To ask you if this place exists?

[montepulcianos]

I would really like to move house, somewhere we can get more house for our money as we would like a lot more space (currently live in the Home Counties in a lovely area with very good schools and great links into London, so housing is crazy expensive) and to escape the 11 plus/grammar system and the associated pressure and competitive attitudes.

We need to be within relatively easy reach of an airport as DH works overseas part of the week. I'd say maximum 45mins-1 hour by car to an airport. Need good schools for DC and would like to be in pleasant surroundings, in or near countryside and open space. Love the idea of the Cotswolds but seems too far from either Heathrow or Birmingham airports?

Have family up north and also more centrally. Would be great to be nearer to them too. Also decent train links to London (but not for daily commute, more occasional work trips).

Any brainwaves?! Does such a place exist?!

Leamington Spa is nice and sounds right for what you want

Plenty of house for you here, close to Bristol airport: www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/67411471

North East Worcestershire is beautiful, reasonable house prices, access to Warks grammar schools and the M42 gives good access to B'ham airport.

Surprised nobody has suggested South Warwickshire yet - Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth are the main towns, surrounding villages mainly have very good schools. Also Knowle and Dorridge, villages near Solihull with outstanding schools.

I'd start researching flights for where you need and go from there. The presence of an airport isn't enough to guarantee that a) there are flights to the destination you want b) those flights are at times that are convenient c) the flights are at a price you can afford/company is willing to pay etc.

Despite being about an hour from Birmingham, Manchester and East Midlands my OH's place of work frequently puts them in taxis to Stansted or Heathrow as it's just so much cheaper with a choice of many different flight times.

You need to be careful re school catchment areas in Leamington, but it is a fab town.

A leafy estate on the outskirts of Edinburgh. International airport nearby with short flights to London, or fast trains. Fabulous place.

Holmfirth, Penistone, Marsden, Denby Dale, Shepley corner of S/W Yorkshire. About an hour from Manchester airport.

Sorry, just realised you said you want to avoid the grammar system - it isn’t as intense as Kent, etc, but it does still exist in Warwickshire.

@littlepeas yes very true!

Love Leamington tho and it ticks a lot of your boxes OP

Moreton-in-Marsh 2. In catchment for 2 “Outstanding” comps, no 11+ pressure and easy hop to Birmingham or train to Paddington for Heathrow Express.

Newcastle Airport? And any of the surrounding areas ? It’s not all flat caps and ferrets in the North, but beautiful countryside. They just don’t like too many people to know it !

Sorry, just realised you said you want to avoid the grammar system

Doh! Me too. That will teach me not to reread.

No grammars in Worcs but a few children whose parents can transport them quite a distance every day do attend Warks grammars.

South Warwickshire is grammar system.

Knowle/Dorridge would be ideal. Close to Birmingham, with great schools, the comprehensive secondary (Arden), is amongst the best in the UK, and the primary in Knowle is outstanding too.

You'll get a decent house in pretty much the poshest area of the West Midlands for your £800k.

Salisbury (and surrounding) close to M3 so only an hour and a bit from Heathrow, good to get to London. Great schools, in the countryside but still a city. Central so good road links.

Also house prices are down atm due to Russian spies

Altrincham

Overwhelmed by all the responses, thanks a million. Will have a proper look through all of them. So great to get inspiration from you all!

Oh! No grammars in Suffolk!

If you like the South West, dont forget there are flights to Dublin from Exeter Airport almost every day. There are a couple of grammar schools in Devon (ones in East Devon, Torquay and Plymouth) but it's not part of the main system, if that makes sense - just an optional extra.

Lichfield and surrounding villages. 30 minutes to Birmingham airport, 1 hour 15 mins to Manchester, 40 minutes to East Midlands. 1hour 10 minutes by Virgin Train to Euston. Not Grammar. Nice schools. You'd get a mansion for £800k

I'm in Yorkshire. We have grammar schools, but the 11+ is optional and not all children take it.

I was coming on to say South Warwickshire too! Leamington, Kenilworth and Warwick or as someone else said, a bit further on is Knowle. Solihull is actually rather posh, very leafy and green. A lot of very nice countryside in Warwickshire too. Maybe Stratford on Avon? Bit jammed with tourists sometimes though. I love living in Warwickshire.

Norwich.
Airport.
30 min flight to schipol (Amsterdam) and you can fly anywhere.
Hour and a half by train to London.

Just watch out for HS2 route though if you look at Warwickshire.

With that budget definitely the nice areas of Cheshire.