridges in turn currently.
(The one I need to drive under to get the kids to and from school... Npt looking forward to this one!)

MIL lives north of the river in East Yorks - it's such a flat, souless place! The countryside is rubbish. I tried to go for a run when staying there, and it was a choice of along a flat, boring main road, or boggy flooded fields that didn't really go anywhere.

@Aroundtheworldin80moves which bridge? We are currently commuting to school from a fair way away whilst waiting for house works to finish and now a bit worried it might be 'my' bridge!

Springfield Road, where Pizza Hut used to be.

@CarinaMarina, I have pm'd you. 🙂

haha just adding to the chorus of Fennites here.

I was brought up in a village near Spalding (why not even in the town, eh, parents???). I left the area almost 30 years ago and would never go back - for the reasons others mention - poor infrastructure, non existent public transport, no jobs, poor healthcare (hospital in Boson and very poorly rated), cinema, theatre, shops all miles away, nothing for teens.

I realise some of (many of?) these things won't affect you Op as your kids are grown and you are not culture seekers. They blighted my early life without a doubt. I still miss the big big skies tho.

There is a reason the houses are cheap eh? My mum lived in the village until she was in her 70s, when she moved to a bungalow near us now (edge of a small city). She was moanign about how her 5-bed bungalow with land translated to two beds and small garden - but I pointed out that she had a massive A&E hospital 10 mins away, good shops and other facilities two mins away, everything she could possibly want in terms of clubs, societies, shops, cinema a 10 min bus ride away.

Think of when you don't want to drive any more or need serious health support - yes it's years off but will you still want to be there?

Personally I would recommend, as others have, Lincoln itself or Stamford but these are more expensive. Lichfield in Staffs is quick to London - don't know about house prices tho. Or do you want to be near the coast?

Hi btw to all those from S Lincs or still there! I bet I know some of you (went to Spalding High School)

Sorry OP just seen your updates - ignore my messages then! I think the areas you mention are much more promising if you can find property in your budget. :)

I grew up in Lincs on the wolds. It's beautiful. I had an idyllic childhood. Absolutely not flat around those parts either, anyone saying so doesn't know the wolds. Not easily commutable to London from where I grew up though.

What size property do you need? Bungalow wise you would struggle in Suffolk for £200k, which is where I am now, but we have gorgeous walks and it's much easier to get to London from here. You can get lovely old cottages as well as more modern houses for that price point in some villages/towns. Everywhere has good and bad bits. I wouldn't live in Kings Lynn personally.

I have family who used to live in Barnetby near Brigg, and it’s one of the most rough and depressing villages I’ve ever been in — as a note, if walking is very important, check soil and winter flooding, as I used to find the field paths often impassably muddy in winter.

I grew up near spalding and left a couple of decades ago for uni and never moved back. If I could I would go and live there for the next 7 years so DC could attempt to get a grammar place. But I would leave again straight after his alevels finished

@CarinaMarina my only reservation is that it’s quite close to the A46, and although it’s not very busy, there might be more traffic noise than you’re happy with.

Scothern is another pretty village, this looks like a good house. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72654081.html

If you want closer access to the Wolds, north of Market Rasen is a better bet, but the nicer villages, like Tealby, have quite a price premium, which I don’t think they quite justify. Market Rasen itself is okay, but not great, though it has the benefit of an old fashioned high street, and a station with a modest service from Grimsby to Lincoln.

Ooh lovely house Sausage, but a bit over our budget!

We have swerved the Fens now, but shortlisted several a bit further up and to the east of Lincoln (and one the other side, at Gainsborough). I've gone a bit property blind now, we been through so many they're all blurring into one...

My grandma used to live in a place called Bonby (I thought it was bombay when I was a kid) and it was actually nice, in the lincolnshire wolds. The whole county still gives me the shivers though. Feel a sense of relief going north on the humber bridge. Id definitely suggest East Yorkshire over it.

Actually, my honest answer to your question is "bleak, flat, boring"