Can anyone tell me about Harpenden?

[newlark]

We're thinking about moving from Kent to be north of London to be closer to family but still need a good commute for dh. Harpenden looks like it might suit from the map - can anyone tell me about what it is like to live there with young ones (my dcs are 21 mths and 3.5yrs) - are there plenty of toddler groups/playgrounds etc? What are schools like - are there any with a particularly good or not so good reputation. Also are there any residential areas that are good/not so good?

thanks in advance

I live in Harpenden. I moved here in 2006 as my husband has family here.

It is a popular place to raise children and there are regular trains into the city on the Bedford to Brighton Line.

I have a 13 year old son who goes to one of the Harpenden State schools, which has an outstanding reputation. All the schools in Harpenden are excellent and you pay the price for this by way of a property premium. House prices in Harpenden are high.

There are nice villages outside Harpenden but to guarantee a place at one of the schools you need to live in Harpenden itself.

There are lots of nurserys and i am sure there are toddler groups. I am pregnant at the moment and so don't yet know myself about what is on offer for young children and their parents but there are so many pregnant women and women with pushchairs in Harpenden that there are bound to be plenty of groups, at least i hope so. My next door neighbours moved to Harpenden after us and didn't know anyone and they have a network of friends through their kids.

Harpenden is very green, with a lot of common land and Rothampstead Park has a children's playground as does Batford. There are also several offroad cycle/walking tracks.

Regards to areas, there are not really any bad areas. If you want a character property that is within walking distance of the station and close to a secondary school and on a quiet street, you will pay more than you would for a newish build property on the outskirts. The closer you are to the High Street/Station the more expensive it gets.

Let me know if you would like to know anything else.

redsara's right about everything. But I can confirm there are LOTS of toddler clubs and activities - whether your child likes soft play (v. nice one) or cooking or gymnastics or running around in a church hall.

Playgrounds - Rothamsted is the central one but also playgrounds by the river at Batford Springs, one in Roundwood, one by Westfield Road with more adventurous equipment and probably some others I've never found. Lydekker Park doesn't have a playground but has a nice duckpond and is just off the town centre.

Areas to avoid - everywhere's nice but Batford and around Westfield Road are generally seen as the less desirable areas - don't know how fair this is but Westfield Road has a school called the Lea that pushy middle class parents avoid (i.e. people who move to Harpenden for good schoools). Sauncy Wood school in Batford used to be similarly avoided by MC parents but I gather it's on the up.

One thing to note, schools don't have defined catchment areas - it depends how many people apply and where they live and how many siblings there are (sibling rule applies even if people have moved out of catchment). And the County Council is changing the way distances are calculated from footpaths and roads to as the crow flies, which I'd imagine might have an interesting effect.

Oh, and for secondary schools you might want to make sure you aren't on the southern edges of town - extreme end of the Southdown area. Think for secondaries, it's children who live round that way who suffer if there's a shortage of places. Every year the local paper has a story about a dozen kids on the edge of Southdown who haven't got a place in Harpenden but have been awarded the one crap secondary in St Albans.

Also avoid estate agents trying to pretend anything with an LU1 postcode is in Harpenden! (Happened to some friends of mine.) Border between Beds and Herts is just outside the Northern edge of Harpenden. You need to be inside the Herts. County line.

That is really helpful and sounds ideal for what we're looking for. I'm in a similar size town near the M25 with similarly crazy house prices so we'll hopefully be able to get something roughly equivalent to what we have here.

We have loads of toddler groups and playgrounds etc here so I've been a bit apprehensive about the idea of leaving it behind and starting again with trying to meet people. Mind has been put at rest! I'm planning a visit next week to have a potter round the town and go into some estate agents .

Glad it helped. Hope you have fun househunting!

Hi Newlark

I also live in Harpenden. We moved here from south London around 4 years ago and now have a 3.5 year old and a one year old. I love it here. There are endless activities for children and the schools are excellent. I would agree with the comments above about the Lea and Sauncey Wood schools but the secondary schools are all excellent. I also agree with the comments about the 'less desirable' parts of the town, although these are probably the equivalent of nice areas of towns in other places. facilities are excellent and there is a real community feel.

However, house prices are expensive (500k for a decent 3 bed semi, 750k 4 bed detached I would guestimate- these obviously vary on location and type). because there are a lot of rich people around I do feel that there is a certian competitiveness to bringing yuor children up- eg do they go to every club going etc. I try my best to avoid this and I am sure you can too but just be warned of this.

If you need anything further please just ask.

ps I wouldn't worry about meeting people- lots of opportunities to do that. I am friends with someone who put a note on the 'meet a mum' section on here and it worked a treat! She knows more people than I do now!

Hello! Just picked yr thread a v helpful - bit concerned abt airport noise - is this a problem for anyone? Thank you 🙏