Moving to Devon

[RFinley]

Hi everyone we're moving to Devon from the Midlands and have been house hunting for a while. We're now narrowed down to a particular part of Devon (mid/north Devon) and want a rural village feel but with a good primary close by. We're viewing houses in Winkleigh, South Molton and Stibbs Cross. I'm a remote worker so I don't need to think about employment prospects in the general area and my husband is a very experienced heating and gas engineer so should be fine provided he makes new contacts (we're also not reliant on him earning anything and can survive on my salary until he gets set up). Does anyone know these villages well and have any inside info?? In particular our favourite seems to be Winkleigh at the moment, has a nice school and pubs but is quite small compared to some bigger villages in the area.

I’d come to recommend north tawton and chagford

@Nearlyadoctor You never mentioned South Molton being bleak in your initial post so not sure why you think other posters are agreeing with you about something you never said in the first place, the only thing you said about South Molton was that it has the cheapest house prices in the whole of Devon, you are completely wrong on that front and just don’t like being called out on your inaccuracies, there are more expensive places than South Molton and there are far cheaper places than South Molton, hopefully now at least you realise Barnstaple is not a city, every day’s a school day!

We moved to north Devon from the midlands 15 years ago with 4 children aged 8 and under. My criteria was somewhere with schools in walking distance so the kids have independence so we live in Bideford and love it.

that said a friend has just moved from Bideford to winkleigh and likes it. She still works in Bideford but I think that will change in the next couple of years and she will move to crediton or Exeter.

good luck! We’ve never regretted the move

Thank you this makes me feel much better! Some of the comments are so negative.. all the villages we've been too in our view are stunning but I do want to avoid anywhere too dead. Winkleigh has a butchers, shop, two pubs and a school and full of lovely little cottages and views upon views.

We live in the Tamar Valley near Gunnislake and love it. Good choice of schools and pretty good transport links for Cornwall. (We are also selling a house we inherited in the region if you are interested!)

My DH is from the region and we moved back here because he got a job here over 20 years ago now. Within 2 years the firm closed and so he was doing the weekend commute since then. He would either drive to Exeter (50 minutes) and train it, or drive to Basingstoke which is about 3-4 hours. There is also the new train link from Okehampton to Exeter too.

I don't know the villages you mention that well, and like a PP wouldn't really think to visit them. They are quite rural and distances round here can be deceptive, with somewhere that is closer may take longer to get to. Also I know some village down here are at risk of losing their village school due to falling numbers.

I think 'backward' is the wrong word for North Devon but it is a very poor and disadvantaged area (there was a piece by Alice Thomson in the Times about it) I always feel I've gone back in time every time I go north of the A30. I was really shocked last time I went to Biddeford, you could see it was once a charming town but it was so run down it looked with lots of empty shops, gangs of bored teens everywhere. However, that was about 6 years ago now.

It can be difficult in areas like this because when you live here all the time you don't want somewhere too much of a holiday destination, which is empty in winter.

If it's at all feasible I would think about living here for a bit before you decide where to put down roots.

If you send me a rightmove link I will absolutely take a look 🤣

If you are looking at the North Devon area, can I suggest that you also look at Exmoor for spectacular landscapes and stunning walking? The villages on the border with Somerset are small and quite charming. We particularly like Dulverton, which is just smaller than a town but with medical facilities, several pubs and some pleasant restaurants, and Bampton (smaller) although the Bristol Channel beaches are not spectacular -- for proper sandy (surfing) beaches head west to the Atlantic coast. Dulverton especially ticks the sweet spot between tourism and open/ functional in winter, although I have never been in high summer.

If you look more closely at the Tamar Valley, which I know well, give Gunnislake a swerve. There are nicer villages.

Dulverton looks gorgeous, but property options seem to be limited for us ... A must is a garage due to the sheer amount of crap my husband has

I can see that might be an issue @RFinley !

@RFinley

I have PM'd you 🙂

Winkleigh is lovely, there are two pubs, a shop, butchers, florist and a couple of cafes and perhaps still a vet. I moved to Winkleigh as a young child and attended primary school there for a few years and the secondary locally, college etc, my mum now lives just outside the village. It has a choice to two secondary schools, I am unsure of the childcare provision for younger children, I believe there is at least one childminder. However one extremely important thing to consider is internet speed. I am not sure of the connection in the village itself but this would definitely be worth checking.

I do like South Molton, personally Stubbs Cross is too rural for me. Out of the areas you have mentioned, I would choose North Tawton. The primary school looks lovely, it has a lovely social life and amenities. It is also close to the A30 for transport and easy access to the motorway. We seriously considered moving here but decided we did not want to move the children. We live elsewhere in Mid Devon, village hasn’t been mentioned yet 😂

Other things to consider when living here is how far it is to a big town or city. This can be important for teens and there are some things you do need to go into Exeter for, or into a larger town like Barnstaple. Both are quite similar distance from Winkleigh I think. I attended 6th form in Barnstaple and my sibling in Exeter for example. This means a lot of taxi driving for you potentially as children get older.

I moved from Exminster as the motorway noise got horrific. It hasn't got any better in 25 years.

I was coming on to say this! I grew up very rural and it was miserable when I became a teenager. Starting driving at 17 feels decades away when you’re 13/14.