To ask about Ashby de la Zouch?

[Didiusfalco]

Posting here for traffic as i noticed a few Ashby folk on the 'sneering' journo thread. Dh's job is relocating to the East Mids and because of the motorway network Ashby de la Zouch looks like a good option. So, one damp Sunday we went to have a look round. I feel umcertain about it and have a few questions, but would welcome any observations from people in the know.

Are the schools as good as they sound, are there any to be avoided or any parts of town to avoid?

Is the nearest a&e department in Burton?

Is the nearest train station Burton and what is the transport like for getting out of Ashby de la Zouch?

Is there a park with swings etc for children within the town - i cant seem to find one?

Is there much going on for children? Would teenagers be bored?

Are there paths that you can walk on out of town to open countryside?

Would you recommend living there?

TIA

Didn't Adrian Mole come from there & wasn't he 13 3/4? Didn't seem massively bored if I remember rightly from the books.....

I commuted from MH to Nottingham. It's fine to do by train but driving is about an hour and a half each way.

A million percent agree with coming to Tamworth. We love it here!

Thanks for all the replies. I think ideally we want to be more to the western side of Notts, or Notts/Derby, derby/Leics border to give (slightly!) easier access to the M42/M5 going south.

Dc are preschool and primary age, so a little while before secondary is an issue.

If not Ashby Iborolass where would you go? I think that's the thing, I'm just not sure.

Thanks for the suggestions though, off to google.

Seem to be some mixed opinions on Tamworth. Would you say it's friendly?

I think Tamworth is quite a distance for a Notts commute daily.
Melbourne is lovrly but agreed a little small, there's Castle Donington as a closeby alternative, a lovely village with some great amenities but not as big as Ashby, great links to the motorways and close to EM parkway though.
You could also look at West Bridgford J24 of M1, close to Nottm, great schools, nurseries and Cafè culture: shopping. Fab parks and loads of classes for the under 5's.
I wouldn't go much further south than Loughborough as the time spent in traffic would be annoying!

I'd say that your commute to work is much more important than how near the motorway you are. Your DH will be doing that everyday, how often will you be heading South and does it really make a difference if you're slightly further away from the motorway?

You could look at Loughborough, very much a uni town, lots of students around which isn't to everyone's liking but a choice of good primaries, easy access to the countryside, bigger than Ashby so more going on. There are lots of lovely villages with good primaries but children then have to travel to secondary and you would need to drive everywhere.

A bit further north places are smaller than Ashby unless you want a suburb of Nottingham or Derby, I don't know much about those areas.

Totally agree with lboro.

I have lived in the East Midlands for quite some time so can help with various areas if needed.

Yes, another option we need to seriously think about is going in to Nottingham itself. I've searched old threads and West Bridgford seems to crop up as somewhere very popular but with a shortage of school places - does that sound right?

I'll have a look at Loughborough, i hadnt really considered it. Would you say it was a better option for a city (is it a city?) than nottingham?

What would somewhere like longeaton on the way in to Nottingham be like?

Is the general opinion then that Ashby de la Zouch is perfectly fine but nothing special?

Loughborough is a town. But has quite a lot going on including because of the Uni. There's some great countryside nearby, look at Beacon Hill and Bradgate Park. I haven't been to L'boro for a while though, so someone else will know better than me, there are probably areas to avoid because of students. Do you definitely want a town? I know people who've lived in Long Eaton, it's not v exciting. It might be worth checking out Beeston and around on the Derby side of Nottingham, though again I don't think it's anything special....

Right, Ill have a look at Burton, Beeston, and Loughborough starting with how long the commute would be - thanks for the suggestions!

I'm from the East Midlands originally. There's nothing wrong with ashby but it isn't the kind of place I'd move to, iyswim. There are some lovely villages around Burton - rolleston-on-dove, anslow - but Burton itself? Nothing special. Small town mentality.

I'd be looking at West Bridgford and investigating the school systems. Look at the market towns between Derby and the M1. Higham always looks nice to me but God knows about school. Consider Chesterfield, depending on where he is in Notts. It piddles all over ashby.

For Nottingham look at Beeston, Chilwell, Attenborough, Bramcote and Wollaton. Long Eaton is ok but schools aren't as good unless you can pay to go private. George spencer is a good secondary and the primary schools around this area are outstanding/good. The tram is now running and you can get into the city in 20 minutes and it's direct to the hospital too. If you're looking at villages try Breaston, Sawley and Draycott. Don't discount Nottingham, there is Attenborough nature reserve and Wollaton park very nearby.

I think Ashby is a great place for somewhere its size. It's big enough to have a Tesco, it's near the National Forest (Hicks Lodge may sway it for you), it has good schools and OK shops and is easy to get to Tamworth/Burton/Nottingham etc if you need somewhere bigger. We were thinking at one point about moving there for school for DS1 (we live about 10 miles away in a village). How can I put it, it looks not too posh but not too run down either.

I do suspect that it can look appealing because of its location, that may not be a bad thing but do think about how big a place you want to live in. We certainly find this area really well connected, DH drives to London once every couple of weeks. I work near Birmingham so commute in the other direction but I get 25 miles in 35-45 minutes.

Depending on your commute it can be hard to get across Nottingham and also be aware of the proposed HS2 phase 2 route. Is the job actually in Nottingham centre or somewhere near it? From Ashby I'd use Tamworth station as it has good services on 2 lines and is on your side of town (no room in the car park after 8am though).

I would avoid living anywhere that involves commuting on the M1.

HS2 will be running near Ashby. East Leake is nice.

West bridgford is nice but expensive, you get more for your money the other side of Notts. Beeston etc. It doesn't have the tram and isn't near the motorway. And to get to the M1 you have to go down the a453 and that is not a fun road.

A new tram park and ride system has opened up in recent months through the south of Nottingham, and the Beeston, Chilwell zone. Worth investigating. That side is good for j25 of the M1.

Derby is probably getting further out of range, but is nicely sized and more convenient for living around than Nottingham. Schools are decent in the types of neighbourhoods that you'd be looking for.

I lived in Beeston for 12 years and loved it. Had to move for DH work and really miss it. Great transport links. Train station, bus to east mids airport, junction 25 m1. Wollaton park and Attenborough nature reserve are lovely. Schools are good. And if you like traditional real ale pubs the Vic is fantastic ! The people are really friendly too.

Thanks everyone, so it seems like there is probably not enough to make Ashby the place to move to given the distance from work.

Nice to hear that people have lived in Nottingham and liked it, I'll start looking at the Beeston/Attenborough area. Does anyone know how easy it is to get in to the good schools - are they over subscribed? Any schools or areas to avoid?

I have stopped being a long time lurker just to post on this thread!

I moved to Ashby as it was equidistant from mine and my DHs work, and I love it here!

To answer some questions
The reputations of the schools are good. My DS is only 2 so I only have direct experience of the nurseries which are very very good. There is still the middle school system here which they are trying to phase out but its difficult when the facilities are set up in this way. I think that the schools in Ashby have the best reputation in the immediate area.

Nearest A&E is Burton. However you have the option for hospitals in Leicester, Derby and Nottingham too if you need to get referred for anything (I had my DS in Leicester). There is an OOH/minor injuries type centre in Loughborough.

Nearest train station is Burton but I use East Midlands Parkway as its easier to get to and the London trains are good. I also use this to go shopping in Nottingham. The bus routes are also good to all of the neighbouring towns.

There is a big playpark and skatepark near the leisure centre (which has both and indoor and outdoor pool). There are other little playparks dotted around the town.

There is loads going on around the town. I mainly know the stuff for toddlers but there are good events like the Fake Festival which teenagers seem to love. There is lots of groups and activities going on.

There are loads of walks. Hicks Lodge Cycle Centre is fantastic and has off road mountain bike trails. The National Forest has lots of different walks for different abilities. I have a dog so I am out and about lots.

As someone mentioned above we are getting HS2 near us but it should be the other side of the A42 so no direct impact. They are currently lobbying for a station at East Midlands Airport which would be good as thats only 15 mins drive away.

Other things - I am an annual member of both Twycross Zoo and Conkers which keep us busy all year and are both very close. I also visit Calke Abbey alot which is National Trust. The people here are really friendly and we felt really welcomed when we first came here.

I would highly recommend Ashby to anyone!!

What ages are your DC? The only one to avoid catchment for is Sunnyside. Meadow lane, college house, chetwynd road, roundhill, banks road and alderman pounder are all good. If you're in catchment you should get in. QMC is only 15 minutes away, large hospital with a children's hospital. The nature reserve is lovely, good cafe too! Chilwell high road has some good cafes as does Beeston. The university is right next to the hospital and has a park and a lake and festival types things going on in the summer. Lots of good parks nearby and there's always things going on at Wollaton park which is huge.

If you want more info pm me! Happy to help.

Forgot to say, Beeston and Attenboroygh also have small local train stations which are on the line straight into Nottingham in ten minutes and to London in less than two hours.

Spaniel has made some very good points about Ashby, it is somewhere I would consider loving if my children weren't settled in schools.

A couple more transport points, my commute involves the M1 and as I go against the flow (head North in the morning) I very rarely have any problems, I would avoid having to go South between 26 and 23 in the morning.

The A453 dualling in now totally finished and far from being a pain it's not a joy to use so don't worry about that. I know people who either train from the Parkway or tram from Clifton (again fairly new) into the centre of Nottingham with no problems for work.

One thing I would not do is try to drive from one side of Nottingham to the other for a work commute, if the job is on the city centre I'd suggest living to the south, imo that's the easiest side to get in from. The A52/A610 are best avoided if possible