Can anyone suggest nice areas in Scotland?

[alittlehoarse]

Looking to relocate next spring. At the moment all we know is we want to be in Scotland within an hour(ish) of Glasgow and not more than 2(ish) from Oban. Slight ly flexible here but not too much as have to be able to work within Argyle+Bute.

Prefer detached, enclosed or (easily enclosed) garden. Prefer country life, perhaps a village, currently in a small rural hamlet and it is too quiet. Very limited friends nearby etc. Dc enjoy the freedom but are often bored.

Don't mind small if we could extend (esp if detached) as getting right location is the priority. Just really looking for somewhere quiet, safe, friendly folk and things for dc within a short drive. Currently an hour from nearest sports centre

Would prefer a smallish primary school to make the transition easier for dc who currently attend a 30 pupil
primary school. More importsntly would like a reputable high school as eldest approaching that age.

Anyone think of anywhere that would fit my perhaps slightly demanding wish list! Oh and obviously somewhere we can afford to live. Budget around 200-230k.

On top of that I'd appreciate anyone who'd be willinv to hold my hand throughout the whole process as for some reason I am completely shitting myself at the thought of uprooting my wee family but feeling it really has to be done

Jeez for those who got to the end!

That's a relief then !! I nearly came a cropper tonight ! Heading out to collect DD from a party !! Don't usually have to squint when driving ! Lol!!

Oh - and Kilmacolm is beautiful ! Nice school and lovely gym and playing fields in the centre of the village and great selection of village shops and even a deli ! A couple of takeaways too !!

About 30 mins from Glasgow ! I'd recommend it !

My first thought reading your OP was Rhu. I used to live there and it ticks boxes on noce community and small school.

The only problem could be the rather transient population as many of the people who live there are Navy families.

How about some nice burbs west of Glasgow? Lenzie, perhaps.

The problem is that the two roads you can use to get you to Oban can become very, very bad in several seasons of the year, so the Eastern part of Scotland might not be a good idea.

But there are some lovely parts of Argyll and Dumbartonshire which are rural enough but from which you can travel by train into Glasgow.

Tarbet, Arrochar, Rhu, Cove, parts of Helensburgh are nice.

Snap with Lemon.

thewookieswife what about high schools? Kilmalcolm doesn't come into the Gryffe catchment does it? What do the parents who can't afford to go private at secondary stage do?

expat and lemon I have looked at some of these areas. Rhu appeals but the transient population worries me. My dd has already 'lost' best friends because they have moved away and in a small place like this friends are few and far between.
Found a lovely house in Cove but looking at Kilcreggan Primary put me off. It had a terrible hmie report although it is a few yrs old now. Does anyone know anything about schools in that area as often hmie stuff so out of date.

There's high schools in Greenock and Port Glasgow - they are building a new academy - should be finished soon ?!?! I'm not up there much at the moment - but when I saw it last it was nearly finished .... Looks like they are really investing in the area where the new school is !

Doune primary feeds to McLaren High School in Callander even though Dunblane is closer. U can put in a placement request for Dunblane but there is no guarantee that u would get a place.

Kilmacolm feeds into Port Glasgow. People I know that live there are planning on private god secondary as it would be unlikely that a placement request to Gryffe would be successful.

For secondary not god

What celtie said. I live in an area where many have moved through from Greenock, Gourock and Port Glasgow because they cannot afford independent school fees (usually they have 2 or more children) and do not consider the secondary schools as ones where they would be happy sending their children .

On the bungalow. Doune is a pretty village feels much smaller than Dunblane, not as much for the kids to do. The A84 which Muir Cres opens onto is a v busy road, Esp in the summer months when tourists are making their way into the Trossachs - it is unlucky to feels as rural as u would like. I also think 210k for a two bed in need of modernisation in that location is too high. HTH

Ah well meh to that then! Busy rds are my worst nightmare with my stupid escape artist dog!!

The more I look for an area to move to the more boxes I realise where we are ticks. I just need a few more families with children. Anyone fancy a move?

We moved from Kilmacolm for the reasons posted above. And other reasons, but that was a big one.

We're in Dunblane. All kids at the high school now and enjoying it. As someone said already it really is fantastic for teenagers as they become more independent and want to travel around spending our hard earned bucks. There are loads of families, loads of houses within your price range, loads of regular (non cliquey) folk, fits with your needs geographically and 2 (soon to be 3) new eating places. Definitely worth some serious consideration.

Arrochar is about 40 miles and an hours drive to the centre of Glasgow and about an hour and a half to Oban.

Beautiful village en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrochar,_Argyll

Ignore the bit about the torpedo testing facility, we have yet to find it!

Here! How helpful am I?

Isn't Kilmacolm Inverclyde therefore not Gryffe which is renfrewshire. What about Uplawmoor small village primary school roll 61, feeds into the brand new Eastwood High in Newton Mearns.

Kippen? Helensburgh?

The real issue is that you need to be 2-hour ish from Oban and 1-hour ish from Glasgow. There are some places West of Glasgow that have outstanding schools and excellent prices, such as Lenzie and the like.

The two roads to get to Oban can be a sticking point if you go as far east as Stirlingshire/Dunblane/Clackmannanshire. They are not motorways and, as A routes go, not the best I've seen.

How about a test run, come up and time yourself, driving each of the two roads to get to Oban from Dunblane, Bridge of Allan or the like. Both of these roads are incredibly windy and steep in spots due to the nature of the terrain in Argyll and quite often in poor condition in spots or with heavy goods traffic on them.

Realistically, from the Rest and Be Thankful pass/A83, you are looking at one hour to Oban in good weather and not stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle.

It is hard otherwise, for people who don't know these roads well, to gauge because the actual distance in miles doesn't register as too stunning.

But get on the roads and you'll get a better picture.

The past few winters here have been hard. At times, the A83 has been closed intermittently, meaning you'll need to use the other one, which is, in our experience, in even worse state.

serin, we are in the Cowal about 45 mins. from Arrochar, which high school do they attend? Do they need to board?

Out here, we have pupils who need to board at secondary.

We are looking to shift across the pass, but are housing association tenants who need to downsize, and have been given priority due to this. Some of their stock (Argyll) is in Arrochar.

You will definitely not lack for country life in Argyll & Bute, though .

anyexcuse dunblane does sound ideal. Where would be a nice quiet bit? well away from busy rds as I worry about silly dog escaping!

serin we have driven up to look at that house!! Also one across rd beside Fire Station. Is there plenty going on in Arrochar tho? Always seems so dead apart from tourists in Summer, kind of like where we are now.

seb1 I grew up on outskirts of Uplawmoor!! Too close to home! Like Dunlop however just that wee bit further away!

We drove to Ayr last weekend and we went the M74 way, then took an A road to Kilmarnock way (we had business in Glasgow itself or we'd have taken the M/A77 down). And we were stunned at how good that A road was compared to up here :o.

Plenty going on Arrochar?! LOL. Does the petrol garage shut later now it's no longer an Esso?