Chippenham, Marlborough area – what's it like to live round there?

[Frieda]

We've been vaguely thinking about the possibility of moving out of London (mainly because of the schools thing) and we both have family in Wales and the Southwest, and now an opportunity has come up in this area for dh. It always looks very pretty when we drive through this part, and Bath and Bristol both look attractive ? but what's it actually like to live there? I'd really appreciate it if anyone can offer any insights/advice.

TIA

aha yes
it is a very odd one

we're in Ludgershall the end of the earth!!!!

oh god that really is! why did you end up there?

dh knows womsone there who smashed a drugs ring!

Because dp used to run a pub in Reading and when it all went pear shaped we couldnt afford to get somewhere to rent in Reading (basically losing the pub meant we lost our jobs and home all in one blow and dd was only 6 months old!) So we had to move to somewhere cheaper... we had no idea what the areas were like here but the house was nice and only costs us £500 a month for 3 bedrooms - in Reading we wouldnt get a bedsit for that!! Been here 2 years now and realise its crap lol!!!

will oyu move?

Oh, sorry for double posting, internet service is playing up.

We are looking at somewhere around Marlborough/Chippenham, but outside as we don't want to live right in a big town. DH is a country boy from North Wales so he would like to live in the middle of nowhere, I on the other hand would like to be travelling distance to shops and civilisation, but would love to live in a nice quiet village.

We are looking to move in February, so are just starting to make plans now that it is all confirmed.

princespeahead is your gal she lives htere

definately!! dd is about to turn 3 and i refuse to put her in the village school lol dp has just started a new job though so it all depends on that.

If I were you pp i'd come and spend some time looking all around the villages if you can so you dont do what we did and think we were moving to a pretty little village and end up hating it!!

Why did you hate it, zephyrcat (if you don't mind my asking?)

I actually love Hampshire/Wiltshire as a whole - there is some very beautiful countryside and some amazing villages - we just happened to pick a bad one!! We came here without knowing anything about the place as we had to make a decision very quickly, but because all the other villages looked nice we thought ours would be too - in reality it's very very not!!

I cant find the right words - codswallop how would you describe ludgershall??!!

ZC Is Ludgershall quite an army town? I've only ever driven through it on teh way from Marlborough to Andover, never stopped.

yes and no - there is a barracks here but the next village - Tidworth is more army. It's just a bizzarre place - nothing matches - all the housing is different in different places where bits have been added through the years - it's just a bit of a nothing village really!!

I love all the speed limit signs in Tidworth!

Lol they're good arent they?!

..lose your attitude not your licence...

I always make sure I am well under the speed limit going through there!

ludgeshall ha sa lot of prblem families ithink ( apry formt he z cats)

Ludgershall the road to the M3.
It has a somerfield and a castle too?

we're probably the biggest problem family here!!!!!!! Yep has a somerfields and a bit of a castle ....... and thats about it really!!
lol thats my fav sign in tidworth!

How embarrassing! I think I posted that message so many times because I leant on my keyboard while only half concentrating as I'm supposed to be working. Am pretending to edit a documentary at the same time as browsing mumsnet. Codswallop, how hilarious that you remember Miss Matthews and recognised that description - she was legendary wasn't she? I wonder if we know each other. Lets start with the ages - I'm 36.

Sorry, coddy, I missed your lunchtime post (dipping in and out between errands today). Just wanted to say that was soooo sweet of you to offer to look out for properties around Salisbury for us. TBH, I haven't really given it much thought yet (guess we might end up renting a while first). But would be interested to know what sort of thing you might be able to get for around 400-450. (We only need 3 bedrooms, somewhere where ds would be able to walk to a nice primary school, and would love a bit of a garden. However, if the answer is something like a small garage on the A303, perhaps I'd rather not know...)

I have lived in Bath and Trowbridge, now live in tiny village outside of Trowbridge and Westbury. I am originally from south coast. I loved living in Bath, hated the crap parking and queues evry whree though. Trowbridge was better than I thoiught it would be, made some good friends that I see regularly. I lov where we live now, although I am dependant on a car to go anywhere.
We regularly go to Salisbury, think it is fab, we thought a lot about moving there when DH was unceratain about his job, also the smaller villages aroung it seem nice.
My only experiences of Chippenham are not that good, but I think that it is probably nicer than the bits I have seen!! Marlborough seems lovely, agree there are not that many shops there.
There are some great villages to the south of Bath.
I have rambled for long enough!! Would also have to say that Coddy is right about the coast, Bath is almost 2 hrs from Bmth and Poole, whereas Salisbury is closer.

The really nicest places to live are probably Bath, Salisbury and Marlborough, but Bath is pretty expensive.

I live in Devizes, which I love, but it may not be to everyone's taste! It's a small old fashioned town and there's not a lot here. Marlborough on the other hand, is probably smaller but is pretty and has nice shops and places to eat - quite trendy and 'up market' - housing there certainly costs more than most places in Wiltshire.

Chippenham is larger and has lots of amenities, but I don't know it well and I'm not sure it's that wonderful (hope I don't offend anyone here).

Swindon is about the size of Reading - it's a pretty big place and there is everything there, but it's not that nice in my opinion.

Wiltshire is I think the largest English county, but it probably has one of the lower population levels. It's definitely a very rural county and if you don't live near to the M4 or A303 it can take quite a while to get anywhere else! I absolutely love it and when I moved here from Hampshire, which isn't exactly far, I really noticed the slower pace of life here and the fact that people were more friendly. However, I can imagine that it could be quite a culture shock after living in London, as there's not a lot here!

Well that got rather long Hope it helps.