Recommend me a village

[Wheresthecheese]

I would like to move this year from a big city . I am looking for a village or small town with a friendly welcoming community , good transport links and good weather. An independent cinema / theatre would be great. I’m looking for lots going on and a wide age group.
A farmers market, independent shops and clubs /societies to join. Access to great countryside.

Preferably with good train links or road links to London and Birmingham. Schools don’t matter as I am retired . I’ve spent ages going round in circles. Corsham/Frome /Bath area are what I have come up with so far. I’m looking for a detached three to four bedroom house with sizeable garden up to £800,000.

Adult son might be moving too and he doesn’t drive, so bus routes into a bigger town or city would be useful. Also because I won’t always have the car. At the same time I am trying to get away from congestion , over crowding and traffic.

Please help!

How about old Welwyn? Pretty village with amazing countryside. Then you have Welwyn garden city next door for the Indy cinema etc.

Thanks. I know nothing about that area so will have a look.

How about Monmouthshire?

Beautiful countryside, market towns and your budget would go quite far. Plus you have Bristol/Cardiff/the beautiful Welsh coastline quite close.

Rail links do exist but would require researching.

I'd have suggested Corsham, though there's no railway station there (yet). I don't think you will find all that in a village though. Transport links are generally really poor in the more rural parts.

Penistone, S Yorks

I'm in Keynsham, between Bristol and Bath. It has bus and rail links to both cities. It doesn't have an independent cinema but does have a farmers market and independent shops (plus a few bigger retailers).

Marlborough or Cirencester.

Belper Derbyshire. More a town than a city. But does have all those things.

Can the adult son ever drive? If not, it's a bad idea for him to move somewhere where he will rely on public transportation. Fast way to ruin his life, actually.

I would suggest Bradford on Avon - more small town I guess. Only 6 miles from Bath, on train , lovely countryside, lovely restaurants and a huge community hall with lots of events and a film club

From what you've described I would say you're looking for a small town. Villages don't tend to have cinemas, markets or rail links.

South Oxfordshire based around Wallingford, thriving theatre, independent shops only 12 miles from Oxford. Didcot on the Great Western line is only 10 minutes away. Great place to live.

Sorry sent too soon. The village of Cholsey ( where Agatha Christie is buried) is 3 miles away and has a mainline station also.

Berkhamsted. Lovely little town. Fab cinema. Train line to Euston, or via a change at Milton Keynes for Brum.

Great idea. The Rex cinema is superb.

I was coming on to say Berkhamsted (Berko) &/or surrounding villages.
Aldbury, Little Gaddesden, Wriggington, Potten End etc…
You can walk onto the Ashridge (NT) Estate, Rex cinema, Theatre in Tring and Hemel Old Town. Minimum car use.

Ely OP, mainline Station and great connections to London - though with flourishing Cambridge nearby you're not likely to need it.
Also very established farmers market, great range of other shops, rather lovely cinema and as on the east of the country, dry and bright weather.
Gorgeous walks down along the river to some lovely pubs and of course, up around the cathedral.

Stamford. Lots going on, good pubs, restaurants, market every week, direct trains to Birmingham and Cambridge.

Ampthill, its beautiful market town.

This is a good shout, I used to live in that area and Wallingford is lovely. Independent theatre and shops, lots of cafés and restaurants and a pretty town on the river. Buses to Oxford and Reading or Didcot and Cholsey are close by for rail stations....Didcot is on a main trainline for easy access into London, Bristol, Oxford, Reading etc.

It's pricey but your budget is decent so would easily get you what you want.

Flitwick also I lovely town and good train links to London

I was thinking exactly the same. Aside from good weather, Belper ticks the other boxes.

Agreed, you're not really looking for a village.

I second the question about your DS driving - can he learn? If not, living outside of a city isn't going to be great for him at all.

Wow I thought my geography was ok but this thread makes me realise just how many places there are that I’ve never even heard of 😂

Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds. Has a station. Birmingham, London, Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon are gettable-to by train or bus. Lovely other villages and towns near by. Has a market, too.