Moving to Lincolnshire

[DontMumble]

Hello
We're thinking of moving to Lincolnshire. We're considering the villages around Lincoln or one of the Market Towns such as Louth, Market Rasen, Horncastle.
Would appreciate advice on what villages are nice and what the Market Towns are like to live in.

We want facilities at hand, such as supermarkets, schools etc, so the really small villages where you need to drive everywhere won't be for us.
The only other thing that would concern us is an area with a flood risk.
Thanks
Mel

I live in Sleaford too but a different area. Down Boston Road which is nice and quiet and lovely for the kids to play in the Rec and they can easily walk to school. Shops a bit limited, as is teenage entertainment but they can jump on a train to Grantham or Lincoln with friends for cinema or bowling etc.

I'm in washingborough, I love it! close to the city but feels rural.

I live in Caistor, happy to answer any questions you might have (though it seems you may be looking a little further south now)
I agree that Louth is more expensive. It's generally a nicer area, with all the benefits of a rural community but on a larger scale so you get some town benefits too. Certainly a lot nicer than Market Rasen, I would avoid MR if you can.
Caistor has great schools and property is quite cheap. It has a great, very strong community feel, there's always lots of organised events and a decent selection of small shops. There are a few rough areas - like anywhere - but on the whole it's a nice, picturesque place to live. As a pp mentioned, you don't get jumbo jets! Though the red arrows aren't far away, so you see them now and again

I work across Lincs in the community so have formed opinions on many towns/villages with regards to whether I would live there. Market rasen - no due to the antisocial crime and high drug use. Sleaford - not to live in but as a 'nearest town' yes! Nearby villages such as Ewerby, heckington, quarrington, leasingham, silk willoughby etc etc are lovely! These are based on personal experiences/opinions though and as a parent to primary school age children

Nice to see you made the move!

Where are you renting now? I'm one of the Lincs people upthread on another name now. I know little of places further south in the county than Lincoln, really. Are you enjoying where you live now, and have you got work locally?

ooh, just noticed Mkt Rsn getting a raw deal up above! There are lots of lovely people there and the anti-social crime is nothing on the level of town or city life elsewhere. I used to work in a field dealing with 'issues' across the county, and Mkt Rsn was not one of the problem areas. Not saying it's perfect, but not worth avoiding at all costs. We would move there happily. Not so keen on a lot of the south of the county, but it's horses for courses.

And the guy who wrote Thriller went to school in Market Rasen too... not sure why it's produced 2 such notable songwriters! Rod Templeman, I think, died recently.

Hi
Me again. No luck in our house search so far (there hasn't been much coming onto the market in the last couple of months), so we're going to widen the search. Could anyone tell me what Skellingthorpe, Heckington and Brigg are like? Are they places to avoid or are they okay?

Any help will be appreciated?
Mel

Hi Gladglum
Yes we're renting in Horncastle. Love it, but there aren't a lot of properties for sale there. And due to some issues (e.g. busy roads, flood risk) there are parts we won't consider, so it doesn't leave that many streets, so we're beginning to give up finding somewhere there. I'm sure we'd eventually find somewhere but who knows how long it might take and we don't want to rent for longer than necessary. So we've started to consider Louth and BBH again and also Woodhall Spa now, but there aren't many properties for sale there either (wanting detached means all semis and terraced are no good to us). We reckon we have to widen the search still further.
Mel

Skellingthorpe village is lovely, I know quite a few people who live there and really like it.
Where abouts are you working? because that really determines where to live IMO.
You want a detached house, but how many bedrooms, how much and what other requirements do you have and we can see if we can find something you haven't already seen.

If you're looking at Skelly have you thought about Saxilby which is close? Just because it has a train station which you mentioned once would be good?

Yes give us a budget and any must haves and we will do a Phil and Kirsty for you!

We've not considered Saxilby because we've not looked at anywhere susceptible to flooding, although looking again, if you lived at the northern end of the village, you are safe enough from flooding. We've not looked anywhere west of Lincoln yet in fact. We're not restricted by employment locations, because we haven't managed to find jobs up here yet (and being used to 1-2 hour commutes previously, anything less than an hour won't be a problem). We don't want somewhere too big (e.g. Lincoln) or somewhere too small (where there isn't a supermarket) and we have a budget up to and around the 200k mark.
Come on Phil and Kirsty, do your magic! lol

I like Brigg. Don't know the others at all. Not sure about schools in Brigg - think they are ok - and there is a bus to Caistor Grammar (out of catchment - highest marks get in).

I love Louth though. Everything you could want except trains.

Horncastle is lovely though!

Sorry, no real help!

And I'm GladGlum! Sorry, I name change a lot.

Woodhall Spa always feels like a holiday resort to me, for retired people... But I imagine lovely to live in, feels like a slower place (and Kjnema on your doorstep).

I used to work for a law enforcement agency and none of the places you mention came up on my radar as 'rough', iyswim, though we didn't cover North Lincs (for Brigg). What about Kirton-in-Lindsey? In catchment for QEGHS Gainsborough, and has its own y7-11 comp. varied houses and low prices I'd say. Close to Scunthorpe and Gainsborough for big shopping/cinema/theatres etc.

What sports/interests do you have? Might make big difference.

saxilby

skellingthorpe

north hykeham

hykeham

welton

nettleham

collingham

witham st hughs

Was speaking to a Louth estate agent today and he said steer clear of anywhere with a DN postcode. This came about because we mentioned we were viewing properties in Brigg on Monday, so he obviously doesn't like the place. I know estate agents can't always be trusted 100%, but it does put doubt in your mind. Sometimes it's better to judge it for yourself, but at the same time you should listen to the locals too as it could save you making a costly mistake.
The other half didn't like Kirton Lindsey when we went there the other month. I was attracted by the prices, but we both have to be happy about the place.

I haven't heard of Collingham, but the other's you mention I have and until now had ruled them out for being too small and/or lacking amenities.
Not very sporty but like walking and scenery.
Mel

Estate agent will mean Gainsborough. People in Lincs can be snobby about the place. 20 years ago I'd have said they may have been right but the town itself has been regenerated and Marshalls Yard is quite nice. Direct trains to Lincoln one way, Sheffield or Doncaster another way. House prices are quite cheap, there's one very good secondary school so if your dc pass the eleven plus it's all good. Not sure about the other secondary school.

Collingham is actually just in Notts and similar size to saxilby/skellingthorpe so maybe too small for you. They're all bigger villages I mentioned with shops and good transport links.

If they're too small that pretty much means you're looking at.

Louth, horn castle, market rasen, sleaford, north hykeham, Gainsborough, woodhall. Bbh is small, smaller than saxilby, etc but it is very close to Lincoln.

The Gainsborough Academy is in dire straits on the whole. Kids go from Gains to Mkt Rsn for de Aston in preference. I can understand Kirton reservations, i wouldn't reLly be keen myself but know lovely people who are happy there. The DN postcode is ridiculous really though. Done gorgeous places, just smaller than you're interested in.

What about Welton (by Lincoln)? It's lovely with really good schools (not grammar) and close to Lincoln, or Dunholme?

We went and viewed a property in Welton the other day, but it was too small and even if it wasn't, I wasn't overly keen on the road where it was. I think I prefer Dunholme over Welton anyway.
We're venturing north to view some houses tomorrow, despite the snobby estate agent in Louth's opinions. One is actually in Kirton Lindsey, so it is interesting to hear you don't like that place much despite having friends there. The other properties are in Hibaldstow, North Kelsey and Waddingham, then the following day we have some lined up in Ludford and Billinghay, so I'd appreciate any opinions on these places if possible.
Thanks

As you can see from the post above, we have changed our requirements because finding a place in Horncastle is proving too difficult, so we are starting to consider smaller places. I suppose what you lose on the one hand, you gain on the other (e.g. you have to travel by car to get your groceries, but the place is more peaceful).

I work in Billinghay. Welbourn is a nice little village with hourly buses to Grantham and Lincoln. There is Tattershall as well that's near Billinghay.Also Scopwick is a little village but not good re public transport.Good Luck OP

Now you've lived in Horncastle a while what is your definition of close amenities? We are in a village just outside Louth and when I first moved everything seemed miles away, now however with an Aldi just opening up in Louth it's just 10 minutes to a large supermarket.
Our village doesn't have a bus route, but there's always the dial a bus if you are off the bus route.
My husband works in Horncastle and finds the commute easy as it's A16 and straight onto the wolds.