Where to move to - Ledbury/malvern area?

[Spirited123]

DH and I are considering moving our family from Sussex to Herefordshire/Worcestershire (we’ve visited relatives that way and love the endless green space, and know our budget goes much further there than in Sussex!)

We have 3 primary age kids so are looking for
a 4 bed house near a brilliant primary school, ideally in a village or edge of village. Village must have pub or shop as a minimum.

We’d like to be fairly connected, don’t want to live on an estate though (just preference)

We love hills and would like a big garden and a period house would be the dream!

Budget £900k.

I need to get the train to London x3 a month

Can anyone give ideas of what villages to look at to base our search?

Is Ledbury a nice town?

are there good sporting facilities for the kids?

any info about that area would be really appreciated, thank you!!

The B word. Yes. If you have ever lived within spitting distance of London, anything much past Hungerford going West is a bit of a culture shock.

I moved twenty miles from Ledbury a long time ago and I love it for a lot of reasons but I have to get back soon or I will be a lost soul : )

Maybe im biased but as someone who grew up further west (hereford) with family still in the area, I’d say actually though it’s further from London, Ledbury and Herefordshire has more of a liberal feel than Malvern. This is not the dominant culture in the county (more people voted Brexit back in 2016) , but there are strong enclaves, particularly those on the hippy end of things who have moved to Herefordshire to live the rural dream, which is probably why the north Herefordshire constituency (which includes Ledbury) now has a green MP. Malvern always felt far richer and therefore just more Tory to me, and its MP is still Tory.

That’s fascinating, thank you

I did notice the eco, hippy type independent shops in Ledbury, and think there must be more educated cultured left-leaning folk here than it might first appear. If they’re voting green, that’s a good sign for me.

That’s interesting about Malvern being more Tory.

Did the area have all the horrible painted roundabouts a few weeks ago like we did? And flags everywhere?

Part of me thinks that going backwards a bit might be a good thing! I just need a really good cup of coffee from somewhere; I’m one of those painful coffee snobs 😆

To be fair good coffee is quite hard to find in rural Sussex too

Both Ledbury and Malvern have a fair few independent coffee shops ... like most places though, some better than others. I find some of the Malvern ones are the ones people like to be seen in but actually their coffee isn't great (I'd be interested to know if any Malvern people on here know where I mean and feel the same )

There's a reassuring absence of Costa on the high streets (although one at the Malvern retail park). Chain-wise, Malvern has a Neros in town and Ledbury has a Coffee#1.

Whilst not a Malvern resident I have spent more time there (work) than I care to remember… if you’re talking about Faun I think the coffee, the pastries and the food are terribly overrated. The sourdough bread is alright though. But they don’t have much competition on the food front really. Better coffee can be had had Henry’s IMO, but neither open early enough!!

I am from this area and looked at moving back a few years ago. If you're coming from Sussex it shouldn't be too much of a culture or infrastructure shock. Yes, there are lots of old people, floods, insularity and unless you grew up speeding around the Malvern Hills, you need to up your driving game.

North Herefordshire and Worcestershire are not really major Reform territory - you're getting close to Birmingham and West Midlands so it can be more diverse than you might guess, plus we don't have the same issues experienced by East of England because we're so far away from routes of entry. North Herefordshire has a Green MP.

The schools are really the most important thing because they vary vastly in quality and resources and you need to identify the primary & secondary schools you like and work it out from there. We wanted the Chantry in Martley so we looked at villages around there. For good schools - I would avoid Hereford completely. (I went to school in Hereford...)

You have a big budget compared to most so it shouldn't be an issue. Driving to school is often unavoidable so unless you're going to move to Worcester city centre, expect that. If I had your budget I would go to Worcester - lots of good transport connections, good schools, sports & activities plus easy to get to Cheltenham, Birmingham and London and the lovely country nearby - you just need to avoid the flooding areas but not difficult. Malvern as a second choice depending on the property.

Commuting to Worcester train stations from the villages around is pure hell. The traffic can be awful in rush hour so being in the city is preference. No shade but I really wouldn't live in Ledbury - you will die of boredom.

@Tryingtokeepgoing ... spot on! Not just me then

🤣 about Tory far right in Malvern. It is very middle class/farming Tory area. The district council covers a huge area due to low population. It’s a farming/shooting area. It’s very, very not woke left leaning. Waitrose has a strong foothold locally. There is a big store in Worcester with a wine bar and sushi counter. Lots of independent coffee shops in Worcester along with the usually high street brands. Multiple independent gin distillers across the county. And locally sourced food and meat easy to obtain.Worcestershire still grows food. Farm shops are plentiful and reasonably priced. I can buy beef from our local pub, which is owned and run by a local farmer. You can sit in the pub and watch the cattle that will be served up on the menu.

Worcester still has a busy high street. There are out of town retail parks but with parking in the city affordable they haven’t taken over. I can park all day in Worcester for about £7. It’s a compact city but with plenty of none high street chains. I would recommend a weekend staying in the city to fully explore the area.

I don't know, I've never dared venture that side.😂👽

I live just 3 miles from Worcester city centre, just outside of a village with a great pub, shop and school. We are surrounded by woodland and lakes, so despite being within spitting distance of an M&S it really does feel a million miles away. We are also in catchment for The Chantry so a free bus picks the kids up from outside our door. You'd get a great house for your budget in one of the Worcester villages - Ombersley, Hallow, Great Witley, Grimley are all beautiful.

Thank you for this

I do love a good Waitrose but am definitely not Tory…!

Looks like I’m booking a long weekend in Worcester as everyone had good things to say about it

Thank you for this list of villages that’s mega helpful :)

Yes all of those are lovely. I would love to live in Great Witley. I also think Broadwas is nice too and has a nice village school.

One other thought OP, have a look at the Worcester private schools if your DD is sporty. They both offer scholarships, though I appreciate this may not be affordable.
Hallow and Great Witley are a good idea from PP.

Have family members in Worcester & Hallow & came on to suggest Hallow too. It has the required shop, primary school & pub, as well as church & cafe. It’s not far from Worcester city centre, which is easier to access by bike or walking now the second bridge is completed & opened.

I live in Worcester and moved here 12 years ago from Oxfordshire. There is so much more for kids and teens to do. Also Worcester has an athletics track and Worcester Athletics Club runs Tuesdays and Thursdays for kids starting from age 10 or Year 5 onwards. Both my two love it. Also I love the fact that now that they are older they can go into town with friends without needing taxi of mum and dad. We are in the Battenhall area which is 10mins walk from the cinema. It’s amazing once the kids get to high school.

So helpful thank you x

Brilliant thank you x

We live in Malvern, moved here just over a year ago and it’s the best thing we’ve ever done, For us it gave us a great mix of countryside on our doorstep but also a great town we can walk into with everything you need for children, and so close to more culture and food in cities like Worcester, Birmingham & Cheltenham. Good train and motorway links and about 45-50 mins to Birmingham airport.

I don’t think it’s brooding here or dark as someone else said about the hills, they are gorgeous, Our house is just on the north hill as it goes round to the west side and we get the most beautiful sunrises and stunning sunsets and our garden gets sunshine all day in the summer. Our kitchen at the back of the house is a little dark as it’s built into the hill, but we have a garden room and plenty of light upstairs, it depends on the house but for your budget which was almost double ours you’ll get a wonderful house and be able to be picky.

we walk the hills or orchards or woods every day with our dog and don’t have to go in the car to get there, it’s brought balance and calm to our lives after living in a city for 10 years and we feel extremely lucky to live here.

If you don’t mind driving your kids around a lot for school, clubs etc then living out in villages surrounding Malvern would be wonderful, but we chose the town for still feeling a bit connected.

Our local counsellor is Green Party so not everyone is a Tory! Good luck I think you’ve made a wonderful choice x