Where is your dream village in the UK to call home?

[flutterbye88]

Hi everyone!

After a year of googling, reading posts and mini breaks to check out areas - we're still lost in our search for a forever home/area. It's so hard to get a feel for a place in a short amount of time!

We've discovered many beautiful villages, but we're holding out for 'the one' - one with like-minded sociabe folk and utterly charming!!

So I'd love to put the question to the Mumsnet Hive -

Where is your dream village in the UK to call home?

Who we are and what we're hoping to find:

We’re a family with young children (aged 6, 3, and 1½). hoping to find our forever place, somewhere we can put down roots and be part of a warm, lively community.

We don’t have much extended family around us, so we work on building that sense of belonging from within, for us, and for our kiddies.

We’re the kind of family who love travel, adventure and a bit of fun, but we’re also very grounded and homely.

We love the idea of raising our kids somewhere they can have a proper childhood - muddy knees, village fêtes, neighbours who become friends for playdates AND wine!! Somewhere, the children will feel they have proper roots and people who know them, once we pass.

What we’re looking for:
✨ A beautiful, friendly village with a really strong sense of community. Somewhere where people get involved and look out for one another.
✨ Good schools
✨ Close enough to a safe, interesting town so they’re not climbing the walls as teenagers!
✨ Somewhere that feels special/charming - pretty, welcoming, with that hard-to-describe “spark” that makes you fall in love with it.
✨ A place where, one day, our children will feel proud to come back with their own families.

We work remotely, so we’re flexible on location and can choose anywhere in the UK. Our budget is up to £850k (for a 4-bed house)

Do you live somewhere like this, or know a village or small town that sounds this dreamy? We’d LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear your suggestions, stories, or tips.

We’re ready to build a life somewhere special. 💛

Thank you so much in advance! x

I think you need to move to Yorkshire. I have family in Nafferton, and Tickton and they sound like just what you're describing. They all moved there in the last 5 years and have been so warmly welcomed. The villages have lovely primary schools, good pubs, little shop, Nafferton has a farm shop and some other bits, it's close to a smallish market town called Driffield for a bit more life. Tickton is a smaller village, but the local town is bigger, it's called Beverley, which is like a mini York. That's where the secondary schools are (few options, all highly rated I believe though I'm only going on hearsay). They're both pretty little places to drive through, doesn't have the wow factor of north Yorkshire hills but there's something intrinsically charming about them. Whenever we visit people are so friendly. They're the kind of places where people live 10 minutes from their parents. Have also heard good things about other similar places in the area like Levan, Pocklington, Pickering....Kids riding bikes around, having the freedom to go to the playground or the shop. Close to the coast, can get a train to Hull or Leeds for more 'city activities', the buses to the local towns seem good (though honestly they're also both a 10 minute cycle, or there are trains from Nafferton!). It seems really very idyllic. I'm sure there are downsides that I'm romanticising as I only ever visit, but may be worth having a look :)

If you needed more convincing look at Nafferton primary schools page. They have this sort of library room, all richly decorated, and when kids/classes achieve a goal they're invited there for afternoon tea...with proper cake stands and the like. It's really adorable. A group of locals are getting together at the moment to put on a panto. Visiting there feels like going back in time, but without the village gossip feel.

Ooh, I've never come across 'Alnmouth' I'll check it out!

I hear you about the rose-tinted specs, they’ve been on and off more times than I can count, lol! I keep swinging between feeling a bit downtrodden and then holding onto hope that someone, somewhere will hold all the answers (v unrealistic I guess!). This thread’s actually helping me get a much more well-rounded perspective, though. 😊

Aldbourne in wilts. They’ll be a bit bored as teenagers but I think all teenagers get bored even those in big cities.

I'm from Derbyshire (not a nice village though 😂). There are some lovely villages/towns in this area which I think would fit your bill.

Look at: Ashover, Baslow, Barlow, Eyam, Bakewell, Castleton, Hathersage, etc.

You are close to Chesterfield and Sheffield. Good links to Notts and Derby.

I also wouldn't discount some of the nicer parts of Chesterfield, like Hollymoorside. Whilst it's not a village, the houses are gorgeous, there's lots of greenery, and you are literally a 15 minute drive away from some lovely Peak District locations.

With your budget, you can afford a stunning house in Derbyshire with relative ease!

I also used to live in York, and there are some lovely surroundings areas. Knarseborough is a beautiful place.

Have a look at Chiddingstone in Kent OP. It has a lovely primary school, with lots of good secondary (& grammar) schools in surrounding towns like Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge. It’s welcoming and very community minded, with fetes, events and social things… there are pubs that people gravitate towards, it’s got a castle, a church, and it’s easy to get to London by train or Brighton by car. I don’t know about house prices as I moved away to the seaside once my dcs grew up, but they had a lovely childhood here. And nearby Penshurst is nice too, both very pretty, rural villages.

We live in a small town in Devon. Despite the reputation that Devon has towards incomers, I found that we quickly became part of the local community - although this is partly due to both my husband and I working in the town in community-based jobs; both of our children went to the local state primary and secondary schools, and I was actively involved in the PTAs and other community groups. I’m sure you will be welcomed into the local’s fold wherever you go if you throw yourself into the community.
However, we also struggle with the DFLs, it has pushed prices up across the SW. Seems to be a common problem.

Oh and Alnmouth is beautiful, as is much of the Northumberland coast.

Buxton might be worth a look.
Quite a lot going on even for teens
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/160204334#/?channel=RES_BUY

Your thread has inspired me to actually create an account rather than just reading as I usually do. Just wanted to echo a pp to say villages outside Beverley have everything you've mentioned. We moved here from a big city in the summer and are just loving it (appreciate it's still very early days and the rose tinted glasses are still on, but so far so good). It feels safe, people have been friendly and welcoming. There's a school, playground, village green and hall which has a good few events and groups going on, currently gearing up for the harvest festival. My oldest is only ks1, but already I can see there's going to be so much more freedom here than there was in our old place. Then Beverley as the local bigger market town is bustling, with a theatre, cinema, shopping centre, soft play, multiple secondary schools, leisure centre etc etc. It's also just lovely to look at, which helps! There are other beautiful villages nearby which have a bit more infrastructure (like a butchers or a library etc) but because Beverley is only a 15 minute cycle we don't feel like we're missing out not having them right on the doorstep. So far we've found all the groups/activities we'd like to do, haven't felt restricted at all. Joining local teams etc is helping us meet people. The main bonus has been the people, we've been scooped right up into the community and so looked after. I feel like we've been here ages already. Our neighbours do things like host Sunday morning coffee, or Christmas crafternoons, plus the school community helps having young children. People are going out of their way to invite us to things and make sure we're included.

I'm not great at being eloquent or succinct, but if this is an area you'd consider feel free to message me and I'm happy to answer any questions!

Poppleton just outside York is a large village with all the features you describe. Good access to transport, into the city and in the other direction to Harrogate and Leeds by train, plus a decent bus service. Local shops, few pubs, great community centre with park, decent schools in easily walkable distance, friendly people, lots of ‘incomers’.
Also have a look at places around Ilkley and maybe Malton?

My parents are from Morpeth and I went to school in a different (worse) town nearby. I'm not sure about primary schools but King Edward VI high school always had a reputation for being excellent (now they've got rid of the three tier system it's an academy but as far as I know still an excellent school). I live abroad now but if I ever moved back to the UK I would definitely consider Morpeth. Other potential locations in the area would be Hexham or Alnwick, although I don't know either place as well as I do Morpeth.

We moved to a lovely small village in Kent, near a picturesque city. Ten years later, when we moved away, we realised that we had friends but had never really been accepted. Most people lived near family so didn't need to swop babysitting, were often not available at weekends and had a network of friends that went back to their primary schools. People didn’t really invest in us.

We then moved to a small town (not in Kent) which has been fantastic for bringing up our children. Choice of primaries, a secondary in walking distance, not being a taxi driver for teens. - and near enough to London that our children could access London for nightlife/careers. Lots of the teens that lived in surrounding villages hated it.

Most places in the UK allow you to access the countryside; I would think very carefully about the whole long term picture.

Hi @shouldprobablyturnalighton thanks so much for your reply. Funnily enough, my mum - who lives in Wetherby, not too far from Beverly - keeps telling me to look around Beverly. When I'm up next to visit, I'm going to check out Nafferton and Tickton! You're right, the school in Nafferton looks just wonderful. I had a peek at their insta and found the tea in the library - what a fabulous school!! Thanks so much for your input x

@flutterbye88 we live in Bath, so I know Box really well by the way - it’s also on a good regular bus route to Bath and Corsham ( every 20 minutes) - that runs quite late - you do get quite a few celebs round there but it’s also got plenty of us plebs - what it does have as I posted is bloody lovely houses - and it isn’t just full of ‘second homers’ - certainly if you don’t want to go ‘up north ‘ I think it’s a great pick - the only downer if you need the train is it would be Chippenham or Bath - about 15 minutes drive for either but regular - Chippenham is 1hr 12 mins into London

Malvern. There’s loads of villages around it and the sense of community is great. Welcoming to newcomers- am one myself (17 years ago) and most of the people I know are incomers as you can commute to Birmingham easily, direct train to London… loads of people who live here work in Cheltenham and tell me they can’t tell me where they work - GCHQ then!

@flutterbye88 it would also be worth checking out Bradford on Avon too - although it’s actually a town it’s a small one, and a very beautiful one - bonus here is it’s on train to Bath ( 15 minutes) has a swimming pool and a really good secondary school as well as good primary’s - lots of cafes and restaurants, canals etc - lovely place , it is hilly and it can get a bit trafficky on the hills in - but has a lovely community vibe, less villagey than Box but with considering -

Have you looked around in North Yorkshire? I live in teeny tiny hamlet there, and it's gorgeous. My kids grew up mostly feral but went to good schools, everyone is VERY friendly and the countryside is beautiful, particularly out on the moors. Only drawback is that you have to drive for EVERYTHING, nearest small town is several miles away and it's a sixty or seventy mile round drive to the nearest big city.

And the beach is only half an hour away...

Whatever you decide on, bypass norfolk.
We love it, but won't ever be accepted

we were like you a couple of years ago, and after lots of research we moved to Woodstock near Oxford. It’s a fantastic place (although not cheap!), I think covers most of your wish list. Having Blenheim Palace nearby means there’s always something going on, and plenty of buses to Oxford

Try Buntingford! Ticks all those boxes x

Wingrave near Aylesbury. I used to live there and it has a great community feel, it’s close to Aylesbury, Tring, and Leighton Buzzard, all of which have stations to get to London or other big towns like Milton Keynes, Hemel etc, good primary school with access to the grammar schools in Aylesbury or a good comp in Wing or Leighton Buzzard and just a lovely place to live.

Villages aren't all they are cracked up to be. My daughter lives in a village 11 miles from where she was born and brought up. Locals are still hostile because she's an outsider. Not met anyone here you would want as a friend. Her son was so badly bullied in the village school she moved him. It is a beautiful place to look at but I would pay good money not to live there.

Someone I work with moved to Huby in North Yorkshire between Leeds and Harrogate and has two children. It sounds quite village lifey when she talks about it.

They don’t “need” to be able to get places under their own steam. I appreciate many teenagers may prefer that and it can make life easier, but it’s not a life necessity. Millions of teenagers are successfully growing up in rural areas!

I was a teen living in a fantastic village, mum and dad kindly gave me lots of lifts to the nearest town a few miles away, and I wouldn’t have swapped where I grew up for anything. I used to ride off on my horse for miles so had plenty of freedom!