Rural Village with good schools

[sleepingfish]

Hello all,

Really need help with this. Have been around Surrey, high Wycombe, Newbury etc. We are in our late 30s and early 40s with a 1 year old looking to get away from london for

• A small friendly scenic rural village, sheep in field behind house etc.
• Walking distance to good primary and secondary school (both state and private), activities.

-Safe area

• 3 bed detached £750k max budget, big garden for home office,
• 2 hour-ish away from london. We don’t need to commute but have friends in london.
• Cannot stand traffic and would like to avoid small minded people, really looking for a relaxed slow pace living.

Thank you all :)

Does it have to be those areas? Suffolk and South Norfolk fit all your criteria

Small rural villages don't typically have secondary schools within walking distance. Primary schools, yes, but the secondary schools will trpically be situated in the market towns with pupils travelling in from the surrounding villages by bus.

There may be unicorn villages out there that fit the brief, but if walking distance to secondary schools is the most important factor you are much more likely to find this in a rural market town or a large, well developed village with good transport links than a chocolate box small village.

Also, what do you mean by "activities"? That's quite a broad brief? Arts scene? Sports? Again, the activities available within actual villages are likely to be relatively limited and centred on village life. Teens in particular are usually poorly served by villages.

Not at all, just some areas people have suggested. Open to any other suggestions as well :)

Yes I have realised that hurdle with teenage boredom. Was hoping to find our forever home and not having to move again :) In regards to activities, I meant for children for eg music class, martial arts class etc

Suffolk villages/towns that are smaller than some villages where there are both Primary & High Schools

Eye
Framlingham
Thurston
Ixworth
Claydon
Leiston
Debenham
Holbrook
Clare
Stowupland
Stradbroke
Great Cornard

As you can see, there's actually lots of choice!

All of those I've listed have houses that will have fields behind the back garden. Some have better facilities for teens than others, some have better transport links than others. I'd say if you're looking to future-proof you'd be better looking for one with good transport links as that way teens can access far more activities without you having to drive them around as much!

We live in a beautiful village in Dorset. We were lucky enough to have a tiny first school in walking distance, then bus to middle school in the next village then onto the high school in the local market town.

I wouldn't change it at all but the reality is that we spend a lot of time driving our teenage DD about to and from activities in the market town. There was limited bus services when we moved but they've been long since axed.

I think you might be looking for somewhere that doesn't really exist.

And though I love the way village communities look out for each other, there are going to be more small minded attitudes prevalent than perhaps in your current city. It just goes with the territory.

I dont mean to be off putting because I love living here and never regretted the move but it's not all a bed of roses.

That's super helpful, thank you:)

You’re asking a lot. We hit some of your asks where we live but not all. We have the village with sheep in the fields on the way to our primary school but the reality is you’re in the car a fair bit to get to activities. But, we have a well connected bus service so kids will be able to get into town and even into London on public transport quite easily when they’re older.

Walking distance to secondary is the thing like others have said that is going to limit you. Why so firm on that? There should be school buses. All the private schools near us have bus routes through as does the nearest state school.

I’d also be conscious of the population flows into and out of the village. I grew up in one that was very small minded, some people there for years and would probably never leave, lack of ambition among kids was rife. Where I am now is a common move out of London with lots of families commuting, very high aspiration for children and I think that does change the vibe a lot.

If you're looking for somewhere with activities and a secondary school, I think what you're after is a town.

Oxfordshire. It’s 45 mins to London from our nearest station, and we have sheep in the field behind us.

Nearby village sample property: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148969664#/?channel=RES_BUY

Helpston.

Try small rural towns if you want to include secondary schools.
Stockbridge
Alresford
Whitchurch
Romsey

Sharnbrook in North Beds has a secondary and primary. The High Street is pretty and some, but not all houses will have fields behind them.

To get the activities and secondary school within walking distance you probably need to look for a market town. Often they feel like a big village. If you live on the outskirts you might get your sheep.

Don’t go too rural it’s miserable for teens.

Have you considered the dreaded north?

We’re in a village that meets and exceeds all your asks (bar high school as no high schools are in walking distance of rural villages) but we have a grammar, a girls school, a catholic and an academy all in our catchment all with buses from our village. 15 min door to door to mainline station for sub 2 hour train to London.

my husband works in London 2 days a week!

Walking to secondary schools & activities doesn’t tend to go with sheep field's. .

Try small rural towns if you want to include secondary schools.
Stockbridge
Alresford
Whitchurch-the smallest but does have trains into London.
Romsey- this is the biggest with 2 secondary schools.

These are Hampshire and will have sheep. cows etc surrounding them. Oh and rivers and trout!

My experience of scenic countryside, is that the lanes are too dangerous to want to walk anywhere. No pavements or street lights, often narrow and windy with high hedges, and these days there's loads of non-local delivery drivers who don't know the area, and who are in a rush.

A small market town like Tring (Herts) ticks a lot of your boxes, but if you went too far into the outskirts to get the fields, then I don't think you'd enjoy walking back into town.

In terms of secondary school, as long as you can walk to the bus stop, that'll be fine (we don't, and it's an absolute pain).

The thing with "rural" is that walking distance often means going along an unlit road with no pavement, or through a muddy field (with no pavement).

If you want proper walking distance, activities, schools and things for teenagers, then I'd go for a market town instead.

Bury St Edmunds is a good shout, there are sheep nearby but not really behind the houses

Consider up north? The train from Newark to London takes 75 minutes.

2 hours from London would also get you to the villages north of Worcester/south of Birmingham.

Belbroughton
Chaddesley Corbett
Clent
Barnt Green
Hagley

Hagley has both primary and secondary schools within walking distance of the centre, but you'd have to be a little further out to get fiends behind you. It's bigger than the others, with a high street of small shops etc.

The others have fields and primary schools, but a bus to secondary schools.

Belbroughton and Chaddesley both have GP surgeries and pub(s).

Belbroughton has sports clubs, deli, hairdresser, dentist etc.

I really think you're going to struggle to find somewhere with no traffic, but enough activities/shop/schools etc as all those things bring traffic with them.

but you'd have to be a little further out to get fiends behind you.

Love this typo - imagining fields of satanic sheep. “Get thee behind me, Satan!”

Many rural villages will have a school bus service and many will have a primary school.

I live more rurally as not in a village centre. My children get to school by bus which they complain about as it is often late (public bus not dedicated school bus). It is a pain driving them everywhere but all mine were driving and had cars at 17 so it didn't last forever. There are about 5 bad years where you seem to be taking them to friends and work constantly.

My children love living in a village though and wouldn't want to be in a city. I think a small pretty town would be a good compromise though.