Where to move in Cambridgeshire? Any help gratefully received!

[ClaireQT]

Hiya,

My family and I (me, husband and two boys - 4 & 2 year old) are relocating from North Wales to Cambridgeshire this summer because my husband has a new job in Hinxton.

We're struggling to decide on a location so any help is gratefully received.

We need a 4 bedroom house for no more than £550k.

We'd like to be in a village or small town no more than 10 miles from Hinxton (my husband will cycle to work).

We want to be somewhere safe, and there needs to be a good primary and pre-school in the village/town, as well as a shop and a pub - we're not too bothered about anything else really!

We're happy to be in Cambridgeshire, Herts or Essex, it doesn't have to be Cambridgeshire.

Thank you so much in advance!

Wendens Ambo might be worth a look. It has a pre-school, and your local primary school (link to school website here) is a 10 minute bike ride/5 minute drive away. It is 7.3 miles from Hinxton according to google maps. all the best x

I have just had a look at a property site (nestoria) and there seem to only be 2 4bed houses for sale currently that are overbudget. However, it might be worth waiting to see if something else comes on the market x

Sawston could be worth a look.

Duxford or Whittlesford are both villages which would fit your brief although I don't know if you would get a 4 bed house in that price bracket.

Clavering has an outstanding primary school and the cricketers pub. I think there is also a small shop/post office
www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/88377872

You could look at Great Chesterford, Saffron Walden, possibly Newport. There’s also Sawston, Duxford and maybe Great Shelford. They’re all nice areas. Decent schools.

This house is a bit more rural but very pretty on the edge of winbush which has a good primary school and the white heart pub. There is the cabin gift shop in the village. Not sure how practical it is for everyday essentials though.
www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/90832835

Thank you everyone!

Are any of you familiar with Balsham? There's a house I like the look of there.

Thanks!

I used to drive through Balsham to work. It is a nice village. I think it has a pub and shop but I never used them. Linton nearby has a good secondary. I am not sure what the primary in the village is like. You will probably get a bit more for your money in east cambridgeshire as it is a bit further from train stations for london commuters.

You're right, I think it makes sense to be further from the commuter towns and villages as we don't need them.

Linton looks nice too, is that with a look?

Thanks!

Linton is bigger, less of a pretty little village but more facilities. If you are looking east of Cambridge bear in mind if you cross over the boarder into Suffolk the schools tend not to be as good, especially the secondaries. Haverhill is relatively deprived compared to other locations in the area. The a1307 is also bad for accidents, I wouldn't want to cycle on it.

That's really helpful thank you. I reckon we'll go for Balsham.

Balsham and Linton are lovely.

Depends on your priorities. Your husband would have an arduous daily cycle ride from Balsham to Hinxton, minimum an hour each way and the routes aren't the great with lots of commuter traffic trying to take shortcuts, so if he's set on cycling I would definitely choose somewhere nearer to live for a better quality of life. However Linton Village College is a great secondary school with lovely sports facilities so if you can get in catchment for that it's a bonus (if you are staying long-term). Great or Little Abington would be midway between the two and they have a primary school. I'm in Duxford and it's a great location, Saffron Walden on one side and Cambridge the other and a short hop onto the M11. We walk to Hinxton sometimes through some lovely countryside. Both served by Duxford primary school. Great Chesterford is another lovely village just up the road from Hinxton and has a primary school. Whittlesford is nice too and has a train station. Not a priority now but once the kids are older and want some freedom it's handy. The countryside is great but being a permanent taxi driver can get a bit wearing. If you have any questions just shout, and good luck with the search.

That's really helpful thank you so much. Is Duxford a nice village then? Nice community feel etc? I've that there are a few houses for sale there within our budget xx

are you going to be working too?

The Genome Campus runs a fleet of buses which are free so check out the bus routes before you buy. The South Cambs villages (Foxton, Fowlmere, Melbourn, Meldreth etc) are all lovely, a bit closer to Cambridge and you might just get something for that kind of money.

I work from home so location isn't as important for me. My husband definitely wants to cycle because that's his exercise sorted every day. I drove through Melbourn and I really liked the look of it, I'll take another look at what's on the market there. Thank you!

Melbourn has good links into Cambridge via the station at Meldreth. However I dont know how you could cycle from Melbourn to Hinxton without going onto the A505 at Thriplow to Duxford which I personally wouldnt want to do. However it's only for a few hundred metres so if he is brave enough then go for it.

From Melbourn he could cross the A505 and cycle through Chrishall Grange and up to Hinxton through the back roads, but whichever way you cycle it will inevitably be busy during rush hour. Duxford does have a community feel, it's a small village but very friendly. An amazing new community centre has just been built which will offer lots of clubs and activities when lockdown rules allow and there is a nice playground, two pubs, a cafe and a village shop. We have the Imperial War Museum on the outskirts so you get three free airshows a year from your garden! Duxford and some surrounding villages get a free 'Neighbours of Duxford' pass to the museum and it's a great place to take the kids for a run around. There's a cafe and outside play area. Worth considering the villages included in that scheme just for the free admission (Hinxton, Thriplow, Whittlesford, Ickleton, Foxton and Meldreth). The downside is that on airshow weekends traffic can be very busy in the area but it's a small price to pay.

That's true although that does involve a hill and we're not used to those in Cambridgeshire

I think Duxford is a lovely village. We once tried to buy a house there but got outbid.

Thank you so much, that's all incredibly helpful. I'm lining up viewings in Melbourn, Duxford, Balsham, Bourn, Helions Bumpstead and Clavering. It's going to be a busy few days when we eventually make it down (hopefully very soon given our house is under offer!!). Thanks again xx

Oooh Clavering is a very nice village as a previous poster said. It's Jamie Oliver's birth place and his parents still run the Cricketers pub. The primary school is Ofsted outstanding (my daughter went there for Y6). Good luck with the house viewings!!

@ClaireQT I will PM you