Histon

[Imya40]

Hi

We are relocating to Cambridge from London and are currently looking at Histon as an area to buy in. We have a 3 year old daughter so it would be great to know what facilities/ activities there are for children

I am also hoping to get a job in fulbourn so also wanted to know what the commute works be like ? . I would be planning to work from 8-4 pm weekdays.

Finally we are a mixed race family how diverse is the local community?

Thanks in advance

I love Histon. When we lived in Cambridge it was one of the places we wanted to move to but it is very expensive. Commute to fulbourn would probably be tough as it’s the other end of the city. Where will your husband be working? Fulbourn is lovely or there’s further down like Saffron Walden or Linton which are lovely for families. Potentially Great Chesterford as well. Histon has a lovely family feel to it and has good schools. Cambridge generally is quite diverse. Good luck if you do decide to make the move.

HIJS is lovely... but commuting to Fulbourn will be awful. Cambridge traffic is truly dreadful! If you're working eastern side, then try to live that side. Your money will go a bit further too as Histon is v expensive.

I would also move to fulbourn. Have friends living there and it seems a lovely community, i have met some families who moved there because of the Steiner school and are definitely very open minded.i would think that Cambridge is more mixed than surrounding villages.

Thanks all for your helpful comments. We have fallen for Histon as it's also close to family who live in Milton but I am concerned about the commute as you have all said.

One of our reasons for leaving London is to have a better work/life balance and easier commute. I had not fully appreciated how much consideration you have to give to the traffic issues in Cambridge when deciding where to live/work. Need to give this a bit more thought I think!

I have also noticed that very few houses seem to come on to the market in Histon. Is that fairly typical for that area? Or is there just a lull at the moment post Brexit ?

We also liked the idea of the guided bus way in Histon does this work well? How long does it take to get into town from Histon ?

Thanks again

Thanks

Hi.
I live in Histon and commute to work in Fulbourn. The commute is fine. I work 9-5. It’s congested coming out of the village and then the A14 until Milton (science park/a10). But after that the routes fine. Prob takes me 40 mins in rush hour - 20 mins off peak. So not too bad for Cambridge at all, I think!!

Buying a house in Histon is tricky. It’s very popular at the moment and the good larger family sized homes go very quickly. 2 beds and small 3 beds seem to stay around for longer.
I don’t take the bus, find them very slow, I usually drive to town. But lots people here bike. The route to town is quick maybe 15/20 mins to town?
Hope that helps!

Oh and I think Histon offers more than fulbourn in term of preschool activities. There are lots of play groups, activities and place to go close by. But it is a bigger village and growing quickly - they are building another complete primary school this year. So changes ahead!

Hi,

Thanks for the info regarding your commute to Fulbourn, 40 mins in rush hour would be manageable.

Thanks also for letting me know about the new primary school. Where abouts in Histon will that be ?. Is it replacing the current primary school or in addition to it. Schools are another reason for us wanting to move to Histon for both primary and secondary.

I had suspected that good family sized houses would go very quickly. Are there any bad parts of Histon to avoid when house hunting ?.

Thanks in advance

The primary is an additional school. So will be two primaries schools and one secondary overall. It’s the councils solution to a great need for schooling in this area with all the surrounding expanding villages. (And justification for more houses to be built in histon?).
The new primary will be built on fields in north histon - very close to current juniors. They are also adding an infants to the current juniors and will close old infant school.
No, no bad parts really. I live in north end and it’s very quiet here. It’s a very family orientated village. Many like to be near the high street and action (schools, pubs), but the houses towards the edges of the villages have more rural feel with field views.

Hi,

Thanks for the info that's all really useful to know. Do you by any chance have any experience of the nursery in Histon ?.

Really keen to find a house now in Histon, fingers crossed that spring brings some new properties on to the market !

Hi

Can anyone advise on what the drive would be like from Histon to Peterborough on a week day ? And what times does rush hour start and end in Cambridge? . Thanks

I would guess an hour? You are going against the traffic so not too bad. Depends where you are going in Peterborough, I suppose. They are improving the A14 so expect roadworks for the foreseeable future!
Rush hour 7.30-9.30, peak 8-9?
Btw, forgot to reply, nurseries are all generally good around Histon. Expensive but good quality. The smaller ones also tend to get full quickly.

Easy to cycle into town from Histon. If it were me, I'd seriously consider commuting to Fulbourn by bike too. Why sit in traffic when you can get fit?

"Easy to cycle into town from Histon. If it were me, I'd seriously consider commuting to Fulbourn by bike too. Why sit in traffic when you can get fit?"

Have to agree. Cyclestreets suggests it takes about 50 minutes at a leisurely speed (the kind of speed I'm currently managing on an upright bike while pregnant with twins), and someone who did it regularly could easily go faster. Quite a lot of it would have an off-road option, too, and better once the Abbey-Chesterton bridge is in.

Main advantage of cycling is not necessarily overall speed (though it often is fastest within the city), but reliability. There's not much that seriously delays you. Driving may take 40 minutes most of the time, but every few months there's a serious collision on the A14 at rush hour and the whole network grinds to a halt, leaving people stranded for hours.