The commute from Kelvedon to London

[bowbluebell]

Hello!

We are in the process of moving to Coggeshall, after much looking around and soul searching it seems the right place to raise our family and I've begun to feel quite excited about it.

DH will be commuting to central London (leaving Kelvedon at about 8am and London at 7pm) and has asked me to post a question about how people find this commute.

Basically, is the train very, very busy or will he get a seat from Kelvedon so he can play silly games on his iphone and read books about obscure guitarists in peace? Do people find the commute reliable and is there anything else we need to be aware of (station parking for instance?)

Thanks

Hi bowbluebell! I'm a fellow Cogite. The commute isn't too bad. Most people get on at Chelmsford, further down the line so you can usually get a seat no probs.

The commute is generally quite reliable too.

There's a community bus which is at minimal cost that goes during peak hours. It starts at the station and the last stop is in Coggeshall village.

You can buy a season parking ticket, the car park is on the other side of the station to the London platform- so sometimes its a bit of a dash in the morning, I believe there's also parking through a season ticket behind the garage deals of kelvedon.

There are two taxi companys which service the station, one is e cars of Kelvedon 01376 573657 and the other is a rather odd old man who smells like he's not too familiar with a soap bar.

Welcome to the area!

Thanks Charlielouie- All very useful information. I won't disclose that the taxi man smells- DH can discover that by himself!

Sadly he'd be getting home too late for the community bus, but he might catch that in the mornings and a cab home if it's not much more than running and parking a second car.

We are looking at houses on Sunday. Sadly we can't yet afford one of those lovely Tudor numbers, but there seems some pleasant homes where we could happily settle for a few years and the village (town?) just felt right. After having driven to almost every commutable spot in Essex, it's the only one that I wanted to leave our village for.

I may well be picking your brains again in the future!

Bowbluebell

Hi Bowbluebell,
Its a lovely village. You must try the clocktower, they do a great bakewell tart and they sell plants at the back! It is a great location, so near Stansted too.
Good luck with your house hunting! Let me know how it goes. Charlie

Hi bowbluebell,
I live in Kelvedon - not much more to add, charlielouie has covered everything. I used to work in London and always found the commute good, I actually managed to read a newspaper and have a nice relax for 50 minutes which hasn't happened since I had my little girl! I have two DC's - DS is 3 and DD just had her first birthday. Let us know how you get on.

charlielouie, pop round sometime if you fancy sharing some bakewell tart

Thanks for your advice. Just thought I'd let you know that we bit the bullet and have put and offer in (and had it accepted) on a house in Coggeshall. A sixties house, just near the church and school. we've spent a couple of days out there since, and it seems lovely so I'm really looking forward to moving there!
:)

Congratulations, I remember you from the witham/Coggeshall debate a litle while ago.

My ds' both go to the Comprehensive which is fab, constant outstanding ofsted reports and an all round good school.

Welcome to the area, we'll all be over for coffee when you've moved in :o