Moving to Warrington from London

[MrsLL2B]

hi there,
We are moving back up North hopefully in the new year. I grew up in Altrincham and still have family there. My DH is transferring to the Liverpool office of his company so we decided on Stockton Heath as a good place for commuting to Liverpool and Altrincham.

We really like SH as there is quite alot going on and it is not too rural although it has loads of surrounding countryside. We did drive around places like Tarporley etc but they were too rural for me, but gorgeous.

I don't know the areas surrounding Warrington at all so some advice would be appreciated.

SH is quite pricey. Alot of houses come up in Padgate or Penketh when I search on rightmove, they are gorgeous houses and bigger but cheaper than SH. Does anyone know what these areas are like?

What about nurseries, schools, baby groups in the area? Any parts I should avoid?

Any advice would be really appreciated, thanks.

I live in Stockton Heath and grew up in Penketh so can probably help.

Penketh is okay, I have friends living there - you get more for your money but there's no countryside to speak of. I think there's lots going on in terms of babygroups etc though as I don't live there any more, it's hard to know.

The schools - Penketh high is a no-no I'm afraid. It was ok 20 years ago but the council closed a very bad school down and began bussing those kids to Penketh High and it's never been the same since. Great Sankey High is much better (recent outstanding Ofsted) so longer term, if you are on that side of town then I would err towards Barrow Hall Lane Primary. If you are catholic, St Joseph's Primary is good. I don't think either have any parts which are especially bad though the Callands area has it's rough patches and so does Old Hall (both sort of Great Sankey). If you can tell me what roads in Penketh you are looking at I can be more specific as I know it well.

I don't know Padgate at all but I'm afraid it doesn't have a good reputation (sorry to anyone who lives there) and isn't comparable with Penketh, hence house prices.

Thought after I posted - what is your budget and what do you want to buy? We are comiing towards the end of a house renovation - we moved out of our house and rented a property in Grappenhall village, which is near Stockton Heath. I have been very impressed with the area - real family vibe, good primary school, quaint village centre, two nice pubs, lots of safe open space for the kids. We back onto the Bridgewater canal and there are lots of open countryside walks directly from our front door. The house prices are much lower than in SH but the flip side of that is that there are fewer facilites - one small post office but a Tesco about 10 mins walk away.

Have look at a Google image of Grappenhall village and you'll see how pretty it is.

Grappenhall is a large area - I am referring specifically to the area around Broad Lane/Church/pubs/cricket club. This doesn't include Grappenhall Heys (new estate though good primary school and nice countryside but no facilities at all - get into your car for everything). If you look on a map, search around Bellhouse Lane, Broad Lane, St Wilfred's Drive, Sharon Park Close, Glebe Avenue and Shadewood Crescent (though the latter is a bus route and a narrow road for buses). Houses of mixed ages, lots of 1930's semis, detached and some 1990's detached also.

hiya sixtiesqueen
another ex penketh kid here and would fully back you on the penketh high school info...
and to add avoid penketh south primary , penketh community is much better

good luck MrsLL2B we nearly moved back a few years ago but didn't due to hubbys job

Hi,
Thanks for your replies.

We looked around Grappenhall, Walton and Appleton. They were all lovely but I'd like to be within a short walk of a bit of a community as I have a baby and don't want to have to drive everywhere if poss.

Hence why I liked within a mile of SH centre but I suppose you pay for it. Grappenhall did seem lovely.

I don't know St Josephs, I am catholic so was looking at St Monicas as a primary school as I've hears really good things about it. Secondary schools seem years away but I guess it would be cardinal Newman I think.

Just wondered about Penketh and padgate as you get alot more for your money there but there is usually a reason if things seem a bit too good to be true!!

Are there lots of baby groups and coffee mornings etc in SH? I'm moving from a very family friendly part of London and that's one of the things I'm worried about missing.

Thanks

frodsham is slightly cheaper and davenham is amazing and cheap (but have v few 4 beds)

there are 2 catholic primary schools in penketh/great sankey area
st josephs is nearer to great sankey , st vincents is in penketh(shares a site with penketh south primary)
secondary school for this area is st gregorys in westbrook area(nearer to warrington-there used to be a school bus from penketh?) and is a good highly regarded secondary school- many of my friends have children there now
have a look for st josephs church (i think it's on meeting lane, penketh) and see if they have any pre school/toddler activities
there is a swimming pool in penketh, a library, based around honiton way (also a row of shops and a doctors surgery)
I know there are a couple of pre-schools type playgroups and various different toddler/pre-school age activities as my sis is in great sankey and used to take my nephew to loads of activities
shout if you need any more info
ps local rag is called the warrington guardian

Regarding schools, I believe St Monica's is a goo d school though I'm not sure how many of those kids go to Cardinal Newman High, partly because Bridgewater High is much closer but also because CN doesn't have the best reputation locally. If you re set on a catholic educaiton then you would be better served to live in Penketh/Great Sankey and let them go to St Gregory's.

Have you considered Culcheth? We live on the south side of town because we both need to access the M56 but I do think Culcheth has much more to offer in terms of facilites and it's great for the M6/62, which would be better for your Dh's commute..

15 years ago, Stockton Heath had more independent shops but these days it's a lot of estate agents, funeral directors and hairdressers. Culcheth has some great shops (have a nosey round the CPS centre unpstairs in Sainsbury's which sounds odd but just go and look!). It houses all sorts of independent shops such as a bookshop/school uniform shop/sewing alteration shop. We have nothing like this in Stockton Heath. Culcheth also has some nice restaurants and a children's play area which is loads better than the one we have in SH. It has some lovely independent cafes as well. I really do think you'd find it has more to offer than SH - I have no idea why our house prices here are so high.

St Lewis' primary in nearby Croft is catholic and good.

Thanks again for the advice.

Interesting re cardinal newman, I haven't really done my research on secondary schools but I suppose I should!

We have done quite a bit of driving around and viewings. Saw some lovely houses in grappenhall,SH, Appleton and Walton but the one we liked best just happened to be in SH. We are quite set on it but (long story) it's all a bit precarious so I am looking at fall back options. Fingers crossed I won't need to!

Just looked up davenham, but far out, as is frodsham. Don't know culcheth, could be one to consider and I'll check out the shopping centre out of curiosity. Will also check out penketh for baby activities.

Although this move is supposed to be a lifestyle change I can't give up a high street and be surrounded by fields just yet!

Oh also looking for a period property and a lot of places seem to have a lot of newer properties only eg Appleton.

Thanks all.

Appleton is unofficially divided into 'old' and 'new' Appleton (I'm a property buff and probably know every property on the market in south Warrington...). It's a wide area and you are right, lots of it consists of new housing, though even within this there is great variation in the quality of the houses and estates. As a rule of thumb, those estates built in the early 1990s have larger gardens and those built after 1995 seem pokey (I remember them being built).

'Old' Appleton has more period property and is closer to Stockton Heath - I'm thinking of the section from Red Lane through Windmill Lane and Highwood Road - all ten minutes walk into the village but costing much more to buy a house for obvious reasons.

There's a section of Appleton known as the Cobbs Estate which lies behindd the London Bridge Pub (near St Monica's primary) it's a mix of 1930s houses and 1950s social housing - friend of mine lived down there and had problems with people walking past on way home from pub -that's the area off Dingleway, which runs away from the A49. She moved to Appleton Park, which is a 1960's'/70s estate of ugly but huge houses with big gardens which are gradually being refurbised as younger families move in (I think this is the next up and coming area once people catch onto the space and potential). She has a massive garden now!

Thanks Sixtiesqueen....you should be an estate agent if you are not already!
Quite set on period property so newer estates don't really hold much appeal although they are probably a good buy in terms of square footage.

I'd say reconsider Culcheth/Croft area too. I'm in Birchwood because that's what we can afford and my DH works on the business park there so we wanted him to be able to walk to work, but am close enough to Culcheth/Croft area to say there seems to be quite a bit going on for toddlers. I know of a couple toddler groups and some things like Tumble Tots up that way.

The traffic and congestion around Stockton Heath is a nightmare, I never go down there anymore if I can help it.

We also moved from London to Warrington 4 years ago, haven't regretted it for a moment.

Thanks, will take a closer look at culcheth it sounds good.
Dont want to be put off SH too much...we have an offer in on a house there and am already nervous enough about the move!!! Just getting some other views in case things fall through as it's a bit precarious.

The Stockton Heath/Appleton area is lovely - and much nicer than other areas of Warrington - which is why you pay more. Culcheth/Croft are quite nice areas - Croft is quite rural though - but neither are a patch on Stockton Heath/Appleton.

Traffic/car parking is a problem though in Stockton Heath. You'd be better off towards Appleton and then depending upon where you live, you're only a walk or bus ride into Stockton Heath.

Hi Suebfg, thanks for your post,apologies I have only just seen it.
Looks like everything is back on track with our purchase so all going well I will be a Stockton Heath resident next month!!

Any recommendations on play groups, soft play places, general toddler activites etc very welcome.

Thanks all!

Fingers crossed for you! A good place to start is Stockton Heath Library as there are lots of pamphlets and adverts for local play groups etc.

There is a story time there too - think it's a Tuesday and attended by lots of mums with toddlers. The lady who runs that does a music/dance group for toddlers at Broomfields leisure centre. It's free and good fun.

Of course you have Walton Gardens close by and occasionally they do ranger activities with young children. Grappenhall Heys Walled Gardens have activities for children on some Sundays. Stockley Farm is a good day out - within 20 mins drive.

Hope that gives you some ideas!