Steeton, Skipton and Keighley

[cfc95]

Hi,
We were originally planning to buy a house in Addingham/North of Ilkley - but we are having a tough time finding a house there that we can afford. The recent experience with the vendors and estate agents in Ilkley has not been pleasant either (we didn't get a property even though we offered the asking price as it had just come in the market and the vendors want to wait to see if they get a better price!).
We are now looking at other cities and wondering how Skipton, Steeton and Keighley score in terms of

• good transport links with Leeds and Skipton (as my husband and I work at Leeds and we are hoping my son will get a place at Ermysted's Grammar School in Skipton)
• quality of the neighbourhood (safety, scenic beauty, activities for young boys)
• ethnic diversity (we are from Bangladesh and prefer a place which has a mix of ethnicities rather than an overwhelming majority of one)

Thanks in advance.

Skipton and Steeton are lovely, Keighley depends on where you are but the town centre isn't great. Some nice villages round that way though, Haworth and Oxenhope for example.

Although that said, some of the smaller villages tend to be less ethnically diverse than the bigger towns around that area, but no more so than Addingham/Ilkley.

I know the Skipton area very well, and would really recommend it. Skipton is a friendly town with plenty going on, and if you're looking at Ermysteads for school it would be great for your DC to be able to walk there.

Both Skipton and Steeton are majority white, but not to the extent that other ethnicities are unusual. I am white though, so my perception of this may be different to yours.

Steeton is also nice, but access to amenities is less good - you'd be more car dependent. Does the Ermysteads catchment extend to all of Keighley? (I don't have kids so not sure on detail, but this is worth checking.)

The Skipton train line is the best of the commuter lines into Leeds IMO. My colleagues travelling from Harrogate etc. are always complaining about late or cancelled trains - these are a real rarity on the Skipton line.

You won’t get much ethnic diversity in those areas.

keighley has a reputation for being rough. Silsden is a nice village.

Good point about Addingham/Ilkley - I would say Skipton is more diverse and down to earth than either of those.

To get a good feel for the place, it'd be worth while taking a day to explore Skipton on foot. Walk through Castle Woods, check out the town centre & shops, visit a cafe etc. The town has a good general feel to it, if it's your sort of thing.

I do this whenever I'm considering moving to an area I don't know well. Walking the streets tells you a lot more than driving through or looking at what people say online.

The housing market bubble has definitely not burst yet in Addingham/Ilkley/Burley and as you have discovered most decent houses go before they even really hit the market.

Skipton is lovely. But house prices there are still quite high. The better primary schools have very small catchments and due to the grammar schools there is a lot of competitor tutoring and education angst from about Year 3/4. (Yes they’re not super selective and yes you’ll be told plenty of children get in without tutoring but in reality most child re have a tutor). Skipton Academy doesn’t have a great reputation if you don’t get in but it’s massively improving and is becoming a valid choice.

Steeton is small. Traffic is horrible because of the hospital. Both Steeton and Eastburn primary schools are good and more ethnically diverse than some other village school due to hospital staff. And you’re in the South Craven catchment for secondary which is excellent. Most people go to Skipton or Keighley for football/rugby/swimming etc.

Silsden is a bit bigger and more buzzy. It always looks nice with a lot of young families and a huge improving primary school. Again traffic issues as the road from Ilkley to Keighley passes through there. South Craven or Skipton grammars for secondary. Has enough in the village to do (football club, cricket club, library, cafes, community hub) and not far from Skipton or Keighley for anything else. Seems to have a good community feel.

I don’t know Keighley well so I’m not going to comment. But I do know at least one of the secondary schools have recently had dreadful Ofsted reports.

Have you considered Menston? Nice large village. Ilkley Grammar school catchment (comprehensive not selective). 20mins to Leeds on the train.

Have you considered Menston?

Or Otley - it's only 2 miles from there to Menston train station for the commute to Leeds, and more affordable than Ilkley.

Kieghley is the most diverse of all the places you mention but also has much rougher areas. I think the town has more shops etc but the centre is a bit meh.

Skipton has good train links but is a pain to get to by car - 30 mins to the nearest motorway which serves the west, bloody ages to get to the A1 in the east. Lots of touristy things to do in the centre but it really is quite isolated if you're looking for activities for dc.

Have you considered Harrogate? York? Otley is closer to Leeds but no train service. Really depends on your budget and wish-list. Consider transport options for dc to school too.

Some of the villages on the outskirts of keighley could work but obviously not then walking distance to a train line.
saltaire world heritage site is beautiful and not as pricey and also only 30minutes to Skipton for the school by train roughly

Saltaire is also much more ethnically diverse than some of the other places mentioned.
silsden is very white and imo quite a racist place

Thanks a lot, everyone for sharing your insights. We haven't looked at Menston/Otley - thanks for the suggestions. We have already listed Ermysted's and Ilkley Grammar as the 1st and 2nd preferences (DS has passed the entrance exam and we are currently living in a rented house in Addingham ) - so a bit constrained in terms of how far we can consider. The school bus of Ermysted's does go to Burley in Wharfedale and Menston - not sure about Otley though. And we did look at Ripon, North Harrogate and Saltaire last year before giving the school options, but commute-wise the towns along the Wharfe seemed better.
@LookingOldTheseDays : yes, we had walked in Skipton and Steeton. Steeton looked a bit 'lifeless' - but in Skipton, many of the other people around seemed like tourists - so was not very sure what will it be like to live there! Good to know that people in Skipton are more down to earth than Ilkley :)
Really appreciate getting all the info - thanks again!