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!

Dursley.
Just lovely.
Railway station up the road, fabulous walks, really friendly community.

Stroud

Some great suggestions here. I know Stroud well and Moreton in the Marsh.Lots to think about.

Market Harborough - Greater Bowden is a village attached to the town. Lots of independent shops and places to eat. MH has a station, an hour into London St Prancas. Birmingham by road is about an hour.

Cheltenham?

No independent market or cinema, but Watlington in Oxfordshire is a nice little place - close to motorway and local walks. Oxford, Henley-on-Thames closeby and nice for trip out.

Bishops Cleeve 3 miles north of Cheltenham ticks a lot of boxes in terms of community, local facilities , great scenery and walks and is about 10 miles from J9 and J10 on M5.

Corsham isn't a village, and doesn't have most of what you're looking for. It's got a couple of decent-ish places to eat. Transport links are pretty awful.

Just seen that your DS doesn't drive. Not sure about buses in Watlington (minimal I suspect) but Bishops Cleeve mentioned above has a regular service operating into night.

expect no one from there calls it ' old Welwyn' just Welwyn

Have a look at Lymington in Hampshire, I think it's a small town you really need to meet your criteria or a village close to a small town.

Not sure how far north you want to go but i can highly recommend Chester as a great place to live. Good rail links and bus services. Great shops and walks especially around the roman walls and gardens. Has a market and a small cinema/ theatre/ library at the moment but we are getting a large multi-screen cinema this year (apparently!)

How about somewhere like Sandbach in Cheshire? It’s a small town, but quite a lot going on, including a community cinema. Has a train station - 2hrs to London, 1.5 hours to Birmingham.

Manningtree (though technically I believe it’s officially the smallest town in England).
Good links to London, Colchester nearby with all of the things you want and lovely, gentle countryside and coast on the doorstep.

Totnes has the rail link to London, independent cinema and a lovely market. Surrounded by South Hams countryside, short drive to the coast or Dartmoor.

Wivenhoe?

There are some gorgeous villages around Malvern, Worcestershire. Great train links (think Birmingham is under half an hour away), Malvern has a theatre and good shops, plus gorgeous walks right on the doorstep. And an all singing/dancing super new healthcentre. We live a few miles away at present but plan to retire there.

@seperatedmum it is still referred to as Old Welwyn

I vote for Berkhamsted too, I think it fits all your criteria (although it’s a town)

Oundle: lovely little town close to A1 and A14/m6 to drive to London or Birmingham in about an hour.
Only 20 minutes drive from Peterborough and all the city affords.
Oundle has its own small theatre (which streams movies and shows too ), music venues, farmers market, book shops, independent clothes shops, good butchers, bakers, cafes. Has lots going on in the community, and use of the School sports facilities as a leisure centre.

If I was moving again I'd definitely consider oundle. This one is 15 mins walk from the town centre. (Less for your son)

I was thinking Bath is close by though.

Berkhamsted is where I was going to suggest! So I second this suggestion.

West Bridgford in Nottingham- town, close to the city but also on the edge of the countryside. Ticks all your boxes and it's a lovely place to live

Stroud. Excellent transport links to london. Close to Cheltenham, Bath and Bristol. Lovely community, amazing farmers market. Lovely Cotswold countryside.

You'll get a lot for £800k.

Thame in Oxfordshire. Ticks all the boxes.

Kingham which is not far from Chipping Norton which also has lots happening

Soho farmhouse also near which is an excellent members club/destination

quoting:

Kingham is a peaceful and secluded village, once chosen as Country Life's 'England's Favourite Village', yet it has a main line train service to London - only 90 minutes away. The station is about a mile from the village centre.

Kingham is set in the broad Evenlode valley with wide open village greens at its northern end bordered by elegant cottages, many dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. There is a village shop, a church and two pubs.

The village is an excellent centre for walking and cycling with a number of walks and cycle rides centred on the village. Nearby attractions include Churchill and Sarsden Heritage Centre and Daylesford Organic.

Kingham is also a foodie destination, with its two highly-rated pubs, the Kingham Plough and The Wild Rabbit, and the annual Big Feastival held at Blur bassist Alex James’ local farm.