Henley, Godalming or Winchester???

[RichardGB]

My wife and I are looking to relocate out of London (preferably westwards) from our current base in South East London with our twin daughters, who are just over a year old.

We'd like to live somewhere that is:

• less than an hour's commute to London,
• is large enough to have a reasonable selection of shops, a supermarket or two, a gym, ideally a cinema/theatre, a few restaurants and pubs, which are walkable to from the house, but which is not a big, bustling traffic-filled town,
• is not too far from a larger town for bars/nightclubs, for when one little ones are older,
• has good schools (infant, primary and secondary),
• has a water feature (i.e. a nice river, lake or is coastal),
• is attractive and has the countryside not too far away,
• would allow us to buy a 4 bed house for less than £500k, and
• is generally a nice place for two little ones to grow up.

We have looked all over and are now circling in on Godalming, Henley-on-Thames and Winchester. I am a little concerned that the commmute from Winchester could be a bit much to do daily for the next 30 years, but the other two options look doable.

Does anyone have any experience of these towns? Could you advise on what it's like to live there, what the locals are like, how good the schools and facilities are, or what the commute to London is like?

Thanks for your help!

I live near Winchester but am moving to near Godalming! Winchester's fastest train to London takes 54 mins, costs £4,000 annual season ticket, and you never get a seat. Does that decide it??

I know Godalming. It ticks all your boxes. Trains to Waterloo are 50 minutes or so, but more to the point they are rarely late running and you always get a seat in the morning. Schools are good, Rodborough in particular has a good reputation and the sixth form college is excellent. The borough hall shows films but it's only 20 minutes into Guildford if you want a 'proper' cinema. There is a Waitrose and Tesco and good butcher, fishmonger, greengrocer etc. A few good restaurants and some nice pubs. There are very good sports facilities - gym, pool etc at Broadwater, and a Fitness First in town.

It's great if you like the outdoors - very easy access to lovely countryside (Surrey Hills) and great for walking, cycling, horse riding etc. I know plenty of people who commute to London and still get a couple of hours mountainbiking or trail running in after work in the summer. There's even a river and you can kayak all the way from Godalming to London in case of a train strike :)

In my opinion, it's a great place for children, as it has fantastic access to great countryside, with the advantage of excellent public transport to a decent sized town (Guildford) so you don't have to play taxi driver all the time, as you do in so many rural locations.

Mexxo - thanks for your comments. I was aware of the time and cost, and had heard rumours about not getting a seat. Is that a pretty common occurrence? Have you any idea if it's a different matter in 1st class? Also, are the trains usually punctual?

malinois - thank you too. How is the housing market in Godalming, do you know? I am aware that all three places we are looking at are pretty expensive, as they are commutable to London, but is it possible to get a 4-bed house in a nice part of town for about £500k? Are there any parts of town to avoid or to aim for, when it comes to house hunting?

Richard it is probably better for getting a seat in first but if you go standard you will never ever get a seat at peak time. And it is also packed with people standing in between the carriages.

I am also looking for a 4-bed for £500k or less (for me, actually closer to £400k but i search up to £500k) and have been looking around Godalming for the past few months. I am seeing a lot of properties in this price range come on and then get dropped by £25k within a month or so, and still hang around, so it may be possible to get more than you think for your money.

Around Winchester it varies a lot. In Winchester itself properties are expensive and although you can get a family home for £500k or less, you're looking at a terrace. In the villages outside you get more but then you have the drive to the station etc.

I don't know what Henley's like for commuting but have been there a few times - it's lovely but I think a lot more expensive than either Winchester or Godalming.

Henley is the best out of the three if you take into account the 'niceness' AND the speed of getting to London. It's more expensive than Godalming for sure. Winchester has a lot more to offer as a town compared to Godalming which really is like a big villlage but the commute isn't great as postres said (1st class possibly fine though). The houses can be very impressive in Winch, it's also known for the snobbery .

Would you consider

Damn you iPhone! Would you consider Olney in Bucks? Nice market town, pubs, restaurants, market, river, countryside and excellent schools inc secondary school all within walking distance. A few miles from Milton Keynes and trains to London from Milton Keynes, Bedford and Wellingborough. Did I mention I have a house for sale

henley lovely but not a great commute to london.

all nice towns. godalming much mellower than winchester, where people do have a bit of a reputation for being smug.

also consider farnham maybe.

that said, in all those towns, you may be surprised how little you will get for 500k. sad but true.

I would certainly avoid the long commute. Travelling to London every day is soul destroying. You will grow to hate it. The 50 mins is not door to door, it can easily be half an hour at each end unless you live and work at the station. Add on cancellations, snow and leaves... in winter you will only see your house in daylight at weekends. And your DCs, mostly when they are asleep.

And your job might move for one reason or another. At one time I was at an office near Liverpool Street, then moved to Waterloo; it could have been Chiswick or Greenford next. I eventually developed a career plan that every job change had to be nearer home. Later I went into business on my own.

I know you said you'd prefer to move westwards, but I would really consider Tunbridge Wells. I used to live there and it has everything really: good train line into London (stops at Waterloo East, Charing Cross and London Bridge) which only takes 45 mins, good schools including excellent grammars, lovely shops and fantastic countryside all around. Well worth considering.

I love Henley, grew up near there and went to school there, if I moved back to the UK it would be top of my list, however not if I worked in London. It's on a branch line so slow connections, probably a good 90 min if not 2 hour journey depending on where abouts in London you work.

Don't forget to add the time to and from the station to your commute, and the cost of parking if you need to drive there. Godalming trains go to Waterloo, Henley to Paddington - may make a major difference to your commute.

I live in Godalming, can't speak for the other two. I absolutely love it here.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39397007.html is about 15 mins walk from the station.

We've been looking in godalming all summer - in catchment area of a good primary and with a large garden - cant fun anything 4 bed up to 650k

Find not fun

pchip see the post above yours! There's plenty of 4 beds in Godalming for under £650k!

I would also consider the travel time once you reach London. A 50 min train journey is just about OK but you really don't won't to then spend ages on the tube.
Henley has direct rush hour trains that take 50-55 min to get to Paddington. It the end of the line so I imagine you can get a seat.

RichardGB - sorry, no idea what house prices are like now. We bought ours ages ago (not in Godalming itself but out in the country) so a bit out of touch.

The Farncombe end is definitely cheaper with lots of ex-council and some might consider the secondary school there (Broadwater) to be not as good as Rodborough (which serves the southern part of Godalming and the outlying villages). However as your DCs are still small then that might not be such an issue.

You might also want to look at Farnham and Haslemere.

I saw it peppin and I stand by what I wrote. Those bedrooms are tiny and the overall sq isn't very big for a 4 bed house with garage.

OK but "can't find anything 4 bed under £650k" isn't quite the same as "can't find a 4-bed house we consider big enough for £650k"!

Seen it time and again on Location, Location Location: if you can't find what you want, where you want, in you price range, then either what you want or where you want has to change. I'm in the same boat myself so am looking at houses which are smaller than I'd like, but right area and with the crucial 4th bedroom.

Hi RichardGB,

We recently moved rom London to Winchester and love it. I commute every day and find it reasonable. I get the 06:55 train to London Waterloo, arrive at 08:01 and am at my desk in Moorgate at 08:25. I have a Brompton folding bike which is brilliant. I always get a seat on the way home too.....either the 18:05 or 18:35. Winchester is wonderful, the schools are mostly outstanding and if you want private then there is also an excellent selection. Restauarants, theatres, walks and independent shops are abundant. Southampton, the new forest and the coast just thirty minutes drive away.

THe Winchester commute is a pig
but that is the ONLY thing to be said against the place

This is a zombie thread - I'm sure Richard must have found something by now!

8 months old property buying with an indecisive OP ...
chances are they are still in London