Moving Edge of Peak District - Commuting to Alderley Park

[pobblestone]

Hello,

We are moving for my husband's new job into a new area and are hoping to find the following:

1. Warm, welcoming, well-educated community
2. Good values, good people, great place to raise children (4g & 5b y/o)
3. Great schools, good neighbours, good fun
4. Striking distance of the Peak District (if not out our back door)
5. Reasonably priced houses with a bit of land, possibly on the outskirts of an attractive village or market town.
6. Good local culture - with a strong sense of community, interested in the village or town and the people who live there.

If you have suggestions, top tips, they would be very much welcomed.

With thanks in advance!

Hayfield-lovely village life.
Whaley Bridge - beautiful, canal side village.
Chinley-smaller but nice.
Simmondley in Glossop.
Castleton / Hope - pricier and maybe out the way
Litton/Eyam- very small but very well to do village feel and exceptional school in Litton.

Not sure about everyone being educated but depending on hobbies and interests there will be many like minded

Hello Chosenone,

Thank you for your thoughtful reply and suggestions. Like-minded, good values, decent and kind, friendly welcoming people more important than cerebral, but good schools and good education are a plus.

all best wishes.

I am a Glossoper and can recommend here, (though we usually like to keep things 'local'...). All the things you want, excellent schools in striking distance, Peak District right in front of you, and handy for M/c centre.

Also Chapel-en-le-Frithe though a lot lot smaller.

PansBigChainring,

Thank you for your reply. It looks lovely - although starting to be on the edges of commutable (45-50 minutes to Alderley Park). We are living in Church Stretton, Shropshire at the moment and love having the Long Mynd on our doorstep. My husband grew up visiting a summer place (small, but five generations in the family) where people from the next village were considered "from away," and yet everyone was warm, friendly, and good-natured, which is why we are drawn to a place with a strong community spirit and character. One village over can make all the difference, but how to find the right one when moving in "from away." :)

oh sure, it's a bit removed from AP so that could be a decision-maker. Good luck with it!

Chapel en le Frith

PansBirChainring -

• thank you

Picturesinthefirelight

• we've been looking online at Chapel en le Frith and have come across a few lovely houses

What is it like to live there?

We also wondered about Bollington and Pot Shrigley?

Just be aware that generally as you get into the high peak they consider people vorn in the next village as outsiders......

I don't live in chapel myself but I work with a couple of people who do that have children.

Nice arts centre in bollington with lots going on. Port Shrigley is tiny

School catchments are a little iffy. The primaries were struggling to survive a few years ago but are good. However the secondaries they feed into arnt the best in the area.

Do be aware that the Cat & Fiddle Road is impassable in snow & is always being closed in winter.

Well I live in Glossop and I've got an MA and an MSc (almost). Does that count?!

I've lived here 9 yrs and I love it. I do a lot of running so I really appreciate the national park on the doorstep, but I commute into Manchester and the traffic can be awful. I've been really pleased with the local schools on the whole and there is a good local arts scene etc, not that I ever go to anything!

Good write up about the town here

I think the commute might rule it out though. I don't think I'd fancy travelling to Alderley Park. It can be a nightmare to get out of Glossop in the mornings.

Sounds like Buxton would tick most of the boxes. Great local arts scene (Buxton Festival), reasonable house prices but good direct train into Manchester if you want a bit more of a night out, fantastic countryside. I've no idea about schools.

As another poster said, you'd struggle in the snow.

I would recommend buxton and whaley bridge over chapel. Chapel is lovely and the High School has a v good reputation and is over subscribed. You are in the catchment for it in whaley bridge though which has 2 better Primary Schools. Chapel does have some beautiful areas and you get a lot for your money but it does also have a quite concentrated area of poverty and problems with drugs and minor crime. Combs a tiny village next to chapel and by the reservoir is beautiful (housing more expensive). My friend lives in Bollington and again it is pricier but a very lovely place to live and a real arts scene.