Anyone live in Herefordshire?

[Ponyofdoom]

I checked out a property near Bromyard and Hereford the other day and loved it, seemed a really nice area- rural yet not too far from several towns. Does anyone else live there and what are the main pros and cons please? No children so not interested in schools. Thanks!

I used to like in Malvern and worked in Hereford!

That whole area is really nice. Pretty good shopping in both Worcester and Cheltenham. Good rail links to Birmingham/London/Bristol etc. Welsh seaside coast is only 1.5 hours away too!

Excellent thanks! So no cons at all then? :-)

I'm Nth Herefordshire/Sth Shropshire and love living here. We've been in the area for 20 years and don't want to be anywhere else.

Hereford is struggling a bit at the moment with quite a few shops closing, but in general it's ok and has the usual stuff, but for more exotic shopping you'd need to go to Cheltenham/Shrewsbury etc. The Courtyard theatre in Hereford is good. I don't really know Bromyard but it seems ok, Ledbury is good with lots of independent shops, Leominster won't set the world alight but you can get most things.

I do most of my shopping in Ludlow which is a fab place, although it gets busy in the summer. It has a great cinema/events place (The Assembly Rooms) and it's very friendly.

I don't know what you're used to, but if you're happy not being able to "pop out to the shops" and prepared to drive around a fair bit then I can't recommend the area enough.

Meant to say I'm not a great shopper (unless it's for horse things), and do a huge amount on line which works a treat.

What properties have you looked at (I'm dead nosy) - we're looking to move and I'm currently obsessed with Rightmove1

Bromyard is lovely - we buy hay from out there (live nr Worcester) and the countryside is outstanding.
You have a lot of choice of places to go from there to shop/go to cinema etc, but obv you do have to drive, and depending on the location you might want a more robust car

HI I live in Herefordshire and I would say the pro's are:

beautiful countryside, even in the middle of Hereford you are only a five minute drive to the countryside

Close to bigger cities ie worcester, gloucester.

Locally produced food is absolutely divine

Friendly people generally

lovely historical market towns such as Ledbury

lots of black and white houses

cons: life here without a car is hard- bus services have all been cut,its hard to get to local beauty spots using public transport, I can't get a bus home after 4pm as they stop then.

life here with a car can be hard- there are some long standing problems with the road infrastructure and with flooding meaning hereford is often at a total standstill. Rush hours are horrendous here.

There is not a huge choice of shops and we don't have many of the main high street names, the ones we do have are small and don't seem to carry the best lines.

We seem to have a higher than average RTA mortality rate, especially on the A49 (runs north to south through county)

The Council seem to be completely inept and make some awful decisions that nobody seems to actually want ie one inch high pavements that so many people have tripped over, Edgar street grid

there are some really poor area's recently coming out as among the UK's worst child poverty sports, in Hereford city and in Leominster

not much nightlife and not many chain restaurants ie no nando's. You can't get hot food after 1am (or it may be midnight) in Hereford.

I lived there for a while about ten years ago. In a nutshell, lovely place to go for a weekend.

Depends a lot on what lifestyle you want of course. If you are quite self-contained, not expecting the most exciting social life, have a car and would really enjoy the countryside, you could love it. Obviously employment opportunities will be limited and it's a very small pond, you'd come across the same people all the time, for better and worse, if you work there. Same with community activities.

I'd lived in Cornwall previously and found Herefordshire very different. I'd expect others to contradict me and tell you about their lovely experiences, which is good. I found though, as broad generalisations, that Cornwall had a lot of pride in itself, very active communities and people tended to move there because they loved it and wanted to join in and be part of that. Herefordshire was a lot more reticent and people moved there because they wanted to get away from other people. I spoke to some people who had moved in the expectation of active small-town communities and were finding it really limited and an uphill struggle.

Both are places to settle into and make your life in that place, not expect constant interaction with people in other places, unless you want to do a lot of travelling. Depends on your friends and how much guest room you have of course, they'll probably be delighted to come for the weekend. Herefordshire is not on the way to or from anywhere, except south /mid Wales though.

Lottie i lived in Cornwall too (Falmouth) and totally agree with what you say. Hereford does not have much of a 'scene' socially compared to my experience of Cornwall

I used to live not far from Bromyard but many years ago!. I'd say the main drawback is the lack of a rail line and the roads such as A44 to Worcester are a bit slow. Not great for state secondary schools but that will not bother you. Not many jobs unless you are an accountant, teacher, doctor etc. The nearest swimming pool used to be Tenbury but maybe bromyard has a pool now?

Pros - property is good value. There used to be a very good sense of community in Bromyard and surrounding places - would be surprised if that had changed much. I believe it still has an annual folk festival. Near to Malvern and Ledbury which are nice towns. Not too far from Worcester for bigger shops. Social scene probably non existant if you like nightclubbing but you would find things like amateur dramatic societies, choirs. Lots of lovely walks. Used to be a good place for a decent pub lunch but haven't been there for a long time so don't have up to date info on this.

Thanks everyone, this is great info :-)
'If you are quite self-contained, not expecting the most exciting social life, have a car and would really enjoy the countryside, you could love it' lottiegb; this is me! Not one for clubbing, I am just looking for nice countryside to ride my horses, keep poultry and walk my dogs. I would integrate into the rural/farming 'scene' hopefully...
The stuff about the traffic jams etc is a bit worrying, I was really looking to get away from it all..the towns sound perfect though, I am not a fan of Nandos nor any chain restaurants. Well I do quite like the Hungry Horse ;-)
I have a car and am used to being rural so don't mind driving to the shops. frosty; I daren't put a link to the property yet as someone else might buy it!! It is on Rightmove and has 13 acres though.. I am seriously thinking of putting an offer in, just have one more place to view first..
Thanks again for the very useful info which is generally very positive :-)

Also, it's good if you like cider! (and red mud).

I'm sure, like anywhere, there's an element of 'the more you put in the more you get out'. I didn't try very hard as was there for work and knew I wouldn't be staying forever, so my observations are as much about other people - met a lot through work. The people I mentioned who were keen but struggling with lack of community activity were in Leominster, quite a 'local' town. I don't know Bromyard, I lived in the west (extra remote!). Friends in Ledbury are happy.

Haha I do love red mud but can't seem to find any properties with it in Devon or Herefordshire!! It does seem better than Bucks clay though..and I will pass on the cider :-) Well it sounds good to me but if it doesnt work I can always move on! Thanks again.