Nicest villages within 30 min drive to Maidenhead west (A4/A404)

[deepest]

Looking for pretty & rural -- where can I get something detached for 750K and dont want to pay a premium for good local schools or train links to London as we dont use either.

30 minutes in peak traffic won't take you very far. Traffic on the A4, A404, M4 corridor is a nightmare in the morning. DH works in Marlow and it can take him an hour to travel 10 miles if he leaves at the wrong time. We're rural and north of Marlow.

I would look at Cookham, Hurley, villages on the way to Henley. It's not what I'd call rural though. You'd need to look further afield for that and to get more bang for your buck.

East Garston or Hungerford area? You will have to get through the M4 Reading jams though. Anywhere just off the old A4 between Reading and Maidenhead.

Thanks for that -- when does the traffic build up in this area? I am currrently in GX and drive into Chiswick each morning and I need to be on the rd by 6.30 for a clear run...a minute later will add an extra hour to my 35 minute journey...

You would only get from Hungerford to Maidenhead in 30mins at 2am.

Maidenhead and surrounding roads are busy from 7.30 - 9am and 4.30-6.30pm.

I think you need to be between the M4 and the Thames- so Cookham, Bisham, Knowl Hill.

Bray, Warfield, Binfield. There are a lot of nice villages from Maidenhead towards Bracknell.

The problem with being below the M4 is that you then have to cross the M4, which is often not fun in the morning.

Depends how much the OP likes sitting in traffic!

Iver Heath? Burnham? Bradfield? Datchet? Dorney/Eton Wick? Depends on your definition of rural, really....

Burnham is not rural peers out of window at urban landscape !

Bradfield is lovely though- I have lived there too! Bradfield might be tight on the 30mins to Maidenhead. Do-able at 6.30-7am, not much later though.

Would you consider the train? You can get to Mhead from Pangbourne in about 30 mins.

Train not possible as I need to get 2 boys to school en route. Can you do it in 30 mins if you left Pangbourne before 7.30?

No, because you would hit J8/9 at 7.50ish by which time it is already busy. I can vouch for this as I hit 8/9 daily at that time travelling the other way.

From what I hear on Radio Berkshire J11 is also already a problem by then.

Where is the school? Would getting on the train at Reading be an option?

what about Wallingford etc and take the M40 instead?

Iver Heath, Datchet, and Eton Wick are not rural. They're all on LHR flight paths especially Datchet. Burnham, Burnham Beeches and Dorney might be worth looking at.

Take a look at Bourne End, Wooburn Common, Hedsor, Penn, Penn Street, Cookham, Cookham Dean, Bray. You'll get something nice for £750k but it's not going to be a rambling old pile in the country. Should be slightly cheaper than GX though!

I'd forget Wallingford via the M40. The M40/A404 junction (Handy Cross) is a horrendous bottleneck during peak traffic.

I think you need to stay pretty close to Maidenhead to get that 30 minute commute.