Which areas in Somerset/Wiltshire/South Gloucestershire

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Need to relocate to make a new start in life - any info on any of the nicer towns/villages in teh above areas would be great... good primary schools needed!
Any info on where to avoid be handy too!
Thanks

I agree with too far from the sea, that's another big up for Ilminster- Charmouth so nearby.

Actually, would prefer Charmouth. Hmmm.....
(Can't go anywhere until I graduate but you know one day)

Ilminster is pretty

crap arts centre though

charmouth and lyme are lovely

considering buying holiday home there

you live there you nob

I went to school in Cirencester - They were pretty good then - that was a long time ago though!

The stroud area is slightly cheaper for houses and schools are just as good.

We go camping in Charmouth, and probably about 50% of our friends are based in Ilminster, they seem to like the schools there too. I love the centre with the old market, have sold my cards at fayres there occasionally. Haven't been to the arts centre though. Didn't know there was one!

But my choices may well be bad: Hell, I spent 32 years in Bridgwater all places look good in comparison!

I'm another one who's lived in Somerset all my life and in a few places as well so here goes, I've added my thoughts to PeachyClair's list

Don't go to:

Bridgwater see "Crap Towns"
Yeovil
Wellington (I grew up and went to school here and it is a town where people go to die and it is just too local in a scary way particularly Rockwell Green )
Burnham On Sea
Frome
Shepton Mallett
Chard
Minehead
Taunton (I lived here most of my life and it is fine as a town to shop in and the people can be friendly but it is very violent particularly at night and the traffic is dreadful. However if you could find somewhere in one of the surrounding villages it has some of the most beautiful
countryside around.
Glastonbury unless you are a aura reading new age loving type otherwise it is just too much like a hippy theme park
Street
Cheddar -A bit local and overrun with tourists in the summer.
Weston Super Mare -Has one of the most violent estates in the country a very scary and overgrown place.
Nailsea - basicaly a new town
Portbury -too near the M5
Portishead - Its alright I suppose but not my cup of tea
Yatton
Watchet

Where I would go:

Clevedon --Lovely quiet seaside town with a real sense of community. Lots of young families and an easy journey to Bristol with a regular bus service.
Ilminster
Wells --Still lovely even though it has grown massively in the last few years.
Castle Cary
Axbridge -Lovely but a little twee
Priddy (I'd love to live around here)
Dulverton Really remote but lovely area
Wiveliscome

Enid I can't remember her parents names, was friends with eldest daughter for several years. Her name Is Sarah, she's get married this summer to a local farmer last she told me and her younger sister was Camilla, she was a equestrian college....

Father works up in London, commutes alot. They were mercedes fans IIRC! If you're not sure I'll ask another friend who knew her parents better...

I get excited when I might know someone who knows someone!!

god why do you all love Ilminster

boring IMO

the villages around Yeovil are gorgeous and yeovil isnt bad for shopping tbh

PC, the only thing I really know about South Petherton was a college friend who used to live there! So sorry. I wasn't a well travelled teenager! Martock was as far as I got. After that I got boyfriends with cars !!

Yay for Yeovil!!!

I grew up in Devizes, my parents still live there. not sure I would call it "interesting" but it was OK.
If we were moving to Wiltshire now I would choose Bradford on Avon, or Salisbury, or Marlborough. DP grew up in Seend and wouldn't recommend it.

ah martock is alright floss

dh works in Stoke sub Hamdon

gorgeous countryside - Ham Hill is great

We had family friends in SSH Enid.

her husband recently passed away but she had been previously setting up the new hospice.

Do you happen to know if we are thinking of the same family in NC?

i live really close to Bradford on Avon and I haven't heard anything about problems at night with young people. BOA is small with not very many shops, but is very friendly and there are some beautiful parts. It does have most things I need - and everything I can't get in Bradford, I can get in Trowbridge or Bath. The Bradford secondary school is really good; don't know about primaries actually in BOA, but some of the ones in the villages around are excellent.
I wouldn't move to Trowbridge or to Melksham or Westbury - all too depressing for me.

It was Rockwell green in wellington I was thinking of too mainly 9and agin the brothel- wonder if that is still there?)- local is deffo the way to describe it, yes.

I did however forget North Petherton- now officially a town- oh no,no,no, no!

Also, Frome is quite arty and friendly. I've got a friend who is arty who lives there with her three kids and she loves it. I think it's one of those places that you need to go and find out whether it feels right for you personally.

BOA has some lovely shops, and the area is great. But htere have been reports locally about "hood wearing youths"!

Trowbridge has quite alot of chain shops, good park, good primary schools. But the secondary schools aren't that good, unless you are Catholic.

frome is really nice, but I know nothing about schools there. Devizes is nice, lots of little shops.

The thing is, around here you are so close to each town anyway, and there are so many little villages between each town.

I lived in Stoke-Sub-Hamdon. Beautiful area around it (and totally agree about Ham Hill, but the village is dull, dull, dull and full of stroppy loud teenagers hanging about in groups drinking out of cider bottles all night.

Ilminster was great in comparison! Lived there as well. Agree about the Arts Centre not being much cop, but there is a good range of shops so that you can avoid Tesco/Sainsburys etc and just shop locally if you want, and was near enough to Taunton for anything else. It had a really friendly feel. Fantastic walks all around, good pubs and good schools. I'd avoid the primary actually in Ilminster, as is part of the 3 tier middle school system (and the Secondary at the top has just been put into special measures.....). I'd go for one of the village schools around and about which follow the normal primary/secondary route.

Chew Valley area, south of Bristol, is lovely with great schools - but very expensive houses. Same goes for the villages around Keynsham (Saltford, etc - where I grew up, but no chance of affording anything there now!)

If we moved back to the area, I'd probably be looking at villages outside of Yeovil as well, though not on the Sherbourne side - the other way, between Yeovil and Ilminster, or down towards Dorset borders. Ahh what a lovely thought.

devizes is really not nice
nic e line in local justice though

I've lived in Somerset 20 years. We live in Crewkerne - why does no-one mention it? Its a nice town to live in, only half an hour from the dorset coast and 20mins from shopping in Yeovil, 40 mins Taunton, 1 hour exeter 1 hour Bath and train station to London. Its got a great swimming pool - one of the best in the area, dd loves it, which is about to have a new extension with gym and yoga room, supermarkets, nice shops, good schools and is about to have 500 new houses and a brand new primary school. Lots of community groups, toy library, developing sure start centre etc. Its cheaper than further north (our house is 3 bed, 2 receptions + utility etc, nace garden but no parking - older terraced character cottage and £135k) there are alot like this in Crewkerne. And its surrounded by gorgeous countryside. My sister lives in Yeovil and really likes it as everything is in walking distance (she doesn't drive) but I wouldn't want too as I prefer smaller towns. Good luck with your hunt.

I go swimming in Crewkerne

I'd make another vote for Marlborough and surrounding area. We live in a village North of Marlborough 10 miles from M'borough, 10 Miles from Hungerford, 8 miles from Swindon.

Its a lovely area with all kinds of amenieties available form the towns and our village as a strong community and lots going on all year round but especially in the summer its a great place to live with a family. And most importantly we have three craking pubs and a lovely resteraunt in our village, the best thing in the summer is to go down to the pub on the village green, let the kids play together and enjoy a relaxing drink, heaven!

We also have a great local nursery in our village which also has branches in other local villages in gorgeous converted barns and very good state local schools as well as a good range of private schools if thats what you want.

Wiltshire is lovely anyway with the downs, the ridgeway, lots of lovely walks around there and world heritage areas like Avebury, The white Hourses etc.

I work in London part time and commute from either Hungerford /Great Bedwyn or Swindon. Its just over an hour.

If your intereted in a village heres a few lovely ones I could recommend, some of which have their own websites if that helps.

\link{http://www.aldbourne.co.uk\Aldbourne}
\link{http://www.baydon.org\Baydon}
\link{http://www.ramsbury.com\Ramsbury}
\link{http://www.greatbedwyn.com\Great Bedwyn}
Little Bedwyn
\link{http://www.burbage-wiltshire.co.uk\Burbage}
\link{http://www.minal.org.uk}
Axford (see Ramsbury Website)
\link{http://www.chiltonfoliat.com\Chilton Foliat}
Ogbourne St George

Hope that helps.

PrincessPeaHead I dodn't realsie you were in Marlborough, we spend lots of our time there being just up the road, have probably seen you in waitrose

Pewseys alright, we looked at a lovely house there before deciding on here. The only real advantage would have been that I would have been closer to the train station.

I didn't see anything to really single it out which is why we plumped for our village instead.