Pool-in Wharfedale - advice / opinions on the village please!

[BrightlineBrowneye]

We are contemplating a move to Pool-in-Wharfedale and I'd be very grateful to hear any thoughts about the village and what it's like to live in e.g. does it have much sense of community? what's the primary school like? what's it like for families? Is the traffic through the village always terrible? I noticed the post office when we were there, does it have any other shops? Any opinions gratefully received!

I don't know about the primary school, but if you're looking further into the future and thinking about high schools, an address in Pool should be fine for getting a place at Prince Henry's Otley, which has a good reputation and is regularly oversubscribed.

Traffic in Pool is usually bad, yes and you can be ages waiting to get out at junctions. There's a chemist, garage and animal feed shop - can't think of any more off the top of my head. The pub has great food but the service has always been shocking when I've been in. No idea what the primary school is like (although DP & his siblings all went).

It's a lovely area to live in - I moved up from South Lincolnshire and am in Otley now. But we lived with DP's dad after his mum died and we were having work done on our house and I don't think Pool would be top on my list of places to live tbh. If money was no object it would be Farnley or Leathley ;)

The thing with Pool is that there's not a lot there. If you don't need the transport links (ie a station) then Otley might be a better bet. Or maybe somewhere closer to Harrogate.

Or Bramhope even. Prince Henry's is the better secondary, although I think the RC school in Menston is good too.

Thanks so much for these replies, it's all really useful info and apologies for my delay in replying - the rest of the family have been struck down with a virus for the last week so I've had no time for mumsnet! CherryLips1980, I'd been coming to the same kind of opinion re. Pool & Otley and we are actually coming up to visit a house in Otley next week. (Money is an object, unfortunately, so I think that rules Farnley and Leathley out!) I've been told that all the primaries in Otley are oversubscribed though, so I'm not sure what school my dd would end up at if we did move there. Is there a lot going on for families & young children in Otley? We liked the town when we visited a couple of months ago, but my dh did get sneered by some blokes in a pub doorway for walking down the street carrying our baby son in a baby carrier. It put me off a bit! Hope it's not generally that small-minded a place?!? Nobody bats an eyelid when dh walks out with a baby carrier where we currently live! I'm a bit worried about the commute to Leeds city centre for dh too - he could either drive or walk/cycle/bus to Menston & catch the train, but I'm worrying that in traffic it will take a lot longer than the google maps / ymetro journey planner estimates.

Askwith Primary is a village just out of Otley (actually in North Yorkshire) but they take kids from Otley. It's small, so multiple years per class, but normally have space from what I understand.

I've never noticed any small mindedness and I am quick to take offence when there is none ;) How did your house hunting go? Hope house was lovely!

DD is only 8 months old and I don't have many friends with kids so we tend to just stick to the baby group at the children's centre and no idea on schools... There's a nice soft play place in Guiseley (next town). Have you looked at any houses there? Bigger than Otley but there's a train station (and a free car park a 5 minute walk away) so easier for your DH? Depending on where in Otley the house is, you could be at Guiseley station in 10 minutes. There's a soft play place in Otley but it's not as big as the one in Guiseley.

My friends kids go to Farnley primary school and she lives in Otley (and has other schools closer) so I don't know if that is an option? DD starts at Farnley nursery tomorrow so I can ask if you like - the two are next door to each other.