Moving to Ilkley after many years down south

[Yorkie31]

Very excited but nervous about a move back to Yorkshire in the near future after 10 years with my young family - my girls are in years 1 and 5.

I wonder if anyone else has done this move from the Home Counties to Ilkley? I think my main concerns are my kids settling well. I’m so nervous but the schools do seem to be well regarded and luckily there is space.

My other (very small) concern is the weather - we love to spend time in the garden. More my husband’s concern than mine :)

Has it been a massive adjustment to those who have done this move for both you and your children?

Do kids tend to walk to school with their friends safely - is it a nice community for kids? My eldest now walks to school with her friends and loves it.

Do teens have enough to do to keep them out of trouble. I grew up nearby but not in the town itself. Can’t wait to be back but having a few wobbles.

Thank you for any advice from anyone who has done a similar move :)

What's made you move?
I don't live there but have been a few times. Seems a safe place?

Hopefully people who know it will be along.

Thanks for replying. Mostly to be near family. Not for help as such although that’d be nice occasionally but more for the children to grow up with them around.

Is there a Facebook page?

It's a lovely place to bring up a family, great schools, good sports clubs, a boutique cinema, lovely restaurants & shops, a stunning lido, the moors on your doorstep. Ilkley Chat is the local Facebook page with details of what's going on.

@legosnowqueen thank you! It does sounds wonderful. Do you know is the local hospital Airedale and is that still good nowadays?

Yes it's Airedale, it's good but we can also access the Leeds & Bradford hospitals if preferred & there's a Minor Injuries nearby in Otley. Feel free to message me with any detailed questions, happy to help!

I grew up in the home counties, but moved to Yorkshire for University and never left.

There is sunny weather, but it does tend to be a few degrees cooler. There's more chance of snow and rain in winter, but consequently there is a lower risk of water shortages in summer.

My children have picked up some of my accent, and as such are routinely picked on for being "posh" by their classmates. Just smething to keep an eye on if your children have strong home counties accents.

My youngest DD is in year 5 and is just starting to walk to/from school by herself. Seems normal for the area.

Oh Ilkley is lovely! But then I'm biased, because I was born and bred not far away!
Have nothing constructive to offer, but the fish and chip shop next to the river is top notch! And plenty of places to sit outside and a park right next to it! Enjoy, it'll be a good move for you! 💐

You're moving to one of the most desirable places in Yorkshire, I think they'll be fine.

I work on the children’s ward at Airedale and the staff there are all lovely and brilliant. My role is mental health and wellbeing for the children on the ward and in A&E. Sometimes it’s playing with toys or games with the younger ones, other times it’s giving the older ones space to offload what might be going on for them at home or school. Not every hospital has that service, so I think it shows what a fab trust it is that it pays for this role. We also work at BRI too, which I think you can use from Ilkley too.

So if your kids are ever in need of medical care there, they will be very well looked after by everyone on the ward.

@Yorkie31 My message above was in response to this. I forgot to quote it!

@legosnowqueen thanks so much, good to know what options are available from Ilkley

@Spirael thank you, glad to hear you decided to stay! Oh my husband is worried about the accents, but I was really hoping at primary school kids wouldn’t even really notice and that they’d soften by the time they got to secondary school. Is it more taking the mickey or do they get upset and feel bullied for it?

@Matchingsocks123 so lovely to hear the hospital has such great children’s services and lovely staff. I was born at Airedale and it always did have a good reputation but good to know it still does.

@Bjorkdidit yes it’s so beautiful - sounds like we’ll be very lucky to live there. We visit often when we are visiting family but it’s hard to get a feel for what it’d be actually like once kids are in school there.

It's mostly harmless teasing, @Yorkie31 . My kids accents are actually a lot softer than the native home counties one, as they've lived in Yorkshire all their lives. However the sharper enunciation is enough to stand out amongst the broad, local accents.

Kids will always find something to pick on one another about, and TBH there are worse things than being called posh based on their accent. It can actually be a useful diversion from the more hurtful traits that could be used as a target instead.

The accents were noticed and mentioned in primary school, but the teasing has been worse in high school, where DD1 is. However, she's just decided to own it and made it part of her identity. Now her friends call her posh affectionately, which has neutered the bullying.

So I'm sure it'll be fine, but it might be a good idea just to warn your kids that their accent might be commented on, and prime them with a witty comeback or to laugh it off.

@Spirael kids eh! Some of my daughter’s friends have started noticing I have a different accent to them now so maybe to be expected. Thanks for the advice to forewarn them and yes laughing it off rather than being defensive probably best way. I’m sure they’ll soon settle in! :)

It sounds like all the primaries are lovely and none to avoid. They are in 2 form entry primaries now but ideally would love more outdoor space at school.

Ilkley is lovely. You’ve got the lido in summer, The Box Tree, as well as other nice bars, cafes and restaurants. Ilkley Grammar is outstanding. Great primary schools too. Airedale hospital is very good (I wish it was my nearest!). King’s Hall gets some brilliant bookings. Ilkley was high on our list when we were house hunting. A lovely park, nice places to walk, and a short train ride to Leeds for teens who need something a bit bigger. It’s a good place to bring up kids. I was a supply teacher in all the best and worst schools in and around Leeds.

You lucky devils! I love Ilkley. We're in the suburbs of Leeds and moved from Sussex. Absolutely love it here! Beautiful scenery, friendly people, feels very safe to me.
Regarding the weather - honestly as a born and bred southerner I don't notice much difference. My southern friends are always pitying me because they imagine I'm freezing to death up north. Whenever I compare the temperatures between Leeds and my home time, they're remarkably similar. If it is warmer down south it's usually only by 1 or 2 degrees. Often it's the same. Don't worry, you'll be fine.

I wouldn't worry about the accents - lots of people in Ilkley aren't from Yorkshire...

Exactly, where I live in Leeds is full of southerners. Plenty of people with the same southern accent as me.
Also, I was teased for being posh far more in the south than I have been up north. In fact I don't think a Yorkshire person has ever called me posh. Down south, it happened all the time.

Ilkley is one of, if not the best, places to live in Yorkshire! I'm sure you'll love it.

Our child is going to IGS in September and we have been very happy with their local nursery and then primary school. My only worry is they are going from a small school with about 200 kids to IGS which has over 2000.

It does rain a lot here and my southern SIL says it's freezing compared to down south! But we do have some lovely summers.

The only thing IMO we are missing are some decent takeaways, we are extremely limited on Just Eat and don't have Uber Eats or Deliveroo at all!

@DoneAdulting I think perhaps the wind off the moors, makes it feel cooler sometimes! The high schools where we are now are also massive. Hope your child settles in well.

@SallyWD good to hear you love Leeds area and that you don’t think the weather is too different. I’m sure it’s not different enough to be a factor! I hope. :) Sussex is also very beautiful.
Good to hear Yorkshire folk don’t call you posh for your accent 😂
I’m sure the kids can cope with gentle teasing so hopefully wouldn’t be a factor then either.

@AllThePotatoesAreSinging thank you, seems like there will be plenty to keep us busy!

It’s such a huge move - moving family across the country so reassuring to hear so many positive comments.

I wonder if anyone else has done this move from the Home Counties to Ilkley?

I moved from the home counties to Guiseley

It's a lovely part of the world, and I miss living there. I now live in South Yorkshire. I still have friends in the area and go back to visit.

Thanks all for your positive responses. We think we’ve found a house so are very excited. Would anyone have any experiences of All Saints and Ashland’s primary please. All Saints would be much more convenient location wise and seems like a lovely school when I visited but really keen that the kids have as positive experience as possible.

Great news! They are both fantastic schools, DS went to Ashlands & was very happy. I think All Saints may still use church attendance as a criteria & so is often oversubscribed as both people living close by & people wanting a C of E based education select it, but that may have changed...it also wasn't good on wraparound clubs or care historically but I think that's improved after a change of Head Teacher.

Name changed for this!

I live in Ilkley and have school aged kids - lived in London pre kids and DH Home Counties born and bred so have left Yorkshire!

NO-ONE is going to bully your kids for their accents - Ilkley is the most middle class place ever and there is a mix of locals and incomers from (often) down south.

All Saints and Ashlands both good schools, wouldn't say there's much between them so I'd look round and go with your preference although if you're nearer to All Saints I'd go for that as much better for walking / having local friends etc. There have been new joiners from all over in my DCs classes and they've mainly setteled well and made friends. All Saints now has decent after school / breakfast club provision.

I don't really notice a difference in the weather - we usually get proper snow in the winter which kids love for sleding on the moors. Maybe a degree or 2 colder in Spring / Autumn but nothing that makes a big difference to your life and when the sun shines there's so many beautiful places to swim in the river up the Dales / walk on the moors etc that you really don't get in the South East. It's easy to get out to proper countryside here.

Very safe for kids - they tend to walk to / from school from Yr6 and hove around town and the park from then.

There's loads of clubs and things to do for the kids - Leeds is only 30 mins on the train so teens have options there for socialising and hobbies as they get older. It doesn't feel provincial.

I think it's perfect for a young family - unfortunately house prices reflect this!