Commuting to Harston from Linton/Abington/etc?

[hatinghousehunting]

We're relocating from West Sussex to Cambridge area, husband having accepted a job in Harston. Having spent some time traipsing around the area, I really like the look of either Abington or Linton (okay, if I had all the money in the world I'd buy in Great Shelford, but I don't think that's happening). Can anyone tell me what the rush hour commute to Harston is like from these villages? How is the traffic in general around the south of Cambridge if you're not trying to go into the the city itself?

(Sorry to start yet another Tell Me About Commuting thread, but the existing ones all seem to be about commuting into either Cambridge itself or London)

Hi
I don't know much about the villages south of cambridge towards Herts, but i do know a bit about the others.
Foxton - within cycling distance of Harston, has a good village shop but no cafe and the pub used not to be great - but haven't been in it for a while so may have changed. It's also on the mainline from Cambridge - Kings Cross, so very handy if you want to go to London.
Coton - nice village, but expensive due to proximity to Cambridge. We seriously considered buying a house in Coton a few years ago but in the garden you can definitely hear the road noise from the M11 which was a deal breaker for us. No village shop as such but it does have a garden centre (with a cafe!) which houses the Post Office. The primary school is said to be good but I don't know anyone whose had a child there.
Comberton - a much larger village, and not the prettiest one around imo, but does have a reasonable shop/PO and a butcher. Also has other services eg GP surgery, NHS dentist, hairdresser. No cafe. The village college is very good.
Barton - near to Cambridge so expensive. Lovely village school. Great village shop/PO. There is also a complex of independent shops in converted farm buildings at "Burwash Manor farm" - good deli, tea shop, toy shop, furniture and knick knacks, great clothes shop where I spend too much money
Toft - tiny village but nice shop and a very good sense of community. No school and a long walk to the nearest primary (in Comberton).
Bourn - very pretty village, but small. We have friends with children at the primary school who say it's fantastic. Great pub and an Indian Restaurant which last year won an award for being the best curry house in the east of England. Has a tea room / cafe, plus butchers and deli. Also has a good village shop and PO. Has a GP surgery and hairdresser and a dentist.

Caldecote - rather a split village with a pretty old part and then a new estate (Highfields) at the top end of the village. Small shop, no pub or cafe. Very nice children's play area though! Has a village school but don't know what it's like.

Harston is easily drivable within 15 - 20 minutes from any of the villages mentioned above, because you'd be going across country rather than towards Cambridge.
Villages to the west of Cambridge feed into Comberton Village College, which has a very good reputation, but TBH most of the secondary schools around Cambridge are pretty good. Linton VC is also well-regarded.

I drove through Comberton the other day, and there's a sudden spate of nice houses for sale, suddenly, including a couple that DH and I liked when we were house hunting,

I'd agree with MrsGrowbag's views on all the villages I know, BUT with a few caveats. Bourn has great facilities and is very pretty (DH loves it too), but they come as a result of being just that significant distance further out of Cambridge, and I really don't like the road that goes from Bourn towards Cambridge - no pavements, and wouldn't want to walk / cycle on it in less than broad daylight, or with children. Caldecote apparently has the same road / lack of pavements problem, exacerbated by the split village between the old houses and the modern developments at Highfields. Toft is very community focused, probably as a result of being so tiny. There's a village-run social club instead of a pub, with a lot of classes / social activities (yoga, art, film etc). The great thing about Comberton is the number of facilities it has, and some of the houses off the main road are very nice.

There is also a lot of talk about the new development at Bourn airfield increasing traffic substantially, so this may be worth taking into account. There's also talk that increase flooding in Bourn, Toft and Comberton in Winter, which would be a bit of a hassle...

Would you consider Cambourne? www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43397198.html or www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41371003.html are both close to the nature reserve for the feeling of open countryside and Cambourne has a few shops, cafe, library, doctors etc.

Is there a reason for not considering Melbourn? It is probably one of the better provided for villages in the A10 direction. It has a swimming pool & sports centre at the Village College, a few shops including a butcher, Coop with pharmacy and a remarkable number of hairdressers. It has two playgrounds and stuff going on for children. It's a 10-15 min walk to Meldreth station.

The primary school did get a satisfactory Ofsted last year, but I understand that there were a few bumpy years in terms of leadership but the new head is very well regarded locally and determined to improve the Ofsted rating (DD isn't there yet, but this is what I have heard).

DH commutes to Harston and it is about 12 min (depending on the level crossing).

Much of the housing stock is fairly modern (it doesn't look like a beautiful quaint village) which might give you the ceiling height you need. And there is quite a bit on the market in your price range.

If you did consider Melbourn, then I suggest avoiding houses with gardens facing towards the A10 or too near the A10 as we looked at a few and I found the gardens noisy.

So much useful information!! Apologies for the silence, I have been away for a few days.

JimJamboree - Nice houses for sale in Comberton? Tell me more... my current searches don't turn up anything under £700k, which is just a, erm, tad out of our price range.

MrsGrowbag - Brilliant, thank you so much for the details. I'm starting to think that the west villages might work better for us than the east ones, given what people have been saying about the traffic and new building around Abington.

Quite like the sound of Bourn, though good point about the cycling into Cambridge. I admit I can't picture myself getting on my (rusting) old bike after dark to head into town, but maybe I will become cycling mad as everyone else around Cambridge seems to be...

magpieC - We drove through Cambourne. My husband threatened to divorce me if I suggested buying a house there. (he is, er, not a fan of new-build aesthetics, and he's a very keen gardener)

cammel - I had discounted Melbourn based on the primary school Ofsted, but if the local opinion is that there's a keen new Head, I will put it back on the list! We aren't needing a primary until 2015 so there's a good amount of time for a school to improve (or backslide...)

My DD will be starting primary there in 2015. PM me if you want more info.

Hi, I lived in the west villages for a number of years. I can vouch for the primary schools in Hardwick, Caldecote, Bourn and Coton. The primary school in Comberton - which also serves Toft - wasn't the best up until a couple of years ago and had a large turn over of staff but things might have change. The secondary, Comberton VC, is excellent of course.
You can get a very large house in Hardwick and Caldecote for £450 k. Have a look at this one which sold recently
The "new" part of Caldecote is not all new estate. On West Road for example there are some very individual modern houses with gardens backing onto fields.
Both Hardwick and Caldecote have a village shop, Hardwick one has a post office too, plus other amenities. Bourn is a very pretty village with some very expensive period properties. There's an excellent cafe in Bourn which is very baby friendly, a top restaurant/pub (willow tree), a fantastic Indian restaurant (lalbagh), a very good GP surgery plus village shop + post office.
All the villages have a very strong community feel and people are truly lovely. Bourn is a bit further out for Harston but toft/Hardwick/Comberton/Bourn are really very close.
Good luck with your search!

Would this one suit?

Heh, I tried twice to arrange a viewing of that property JimJamboree - the first time Haart mysterious lost the appointment booking on the day (having previously confirmed it), and the second time they just never got back to me. Either it's no longer on the market, or Haart are being more than usually incompetent.

(Haart are... not my favourite Cambrige estate agent, having comprehensively let us down on multiple occasions now)

In any event, I went to have a look at the location and didn't get a good vibe - quite a crowded road and lots of noise from the agricultural land nearby. So I'm not going to spend loads of time chasing Haart for a rearranged viewing.

Off to see yet more properties weekend after next (in Whittlesford, Orwell, Croydon, and Hardwick) - wish us luck!

Snap with Haart Cambridge letting us down (but also haven't been impressed by Bidwells or Belvoir). Seemed very helpful and friendly, leading us in to a false sense of thinking we would be very likely to get a rental property for them to say no because apparently having guarantors is viewed negatively .
My search continues for one bed flat for a new job starting in 1.5 weeks time

Good luck! If you are in the area, why not drive around and see what villages you like the look of, and what properties are for sale in those villages.
FWIW, Croydon is tiny and doesn't have any facilities apart from a pub, but I don't really know it as a village. It might be great.

I know it's not a house, but this gives you a lot of space for your budget:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-27801474.html
or this, although it doesn't really talk about the garden so might be a non-starter:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41465827.html

strawberree - TuckerGardner have been very helpful for us, though I don't know if they do rental properties.

(argh I still have to sort out a rental flat AS WELL as a house, because my husband's job starts in Jan and there's no way we'll have bought, completed, and moved by then...)

ok, here's the one to buy if you win the lottery (on a rollover week....)

tuckergardner.com/Buy/3-Trinity-Lane-Great-Shelford-Cambridge

but the pictures seem to mainly consist of Saucepans, Mrs Growbag. I've got my own saucepans, thank you very much.

ha ha, JimJam. For that money, I think the ones in the brochure must be very special saucepans.

Actually, the only thing preventing me buying it is the incredibly ugly dining furniture, otherwise I'd be handing my £2.7 million over right now.....

How's the house hunting going?

Oh - and FWIW

There's more than 1 road out of Linton!

This thread has been so interesting thanks! We are currently house hunting - it's a nightmare right now!