Where would you retire to that is picturesque?

[Grimshadylady]

Where in the UK would you find a lovely house (preferably detached) with great views to retire to? Views could be rolling hills, sea, river, lake, etc.

A detached house with sufficient land around it. Even better if I'd need to drive a couple of minutes to be able to find a neighbour to have a dispute with.

Are there property sites where there is an option to search for properties with views?

Isle of Wight. Amazing properties with your budget.

Anywhere nice with properties circa £250- 300k 😂

My parents used to live on the edge of a small town with fields out the back, not a house in sight. Beautiful views (if you like fields). Needless to say it's all long gone.

I'm not sure that anything like that exists, with amenities not too far away and that is within the grasp of us mere mortals aka minions.

Thank you all. We are making a list and a plan to see some of these if still available.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148312595#/?channel=RES_BUY

Overlooking farmland

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149090054#/?channel=RES_BUY

Neighbours, but you'd never really see them 😆

Probably not what you're looking for, but they're in nice areas close to countryside and the beaches.

@TheFogsGettingThicker I love Heswall too - we have friends who live there . Smashing little town

@Crikeyalmighty It is, it's lovely.

I was looking for a house overlooking the Dee estuary, for the views. Some have fabulous views of the Welsh hills, but the EA photos don't always show them.

We live in Settle. In the Yorkshire Dales, great views. Good fell walking. Not far from the Lakes, you can be in Leeds in less than an hour for big city stuff. On a Trainline, good road links.

East Devon. Beautiful and oddly underrated. Sidmouth is just spectacular and civilised. Only town to BE a civic arboretun rather than just having one. Look at the pic and choose a house high enough up the valley to have a view back out over that spectacular coastline... Not TOO close to the cliffs, mind you.

I wouldn't retire to somewhere I didn't know.
I definitely wouldn't retire to somewhere rural or semi rural. As an older person, I want to be in a city, with access to lots of culture, activities and facilities. Also, somewhere with good public transport and taxi services as, inevitably, the day will come when I'm no longer able to drive. Being stuck out "somewhere pretty", with no transport, definitely doesn't appeal!

Thanks.

I am curious about the perspective that in the older years it is better to live in a city. So who is rural and semi-rural places best for? Young families?

I always imagine that semi-rural/rural would be good for retirement and winding down from the hustle and bustle.

It is great until you are no longer able to drive safely and absolutely everything is a drive away - doctor, hospital, shops etc. Very few rural areas have much in the way of public transport so once you're unable to drive, you have to spend an absolute fortune on taxis.

My grandmother retired to the coast which was her lifelong dream (apparently). She had a heart attack after 18 months and was no longer able to drive and became rapidly less and less mobile. The local care services were already struggling as it was an area with a lot of retirees. My aunt ended up having to give up work to care for her.

That view would be magnificent, if it wasn’t for the zip wire going straight across it!

So you live 40 years where forced to for work and then don't move anywhere nice because at some point in the following years you will get old ?

Those 10 or 20 years may well be the best of your life- don't let fear of getting old stop you enjoying them!

I think the local roads/area is as important as the direct view out of your kitchen window. If you're driving through beautiful scenery every day to do your errands, you'll be immersed in it daily.

Maybe on the edge of a small market town which has some useful facilities and is surrounded by lovely scenery might be the best of both worlds?

You don't need to live out in the countryside though in order to wind down from the hustle and bustle. Living in a decent village or a country market town will surely do that for you as well as still giving you some access to activities? DH and I have retired to Dorset, however we are young retirees and don't envisage living in our current situation in 15 or so years time. The countryside is great but once you can no longer drive, it's not at all practical. I had an operation recently which meant I couldn't drive for a couple of weeks and was completely dependent on DH to get everywhere – Doctor, library, supermarket etc. There is no bus service at all on our relatively main road, I know other services in the area run once every two hours and the train station is 3 miles away. Taxis seem to have to be ordered days in advance. I grew up in the countryside so it's kind of a return to roots for me, fine at the moment but completely impractical once one or other of us is no longer mobile.

I don't understand this either. It's not a binary choice between city and middle of nowhere.

Maybe on the edge of a small market town which has some useful facilities and is surrounded by lovely scenery
might be the best of both worlds?

This is what I'd be looking for. I wouldn't ever want to live in a big city again. Might consider a very small one.

DH and I have a 2 stage plan- retire to North Pembrokeshire where I grew up, then move somewhere more practical (yet to be decided) once we get too old to enjoy it.

So true.. my retirement place will have easy public transport links to doctors, hospital, shops and social activities. I live in a rural area people retire to. Seeing how limited their lives are as they get older is heartbreaking. Also in super ageing areas adult social services are so over subscribed and under funded.

Hmmm, this makes a lot of sense - the oversubscription of health services where there are many retirees in remote areas. I will take that onboard.

My ideal retirement home is in an established quiet well kept suburb. Back garden not overlooked and facing open land with distant views. Great transport links to a larger town/city. Local amenities within walking distance, e.g. local shop/library/GP etc. Low maintenance and all done up to latest specs for easy living when older.

Yep, I have it and have been living here for over 35 years. Out in a box I suppose!

DP and I have been looking, in a gentle fashion, for somewhere to move to in four or five years' time.

So far my favourite has been Herefordshire- I loved everything I saw. I want to see hills from my window.

He wants properly-rural, but I've managed to convince him of the necessity of shops/doctor etc within a walkable distance.

These are near me on the Herefordshire/Powys border, it's beautiful here

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/156751106#/?channel=RES_BUY
Maybe too rural though

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150108443#/?channel=RES_BUY
Amazing views but too many steps for retirement?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148561463#/?channel=RES_BUY
Gorgeous spot

I'd have to go for Yorkshire Dales or Yorkshire Moors - somewhere reasonably close to York (by reasonably close, I mean 60-90 minutes) so good for day trips/shopping etc., but far enough away from the main towns/cities to have a quiet/peaceful life. I'd be looking roughly around the Harrogate, Pickering and Thirsk triangle, so close enough for those small towns and the city of York, but I can still have the rural idyl of views of open countryside, valleys or moors from my living room window.

Ah I've just posted about Herefordshire! I love it here. Several market towns big enough to have amenities without being in Hereford itself as well.