Moving To The Cotswolds

[AbbeyRoadNW8]

Hello my wife and I are planning to move to the Cotswolds from the Kent coast. We are thinking of living around Broadway within about 5 -10 miles. Does anyone have any recommendations for nice villages or small towns to live? We just want somewhere quiet to live. Our budget is up to about 500K.

My son, daughter and grandchildren are moving to Shipston On Stour. Does anyone know what its like to live there? It won best place to live last year I think.

Good luck with the move! You'll get more replies on the property forum.

I'd think about Broadway itself with that budget. That way you are somewhere with shops, a doctors etc, rather than being out in the villages which are trickier long term. Or Honeybourne is nice - smaller, but theres a great community feel.

Thanks, I've just put it on the property forum. I did not realise there was one. being new around here!

Blockley and Chipping Campden are both nice and fairly near Broadway. Honeybourne is nice but not actually Cotswolds so a little cheaper.

Really love Blockley and Chipping Campden. There are some lovely new builds in both those places but they are really expensive.

Isn't there a big prison in Honeybourne?

Its not in Honeybourne, its some way outside it, so I wouldn't worry about it.
Honeybourne must be all of 3 miles tops from the Cotswold boundary ( I can never remember where it traces round that side), but that makes a big house price difference

Have you thought of Moreton in Marsh or Winchcombe? Both have shops, pubs etc
More of a small town feel.

Do you need to work and if so where? Some routes in the area suffer with congestion.

You can check out the plans for the A417 "Missing Link" on the Highways Agency website, if you plan on coming around the Cheltenham area.

I live a few miles from Broadway and it's beautiful, with nice shops and walks, but the property prices there are steep. I'd be very happy living there.

Winchcombe is a nice small town (VERY small!) - full of history and people there seem happy. You'd get more for your money there, I think. It used to have a cracking Budgens which is now a Co-op but retains some of the nice local produce, etc. Its Medical Centre is consistently rated Outstanding (that's my local surgery, and I thoroughly agree!)

CMOTDibbler - you've piqued my interest in Honeybourne now - somewhere we never think to visit for some reason, though we used to get our (very ancient!) horsebox serviced there when we had one.

I hope you find somewhere lovely for you and your wife, OP.

@HoneysuckIejasmine

Do you need to work and if so where? Some routes in the area suffer with congestion.

You can check out the plans for the A417 "Missing Link" on the Highways Agency website, if you plan on coming around the Cheltenham area.

No, we are taking early retirement so we won't need to travel at peak times.

@ApplesinmyPocket

I live a few miles from Broadway and it's beautiful, with nice shops and walks, but the property prices there are steep. I'd be very happy living there.

Winchcombe is a nice small town (VERY small!) - full of history and people there seem happy. You'd get more for your money there, I think. It used to have a cracking Budgens which is now a Co-op but retains some of the nice local produce, etc. Its Medical Centre is consistently rated Outstanding (that's my local surgery, and I thoroughly agree!)

CMOTDibbler - you've piqued my interest in Honeybourne now - somewhere we never think to visit for some reason, though we used to get our (very ancient!) horsebox serviced there when we had one.

I hope you find somewhere lovely for you and your wife, OP.

Winchcombe sounds nice.

I've seen some new builds in Willersey. They seem quite good value at the Willlow Green development. Does anyone know anything about Willersey?

Willersey is nice, no shop and a fairly small village but very close to Broadway
Nearest supermarket in Evesham approx 5 miles away, Stratford and Cheltenham fairly near too. Lovely duck pond in Willersey.

Willersey does have a lovely little shop and cafe, the shop has been going great guns during lockdown I believe.

Winchcombe is gorgeous, and has v nice cafes. I'm not sure how touristy it gets in summer though - we've only spent time there in the winter.

When we relocated here from West Sussex, one of the things that was very helpful was in reading the local newspapers. Now I'd join some FB groups to see more what is going on and how your interests might fit in with what is happening

Shipston is lovely. Excellent schools too, great community spirit and lots of independent shops. Obviously, there are a few less desirable roads but to be honest, everywhere is pretty nice.
There are lots of new housing estates popping up all over this area if that's your thing.

Shipston is surrounded by lots of gorgeous villages if you fancy living a little closer to your DC? You get much much more for your money on the worcestershire/Gloucestershire area. Warwickshire seems more expensive. There are a fair few county borders around here. Oxfordshire is v close too.

You will love it up here.
The villages of Longborough, Blockley and Ilmington all have village shops with cafes. Ebrington has a farm shop and cafe.
The towns such as ChippIng Campden, Moreton in Marsh and Shipston and Broadway obviously have a much larger range of shops.

I’d move into Broadway itself so that you have all the amenities you need within walking distance. Yes there are some lovely villages nearby but you would still end up in your car a lot having to drive everywhere. And in the winter some of those roads aren’t much fun.
Winchcombe is nice but it’s much bigger than it used to be with some large housing estates. The town centre streets are really narrow which can make it feel very crowded especially at touristy times. Broadway is also popular with tourists but has a more open spacious feel to it.

Thanks everyone for all your input, it is much appreciated. Hopefully we will be living there in July all being well as we are about to exchange on our house. We will probably have to rent for a while until we get what we are looking for.

I think renting for a bit would be a great idea so that you can really get a feeling for what different places are like. You'll also be going through a massive life change with early retirement so you can also transition through that , and find a bit more what you want in your new life before committing to a new property

I was born and raised in Northleach and loved it.

I would really, really, really recommend renting first. I know its a pain. But it is much more of a pain to move somewhere and realise you have chosen the wrong village.

oh sorry...just saw the post
where you said you would rent

Well we finally moved. Been living in Willersey near Broadway for a month now and we love it here. Much nicer than the Kent coast.