Can anyone advise me on Baldock?

[MakewayforNoddy]

Is it a nice place to live? Any areas to avoid? DS is coming up to secondary school age and I gather knights templar is excellent. Anyone got children there? Anyone commute to London? Trains packed?

I don't live there but used to live near. Have friends who still live there.

It's an okay kind of place. Town centre dominated by huge Tesco, then a row of shops in the main high street- all a bit slightly downmarket (IMO) compared to other towns like Hitchin. Not much of what you would call a cafe culture or thriving high st.

There is a large estate on the edge of the town and some older housing in the centre.

The station is smallish - not entirely sure about the commute but you'd be looking at a 40 minute commute minimum - have a look at the timetable on First Capital Connect- not sure if Baldock is on the fast service line or not.
Trains will be packed, yes. To get a seat you would need to leave home quite early I understand.

Knight T is a good school but is oversubscribed so check the catchment area. Other options would be Letchworth schools which are okay though not outstanding.

Baldock doesn't have many facilities- nearest sports centre is Letchworth ( swimming etc) and same for cinema.

It's handy for Cambridge, and houses are cheaper than in neighbouring towns but there is a reason for that, clearly.

Are you set on Baldock or could you look at surrounding villages like Ashwell and other towns in the region?

Not sure if this is much help but nearby Hitchin is lovely!

Thanks both of you, lots to think about there. We did think of Hitchin earlier in our search but it is more expensive so you get a lot less house for your money and we are on a pretty tight budget. We are also looking at Henlow and Clifton just over the border in Beds as both look nice villages and bit cheaper as in Beds. I would commute from Arlesey in that case, which is similar train times to Baldock. We Don't know the area at all well, trying to do house hunting from a distance as we are a good two hours drive away. It is tricky so advice much appreciated. I will have another look at Hitchin!

I live just up the road from Baldock and think in the last year it's showing signs - at last - of starting to come up. Might be the time to buy? The school seems good - we'd considered it for our DC.

I prefer Letchworth as a town, but the secondary school isn't as good, I think. However, Hitchin Baldock and Letchworth are so close, that you can live in the catchment for Knights Templar, and then use the facilities of all the three towns - with Stevenage a few mins down the road for practical stuff and gorgeous Cambs nearby for culture, restaurants and lovely stuff.

Henlow & Clifton are small but nice villages - but the schools may be the problem.

Thanks Culture. It's interesting how divided opinions are on Baldock/Letchworth/Hitchin. We have looked at Letchworth too but while we liked the style of houses, found it just a bit soulless, and schools not too great either. We've heard great things about Henlow Middle School, mixed reports about Samuel Whitbread high school in clifton, although it seems to have a good ofsted. It's so very hard to take everything into account! Our main driver for moving is the need for me to commute to London more. Sadly we are in the opposite position of those who are cashing in on their high priced London pad as we are moving from a cheaper area so don't have vast choice re what we can afford. And so so little on the market... We are looking at 4 places today but I don't think any are quite right.

It's difficult isn't it - the premium of being close to a good station is bad enough, but then factoring in a good school too...

I think in just a couple of years Baldock will become very sought after, though - it's as though the town's finally waking up to what great buildings it's got.

Have you tried Royston? It's been a bit uninspiring for a few years, but signs are it's about to be on the up. Meridian school not great, but Bassingbourn VC is good, and has a new go-for-it Head who seems to be licking it into even better shape. Plus it's not oversubscribed so you could live outside the catchment and still attend.

btw - Ashwell is lovely, great village feel, lovely houses but oh my goodness it's expensive.

If you stray into Bedfordshire your children will be in the tertiary school system- first, middle and upper schools. How do you feel about that?

What price range are you looking at?

Henlow is nothing special and Clifton is nicer.

One thing to factor in if you haven't already is the cost of station parking, if applicable- it's over £1K a year in mainline stations, then the season ticket is about £4K.
Offset this against your mortgage.

If you can, live near enough the station to walk.

Or invest in a vespa/scooter - free parking!

I would say that a bit more of the cafe culture is arriving in Baldock. The shops at the end of the high street (not the Tescos end) are actually quite upmarket. Highly rated butchers and bakers and (not sure why) now about 3-4 very nice art galleries.

Knights Templar very sought after school - and the good thing about Baldock is as there is only the one secondary in the town it is less of a lottery than Hitchin and Letchworth.

Gymwise - the school's very plush gym facilities are open in the evenings. The Letchworth inside pool/gym/sport centre is about .5 mile from the edge of Baldock - certainly walk/run/cycle-able.

It has not really got a proper Town centre though - the butchers/bakers (and art galleries) a few hair salons, tattoo parlous (again not sure why there are 2/possibly 3 but hey), charity shops, a couple of convenience shops, Post Office, hardware shop, Antique Clock place (useful ) and quite a number of restaurants pubs. And then Tescos. if you want clothes/home stuff (not Tescos or charity shop) then yes, you have to "go" somewhere - but plenty of options.

It is not perfect - but you can walk most places within Baldock. Easy train or cycle (for teens for eg) to Hitchin/Letchworth for cinema/hanging out on a Saturday.

There are beer festivals and events held yearly.

We like it.

Thanks everyone. Very helpful. We had another look at Hitchin and decided that it's just too pricey for us (we'd need to compromise and get a 2-bed terrace - not that there is anything wrong with that but it would be a squeeze and involve shedding inordinate amounts of stuff), plus the catchment issues for schooling seems complex and risky. Baldock I do like for its high street, schools and older housing BUT it does seem quite blighted by the heavy traffic on various A roads. The noise from the A1 in particular is constant in most places. We live in lovely peaceful village at the moment and obviously know we are moving somewhere busier, and yet...

Nicest house/value for money so far is in Clifton so I think we will be heading that way. Schools seem good, train station short drive - yes I take the parking/season ticket expense issues but pay loads more at the moment so less and shorter journey seems pretty acceptable! Close enough to Baldock/Hitchin/Letchworth to enjoy the beer festivals and swimming pools too I hope. Thanks for the advice, will post again re progress.