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!

Nah, I'm always an acerbic wit and honestly, it's not that easy.
But talk to me about being defensive, you seem well informed.

"shitty shitty child hating Guildford"

This made me laugh!

OP, have you tried posting on MN local for Surrey? Maybe better if you had a couple of villages in mind

... Then you could ask for specific opinions on, say, hasslemere.

Clearly you didn't get the message that I'm not interested in your opinion but you decided to bounce back at record speed. Obviously online forums is where you strive to get some attention. Review your posts and check who is being defensive and then do me a favour, go away and be an irritant to someone else.

Is your elder child going to the same school? Is there no way you can carry on with the commute, seems a shame if you love C so much to move.

Thanks Yonik

Going to look at Ash, Cranleigh and Burpham

Gosh .

Why move?

Can't you just commute from Camberley to Guildford??

Yonic - I'm not particularly attached to Camberley or any location for that matter. Wherever I settle - I'll be happy there. Obviously downsizing from a less developed therefore less expensive town like Camberley to a developed commuter town with all the perks like Guildford is a serious consideration for any family when you get half the house for your money.

I expect the 'gosh' is to my comment to Bagwash. I don't come on MN often but when I do it's to seek help on a genuine Q/problem. My question was normal. I wasn't expecting someone who clearly has nothing better to do than post on MN daily and try and intimidate others cos they clearly have a chip on their shoulder to send such a flurry of pointless posts. Her childish appraisal of my original post ('shitty, child hating' etc) is the kind of thing that dissuades people from posting on here in the first place.

Behind Lock - yes can possibly stay and commute but imagine traffic in morning will be a bit of pain after awhile.

Yes good idea re MN for Surrey

I don't think Pag was being intimidating, she was making a joke.

Anyhow, the worst bit of the commute if it's by car will be the Guildford bit. Burpham etc might not be much quicker - whatever you short list, might be worth testing the commute at the right time of day.

I must be getting very grumpy in my old age then. As I didn't find her remotely funny

Yes will do a test run of the school run in possible locations. Might be stuck in Camb for awhile anyway until house sells

Lots go from Blackwater Station to both GHS and the boys grammar school, links from Camberley Station also good to Guildford (train every half hour that lots of youngsters use)
Other side of Guildford - shalford, bramley, wonersh, shamley green, cranleigh, rudgwick, slinfold, horsham all have bus route to Guildford (though slinford & horsham about 40 mins each way) not sure what house prices are like, Cranleigh can be very expensive.

Wow awesome long list - thanks inthename

Guildford is nice. I was joking because your post was an ode to Camberley. I didn't respond in record time - I looked at 'threads I'm on' on the way home from racing at kempton.
If you need to be in Guildford then try and drive the school un a couple of of times before you buy - the hassle of a bad school run never gets better.
I have nothing better to do. It's tragic.

Also didn't realise Camberley station to Guildford had good train links - that's v helpful. I just assumed that as the train links were rubbish into London they were rubbish everywhere else too.

Pag was being tongue in cheek :)

I don't think the commute will be any easier from Burpham, Ash or Cranleigh, you will still get snarled up in Guildford traffic.
Personally I would not sacrifice nice big house for a marginally easier commute.

Pag - thanks - that was a semi normal, almost nice message from you!

TBF, posting c 30 mins after the last post is hardly record time. I can go and start an AIBU about parking and bet I get a reply in 30s!

The train sounds a good option or could you lift share?

Semi normal, almost nice.

Blimey.

I'm loving Pag's new name of Bagwash

Anyway OP my DD has recently moved to Guildford. Would names of roads/streets to look at that be useful to you? Budget?

Yes, me too

The other thing of course is that the centre of Guildford is about to get much worse. Work on the new Waitrose store in the centre of town is underway and the traffic for that will enter and exit directly onto the main roundabout on the one way system.
That part of Guildford already jams a couple of times a week and is a fraught piece of town to navigate. I am regularly stuck on the one way system for 20 minutes plus and it will get worse.

If I needed to get to London road I would want to be that side of Guildford so I didn't have to pass through the one way system. It doesn't matter if your child gets the train, you do need to pick them up sometimes and anytime between 5.30 and 7.00 is often awful. Although if it's not going to be often maybe it's less of an issue to others than it is to me. I hate it.

If you want to live in Guildford - I would look at the North, so Queen Elizabeth Park, Rydes Hill, Stoughton and similar. Cheaper houses, and you don't need to worry about schools.
Avoid Burpham, Boxgrove etc. as the house prices are pushed up by the state schools.

You don't say how old your DD is, if she is 11+ then she could well commute by train. Anywhere on the Reading - Gatwick line has reasonable connections to the main station, where lots of Girls change trains for GHS and Tormead (as well as boys for RGS, sometimes). GHS even provide train mentors.

If you are thinking of driving, don't do your trial run until GHS is back, as its so much faster driving down London Road now they are on half-term. Do also learn about the unofficial central lane for passing traffic.

BTW anyone with girls at GHS, the traffic has been better this term - well done!