Is Burnham a good area?

[Collie86]

Hi everyone,

I'm traveling to the UK in late Dec and I'm looking at staying at a place in Burnham (on the outskirt of Buckinghamshire). The place is near Burnham train station. I'm a single female and I won't have a car so is this area safe? especially around the station etc.? I haven't been to the UK in some time and I don't know this area, so any information would be great.

Thanks in advance

Is there a reason you have to stay in Burnham?

@citycitycity

No, there is no reason. I found accommodation in that area. It's been difficult finding a place to stay - thus far, I've looked in Windsor, Taplow, East Molesey, Twickenham.

I'm looking for a place a bit out of London with good transport links so I can look around for a rental when I arrive back in the UK.

I've also looked in Surrey, but a lot of the accommodation is booked out for January.

I did see places in holy port and Marlow. Holy port one is more expensive - no train station nearby.

Marlow one is the average price with a train nearby.

I don't know anything about either of these areas but I haven't booked the Burnham place yet.

If you have other areas to suggest, I will look into them.

I see, I thought you were coming for a holiday and was going to steer you away from Burnham!

I don’t really know Burnham itself, just as the bit that’s slightly before Slough, but do live in the area so can recommend:

Maidenhead - on the same train line as Burnham (ie into Paddington) but during peak times you get 20 min trains into London ( which you won’t get at Burnham)

Marlow is beautiful - I would go for that over Burnham and Maidenhead, but the train is on a branch line so you have to change at Maidenhead. It depends on how often you will be getting the train to London.

Reading - although further out you get fast trains in to London and good transport links to other parts of the country (big station)

There’s nothing in Holyport except a school and a couple of pubs (very pretty though!)

Just realised I assume you’re travelling to London but might not be!

If you can give a few more details about where you want to/Ned to be I can give some more advice.

Burnham is a safe area but very close to Slough which isn’t the nicest of places. Maidenhead is a bit better but nothing outstanding.

If I were you I’d be doing Windsor or Marlow; both on the river with decent shops/walks/nice places to eat and drink etc.

I’m on a few Marlow Facebook groups, and there are often posts from people who are moving into the area, asking about private rental s etc.
Maybe worth a try?

Burnham is fine in terms of being safe, but it’s a bit of a walk from the station to either the high street in one direction or Sainsbury’s in the other.

I’d choose Windsor or Marlow as the stations are right in the centre and they are pretty towns with shops and restaurants within easy walk.

Hi everyone,

Thank you for the helpful replies.

So my plan is to travel to the UK just before NY - toward the end of December, my flight will arrive early in the morning around 6 am. I could travel sooner, but I don't think it's a good area. Weeks leading up to Xmas will be slow and everything is closed during Xmas. If you think differently, do let me know but as of now, the plan is to get there before NY.

Then I'll head to the Air BnB where I plan to stay for a month while I look for a place. I work remotely so I have no need to travel to London, but will go sightseeing, etc. at some point.

Plans once I arrive include:

• relaxing and getting to know the area/getting around
• exploring areas in Surrey, walks, nature, sites
• seeing rentals in the Windsor, Surrey area preferably but I'll be looking at other areas too
• go into London when possible to see sights etc.

Finding a place to stay has been difficult because a lot of the places I originally looked at in Surrey have gotten booked up but then again transport wasn't the best in some semi-rural areas.

Current accommodation options are:

A place in Marlow - available for the whole of Jan but I can't extend beyond that if I need to. It's only available for Jan, I can see it's booked out in Feb.

Place in Burnham - available 27th onwards and has everything I need except for a washer.

Place in Holy Port - offer discounts for long-term stays, very nice flat that includes everything and could possibly extend if needed but it's a bit pricy because they've included a security deposit. Doesn't have a lot of transport links.

Still looking around but this is the plan thus far.

If you want to go to Surrey, but can’t find accommodation there, have you tried Bracknell and Wokingham? They are in Berkshire but closer to most of Surrey than the other places you are looking at.

Mean to ask if you have a car? None of those places will e easy to get to Surrey by public transport

@Collie86

Hi, I did but everything is booked out. Looked quite a bit but nothing, some are even booked up till Feb.

Based on your current choices, I would come back before Christmas if possible, there’s a lot more going on before Christmas than in January. Are you from England originally? It can be very quiet in January, but very lively before Christmas.

If you want local things to do then Marlow would be best, but the short let will be a problem.

I hope you don’t mind me asking but do you have to move to Surrey or can we suggest other places in the south east?

@citycitycity

No, I don't have a car. It's looking likely that I'll stay at an airbnb in the Windsor/Marlow area and if I find a good long-term rental there, I'll go for that, but if I find a good rental in Surrey, I'll consider that too.

@citycitycity

Yes, I'm from the UK originally but I've been away for 5 years.

No, I don't strictly have to move to Surrey, I just like the area a lot.

Regards traveling, I'm struggling to find accommodation before Christmas, so for example (1-31 Dec). Hardly anything is coming up, just 1 place and that's only available until the 21st so it's not worth it.

I would have liked to get there in early December but the accommodation part has been pretty tricky and some of the options available are way out of my budget.

Many people complain about trains from Marlow being cancelled so if your reliant on train then best to think about somewhere else.

Did make me laugh the other month when walking down the high street and overhead a couple who very much looked like they were visitors to the area comment “Is this it?” In a very disappointed tone.
Chris Evans on Virgin radio is constantly bigging up the town and clearly giving people too high expectations.
If you like coffee shops, hair dressers, charity shops it’s great. It’s certainly not a bad high street as there are also places to eat and shop but just not this fabulous, wonderful, think you’ve died and gone to heaven place that Chris Evans DJ makes it out to be

What's your budget?

Burnham is a bit crap to be honest.

What about Maidenhead? Burnham isn’t nice & whilst Maidenhead isn’t lovely, it has improved & the transport is great.

Marlow is a tad overrated, we live close by & the river is lovely but the high street is average. Henley and Windsor are both much nicer for a day out.

@Clymene

willing to spend up to $90 per night for the air BNB.

[quote Collie86]@Clymene

willing to spend up to $90 per night for the air BNB.[/quote]
Assuming you mean £90, this looks like a better bet:

abnb.me/GLCYPd1Palb

Thanks for the link to the BNB link.

What would be the best time to head back in Dec?

If you are looking for a rental, it will be tough over December as usually agents hold off putting properties onto the market until the second half of January. Rental contracts are often manipulated to ensure the flat doesn’t come back in December.

@Porridgeislife Thanks for the info. In that case, I'll look towards the end of December.

My mil lives right next to Burnham station and never complains about feeling unsafe and she's out all the time. The train is fast and regular to London and easy to get to Windsor from there. It's not the prettiest of areas lots of houses and bungalows and if your near the station you'll get some train noise. Heathrow noise is also a consideration if looking at Burnham, Windsor old windsor or datchet. We live near Marlow and the train to and from maidenhead is only once or twice an hour and can be occasionally cancelled. Marlow is nicer and would have more buzz. Beaconsfield may suit as it's on a main London line, has nice shops etc but is pricey. Don't know if I have helped but I suppose the one thing I would say is you can try a few of them out and see what works for you. Thats the beauty of Airbnb.

I'd definitely steer Clear of Burnham, and holy port there isn't much there and far from station.
I'd go for Marlow /Beaconsfield /henely etc.
Windsor... Twyford even.

Thank you for the replies everyone. My plans changed and because of the change in the dates, I'm now looking at other places

• one in Bagshot, 20 min walk from a train station, leafy, nice accommodation
• and the second is in East Molesey, 15 min walk from train station, some green area, ok accommodation - not as pretty as the first one (sofa bed style place and it looks kind of dark).

I'm being cautious because this will be a long-term stay and the bnb cancellation policy isn't as flexible for long-term stays. think I'm going to go for the one in Bagshot, I know nothing about these areas other than what I've read online. Bagshot is said to be a family area? The East Molesey place is really well connected and I can get to neighboring areas quickly, also the cancellation policy is better. But the place does not look inviting for a month-long stay.

Any info on safety for those two areas or other info would be great.