Relocating to Derbyshire - best places to live?

[Kabby74]

Hi,

We are potentially relocating to Derbyshire from Hertfordshire in the New Year with 4 year old twins. DH is based in Derby so we are fairly relaxed about where we live but would like somewhere with a good primary, some reasonable shops (pub!) and a good community. We've looked at Ashbourne and Melbourne and liked them both but was wondering if there was anywhere else to add to the list. We have to apply to primary schools now so I'd like to get the ball rolling asap.

Thanks in advance of some assistance!
K

I was coming on here to say ashbourne but see you've found it already. Don't live there but have family in the area and know it well. Nice villages, good schools.

DH works in Ashbourne and DD lives in Derby (at Uni) and loves it , the only thing I would say about Ashbourne is that the road into Derby is terrible in the winter, there is a very steep hill and the snow can be awful, so a 4x4 or good winter tyes are a must, it's a good half hour drive from Derby city centre even in good weather.

Ashbourne house prices are high, but that may not be an issue when moving north, we live in Staffordshire and a house like ours ( 3 bed semi) would be about £80-100k more in Asbourne and the surrounding villages.
Uttoxeter (Staffs) is within 20/30 minutes of Derby and is a nice enough small town with good house prices, Cheadle is nice too , but very expensive.

I have relatives in Ashby-de-la-Zouch (where Adrian Mole lived ) which is 30 mins from Derby - 15 miles on A roads, 25 miles via M1 (same time though) - it's a really nice mid-sized town with a huge variety of housing & good schools too.

Melbourne is lovely, as is Hemington, which is actually just over the border in N W Leics.

There are also Ashby and Overseal, which are both nice.

HTH

Thanks so much - really helpful and good to know about the roads. We will be renting so house prices not really affecting any decisions. Currently DH is commuting 2 hours each way a day on occassion so 30 mins would be a dream commute for him!

I think where exactly in Derby your DH is working may make a difference on where to choose to rent.

He's at Pride Park - currently commuting 2 hours each way a day! He's used to a drive actually so anywhere within a 45 min drive into Derby will be a massive improvement to him.

We went up today for another look around, still like Melbourne but wonder if it will be a bit quiet and the airport bothers me. Love Ashbourne - but what are the schools like (primary) there....Clifton looked nice. Now need to check out around Duffield, Allestree etc I think.

Duffield and surrounding area is lovely (grew up there so very biased!). The Ecclesbourne School catchment area is worth more £££s in terms of house prices though... Matlock, Wirksworth and Bakewell v pretty. Darley Abbey and Allestree = v easy commute to Derby.

Come to Matlock Trains are fab, as is the Transpeak bus, we have it all here ......
Friendly neighbourhood MNers, Carsington Reservoir, Chatsworth House, Murder,Morris Dancers, we have a Birds, not a Greggs though although you can get Fruit Shoot at the local Costas, AND we have the very very best birthing centre in the country if the bastard government doesn't close it down.....

Belper - without a doubt. Weve lived here for nearly a year and wouldnt live anywhere else. LOVELY people, busy town, lovely shops, fab schools, steeped in history and just a fab place to live. Feels very safe and definately the right decision. 20 mins into Derby with excellant transport links - trains every 1 hour. Come and have a look!

The mention of Belper brings back happy childhood memories for me .
My great aunt's house stood at the top of windy gap in the middle of the road and the front of the house was v-shaped, I've often wondered if it's still there.
We've ventured to Crich tram museum but haven't been into Belper proper.

Melbourne is nice but is on the flight path for East Mids airport - quite a bit of aircraft noise...

Ashby is lovely - good primary schools and if you are still around for secondary then Ivanhoe College & Ashby School are very good.

Overseal and surrounding villages are nice (dd1 is in Overseal Primary School even though we are out of the area)

Matlock is fine; Bakewell is lovely but I suspect that house prices are pretty high there.

Hi - thanks all some new places to go and view. Lavender - we went to Matlock and I liked it a lot...although christ I'd need to improve my fitness getting up those hills! My one query was can you find houses near town with gardens given they are all backing up a cliff?! (ok not quite but its steep!)

Feathers - yes we noticed the aircraft - low flying last weekend over the resevoir when we went for 2nd visit, loved Ticknall though! Also those massive powerstations around Melbourne put me off a little!

We had a good trip up last weekend but need to go back without the girls in tow....they did well but its impossible trying to look around with 2 3 yrs olds.

Belper, Ashby and Duffield now next on list for visits!