Guidance on Guildford and its surrounding towns/villages

[Tididdy]

Hi All

Your help and guidance on the below would be really appreciated.

We will shortly be moving closer to Guildford when our youngest daughter starts the girls' school. We currently live in Camberley.

I realise that most people consider Camberley to be a bit of a dump. I have always been puzzled by this. Admittedly it doesn't have the ancient history, boutique shops, restaurants and cafes of Farnham/Guildford or a High Street to boast about, but it's a very affluent area and extremely kid-friendly (has wide, open spaces, plenty of parking, many chain restaurants, loads of outdoor activities for kids). Another attractive feature is that you can get a very large house with a very large garden here. When I go to Guildford/Farnham (once I've managed to find a space to cram my car into) I am certainly spoilt for nice clothes shops and cafes, however I find the towns a bit congested and definitely not easy to traipse around with 2 kids. Somewhere near Guildford will be home, so I will just get used to it.

Having looked at Guildford house prices, we would get a box for the same amount of money. So, the question is, where around Guildford could you get a very decent sized property for your money? We are pretty flexible on location (bearing in mind that hubby's job is on the south coast).

Would villages nearby be cheaper? If so what villages would people recommend?

Would Haslemere/Godalming be too far for the school commute?

We are used to space now and so would not want to compromise on this, no matter how "quaint" or picturesque a particular High Street might be.

Many thanks for your help in advance!

There are several girls schools in Guildford, which one are you referring to?

And where does your husband work? Is he going by train or car?

And what do you mean by decent sized - terrace, small 4-bed detached, 6-bed with an acre - what, and how much money?

I live fairly near you. I would struggle to match my house in Guildford. Is your daughter going to a private school there? Do you know what kind of radius the school takes from? Is there a school bus / buses? How far out do they go to? That might be a start.

The in laws just moved to Cranleigh. It's nice, but I was a bit surprised by house prices! Their house is lovely, but it cost £50k more than ours would cost to buy now, even though it is smaller and not in London (we are zone 4 mind you).

"where around Guildford could you get a very decent sized property for your money?" - As someone else said, what is a decent sized property and how much money have you got?

It doesn't sound like you like Guildford much. I would find somewhere a train or bus journey away. Or reconsider your school.

Are there no schools in idyllic Camberley?

The school thing is confusing me a bit. Why does your daughter need to go to school in Guildford? If you're paying for private, there are loads of private schools around the area with very good reputations that don't require you to go into Guildford every day. In terms of places to live, with Guildford you are paying a premium for the London commute so you want to look a bit further out, ideally where there is no train connection. Cranleigh springs to mind, also Haslemere but that is still commuter territory. Bear in mind that getting into Guildford in a morning by road can also be a nightmare.

I assume OP's daughter is going to Guildford High School, which is one of the top (private) schools in the country and pretty much in the middle of Guildford. But who knows, until/if she comes back and answers.

Yes, I assume GHS too although it could possibly be St Cats or Tormead.

I thinks she's too busy waving a tearful adieu to Camberley to come back but she could look at LEH or St Paul's if she wants to avoid shitty shitty child hating Guildford.

I don't think she said Guildford was shitty or child hating.

It is true also that it's not that easy to park in the middle of Guildford, and two steeply sloping shopping streets with shops in ancient buildings isn't as convenient as the multi-storey malls you get in towns like Camberley.

You really do have to put a on posts now don't you?
Or perhaps lighthearted?

The op wrote an ode to Camberley on a post explaining that she chosen to live in Guildford. I just find that amusing.
I'll go away.

I'm sure that Betjeman must have penned a fuller ode to Camberley at some point.

Leatherhead etc. might not be great if husband needs to get to work in say Portsmouth.

I agree Issy, but all those stations/villages via Clandon are firmly in the commuter belt - so the OP won't get as much for her money. Haslemere is a good option but still expensive. Would you suggest going as far south as Petersfield? I presume that's still on the same train line but perhaps getting too far out.

I guess it depends on where your husband works and how he gets there. South Coast could be Portsmouth or southampton? I lived in Haslemere and regularly commuted to Southampton and it was horrendous, the m27 was a car park past Hedge End. Portsmouth would be fine though, and there are direct trains there from Haslemere. Regarding getting to Guildford, I also used to drive up to Crawley, passing through Guildford, and it made no difference if I got on the a3 or drove through the villages it was slow but usually moving. Not awful. Most school children get the train to Guildford from Haslemere once old enough.

I've never struggled to park in either Farnham or Guildford, tbh on moving to Southampton they seem quiet now!

Haslemere is expensive.

You would get more in somewhere like Ash, which is only 10 minutes from Guildford by train

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=41541958&sale=50305583&country=england - Ash £625k

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-31713852.html?premiumA=true - Haslemere - £625k

Tongham is a bit over a mile from Ash station, but prices there start at £350k for a 4-bed detached, and it's an easy walk/bike ride on 30mph roads to the station.

Also Haslemere is a bit of a tedious place to grow up in tbh. I spent most of my teenage years sitting on a train to Guildford, there was nothing to do in Haslemere once you outgrew youth clubs.

I want an ode to Camberley now.

You had it in the OP.

What do you want, free verse?

Yeah . I'm poetically demanding .

I grew up in Burpham, a lovely village which is 30 mins walk or 8 mins drive to Guildford. Would definitely recommend. Have also lived in Godalming and traffic may be a pain but it is a lovely place. Both places are expensive but the whole area is. We simply couldn't afford it so moved to West Sussex!

Thanks for the very helpful responses - appreciate that. I'll do some further research on some of the areas that you suggested.

Pagwatch - thanks for the attempt at acerbic wit. Easy to do that in the cowardly comfort of your own home behind a computer screen. Hope you're not such a in real life to actually get bothered/defensive about an inoffensive, genuine information seeking post.