Where to live south west England.

[ToofFairy]

We are looking to relocate from NI but both work remotely so no work ties. Have primary school aged kids and one in grammar school. We are looking to gain slightly better weather and greater access to outside spaces. We would like to be close enough to a village or small town that amenities aren't too far away, but we do like space and tranquility. Lots of walks and nature on the doorstep would be ideal!

Hoping to book an air b n b in the next few months and have a nosey around.

I would suggest looking around the Colyton area in east Devon. Great grammar and beautiful area and community. Good luck x

Thank you.

I echo the previous poster for the things you have described. Inland a bit if you can - 3 miles or more - to avoid the tourist routes and business from May to September. South not North for more tranquil and sheltered places. East not West to avoid rain.

Dartmoor eastwards to Beer but inland. I have lived extensively in the West County in an early career and it changes little, but that area may work well for you.

There are still good parts in the south hams that haven’t been completely destroyed by second homers and tourists

I live in Plympton, I am 10/15 minutes drive from Plymouth City centre, Wembury Beach and Dartmoor.
We have one main street of shops in the village(it calls itself a town lol), great schools, Lamb Feast in the summer and Light Up Plympton for Xmas.
I moved here with DH1 33 years ago, raised the 3 DSs and now have DH2 who is a transplant from the Midlands and loves it as much as I do.

Word of warning there are no NHS dentists taking on new patients in the whole of Devon

There are some beautiful villages in the Forest of Dean, it's a lovely place to bring up a family. The countryside is beautiful and the people really welcoming. Where we are we regularly have sheep, deer, wild boar, foxes etc visiting the edges of our garden and can be in the forest within moments. Chepstow is really near and we can also get to Cheltenham, Bristol, Gloucester etc if we feel we need a bit of a city visit.

Have you considered Dorset - Wareham, Christchurch etc

I live near the Devon/Somerset border along the M5 corridor. We have good access to both beaches & countryside as well as close enough to both Exeter & Bristol for shopping; ad Cardiff & Plymouth for culture etc.
Bear in mind, public transport is limited or non-existent in many places so a car is essential unless you live in one of the cities or larger towns. Being close to the M5 allows you easy access to the wider road network & if you're near the main train line you can be in London within 2hrs.
The further inland you are, the less touristy it is (with the exception of tourist attractions like Glastonbury etc) & usually cheaper.

Dorchester Dorset. Lovely schools, look up Thomas Hardyes secondary school. Close to beaches, forrests too.

There’s a massive housing shortage in Devon and Cornwall. In your position I would be looking around Somerset.

Parts of the South West are very expensive, notably Bristol, Bath and Poole. To be honest it rains a lot here too.

Salisbury

Dorset is absolutely lovely. We moved from there a few months ago - not by choice, my husband is military - and I miss it every day. The countryside is so beautiful, there's so much to do and see, schools are good, lovely places to explore. We really liked Dorchester as a town, plenty to do without being too busy, with Weymouth just down the road for other attractions. We lived further inland in Blandford which itself is nice, along with Wimborne, but Wimborne is pretty pricey. It would be my number one choice of place to settle and put roots down, it's truly lovely.

Dorchester Dorset. Lovely schools, look up Thomas Hardyes secondary school. Close to beaches, forrests too

We've been here 10 years and love it.

@BreadmanAndCake

Dorset is absolutely lovely. We moved from there a few months ago - not by choice, my husband is military - and I miss it every day. The countryside is so beautiful, there's so much to do and see, schools are good, lovely places to explore. We really liked Dorchester as a town, plenty to do without being too busy, with Weymouth just down the road for other attractions. We lived further inland in Blandford which itself is nice, along with Wimborne, but Wimborne is pretty pricey. It would be my number one choice of place to settle and put roots down, it's truly lovely.

Wimborne is odd. 90% of the housing stock is bungalows and most of the housing is in estates a good mile or 2 from the town centre. It's slightly cut off as no train station and inadequate bus service. But.... it is nice if you don't mind driving everywhere.

Plymouth has grammar schools although I don't know how a child gets in after they start. I mean, presumably, places in different year groups come up as people move, but I've never known anyone do that to be honest they've always seen their whole education there.

You'll have to speak to them about catchment but we are 40 minutes away and children go from here, if they qualify of course. That gives more choice of living location.

Be warned rentals are almost impossible to secure at the moment as so many have moved over to holiday lets. There are a handful of homes for sale if you want to buy, but there's hardly hundreds, so it might not be easy to find what you want.