Where to live 'On Thames'..schools unimportant.Walton, Sunbury, Hampton?

[Walnutpie]

I'm trying to hone in on where to move to, I'm a Londoner, and my priority for the next phase is to be somewhere with nice green spaces,by a river. And also not far by train or tube from central London. I like all the typical things like waitrose and a nice high street to mooch around, too.
This will be a downsize for me, so am not quite sure about budget. I don't want much gardening, but need outside space. I've looked at weybridge online, and Thames Ditton irl.. TD is too small and quiet for me. I do want peace, but not to feel cut off.
Is there somewhere I should go visit that you can tip me off about?

Walton may tick your boxes with the high street, but it has, shall we say, a wide variation in housing and population.

Weybridge will be excellent but you'll pay for it. Nightmare traffic too, but doesn't matter if you are using the train. Be aware that all these places have the station some way from the town centre.

I've lived in Walton/Hersham & Weybridge: there's a big price differential!

Weybridge is lovely: nice walks by the river & the Wey navigation (canal) - decent kids park; high street is enough for most 'day to day' shopping and some treaty stuff (White Stuff/Space NK) - great pubs/restaurants/deli/flowershops. Nice buzz about the place, I think

Walton is much more mixed - high street/shopping centre is good: more mainstream (Boots/Waterstones/WHSmith) and some more high end brands (Sweaty Betty, if that counts? Hobbs I think?); great arthouse cinema, but not brilliant for pubs/resaurants. Not sure the housing near the river is as nice but d/k.

Hersham is a nice alternative (much more small village feel/community - although not much shopping (although there is a Waitrose, couple of coffee shops, chemist etc...) - but not near the Thames if that's a priority

As specialsubject says, both W &W have stations away from the river.

I would say they have very different feels - when we moved to Weybridge we couldn't get over how swishy people's hair was, and how shiney their teeth were - there is a LOT of money around here!

We're between Marlow and Henley.

I much prefer Marlow personally but they're both pretty riverside towns with Waitrose, naice high streets, pretty Georgian and Victorian houses and lots of green space.

at the hair and teeth comment, deep, brilliant observation!

Sounds like Walton can drop down my list somewhat, which is useful, Thankyou.

But now I have Hersham and Marlow and Henley to add..none of which I'd thought of /seen!

Hampton is nice but no real high street to speak of though there is a Little Waitrose and the train takes you into Kingston where there are all the shops you need in 10 minutes.

If you want something with a bit more action just over the other side of the river on the way to Thames Ditton is East Molesey it is quite villagey but there are shops and a couple of good restaurants at Hampton Court and more of a high street when you get into East Molesey its self (Shops are mainly cafes/antiques but depends on the kind of mooching you like to do. Again you can get to Kingston pretty quickly from there.) You also can walk along the river easily and get into Bushy Park at Hampton Court.

Teddington is on a par/slightly more expensive than East Molesey but feels slightly more like a town than a village, again you can access Bushy Park from there and it has a nicer high street, independent shops and restaurants and an M&S food.

With a very healthy budget Richmond could also be an option, it's zone 4 but lots of open space in Richmond park and it's on the tube, has a Waitrose and lovely shops.

Good luck it really is a lovely area you're looking at with lots of lovely places to live maybe start by narrowing down your budget and go from there? xx

Typical Marlow townhouse (tho on a very busy street) www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48973453.html

You need Teddington

You need to tell us your budget Walnut so that we can find something for you. You know how we love doing that :)

I've been house hunting some of your interested areas with my sister in law so (think ) I know it all!

Richmond?

Another vote for Teddington, though it is increasingly pricey. If schools are not an issue though you have more flexibility, since this is usually a huge issue for people. Also St Margarets, where you can walk to the beautiful Richmond Hill along the river…but you'd want to be on the river side of the A316

I do need to figure out my budget, I know. I've been in the same house in London for 20 years and I know it's skyrocketed in value, but how much I have for my downsize will depend on how much I get for my current home. Definitely I'm thinking small, kids having left home and me on my own, but with room for them to come stay if need be. I have to figure out my finances altogether!
If I say 800k ish for my place, would that get me much? Sounds like a ridiculous question, it's such a lot of money! I'm looking for somewhere for my home, hopefully not to move again at all, or not until I need something for when I'm a full on oldster, with wardens etc.

First one is a flat (don't know if you are in the market for flats) It has its own outdoors space and is very close to the river and Teddington High Street - but very quiet.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48605446.html

This townhouse is in the Mallard Place development which wins lots of awards. It's beautifully kept and on the river. It's a 15 minute walk to Teddington

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52167863.html

This would be my choice www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34187436.html

Hampton Wick/Teddington so close to Teddington and Kingston Upon Thames. It's a sought after riverside development (very naice)

I grew up in Henley.

It's nice there, with most of what you need, and only about an hour to Paddington.

khalinda I love your choice, the third one of your links. They are all good, but the third one sparks real property lust. Verrry very good, Thankyou indeed. I love the light, the windows, the location looks great.

Here's the place I thought of when I read your post: waaay under your budget - very cute, villagey location in amongst lots of short cuts to the Wey and Thames

www.primelocation.com/for-sale/details/36582748?search_identifier=971c12f6ae282b0b1b0cb0e39822cce7#s6IbveERTYZpgYsG.97

Hampton Hill is lovely

Teddington has a lovely, vibrant high street, many independent shops as well as supermarkets like Tesco , Morrisons & an M&S food.
The station is in the middle of the town.
The river Thames is at one end, with the lock & riverside walks. Bushy Park is at the other end, & Richmond Park & Kew Gardens are nearby, plus Hampton Court & Marble Hill House, most of which have many events including open air concerts & fairs.
It's a great area if you are into sports like cycling, swimming & running, has good access to further education courses and its own hospital, neighbourhood police station & fire station
Bizarrely, it has more coffee shops & hairdressers than most small towns. It is a small town with a village feel, - village fair, local society, library with events, elderly day centre, great schools, volunteering programme run from Richmond.
It's not socially or ethnically diverse, and people who live there are aware that they live in a little, safe, privileged bubble. But it feels like a community & more friendly than Richmond or East Sheen which technically fit your criteria & not riven by roadworks & rugby/huge events like Twickenham. HTH

try Streatley

Lovely riverbank home

Ooh, I love that one in Streatley. V that I don't have a squillion quid to live somewhere lovely by a river.

Could I come and visit, OP? I'll give you a few days to get settled first.

The weybridge property is a good price deep! Wow. I wonder if it's prone to flooding! Might have to go and have a mosey around there, Thankyou for the suggestion.

The Streatley place is very stunning and somewhere I'd never even heard of! I guess living there, I'd get to know Oxford, potentially, as a nearby city. Interesting thought. The property is so unique, I keep looking at it.

Skoda I know, yes. Dreamy thing to be able to do. Thanks to London property market being the way it is. The flip side of it is that I've no chance of my kids buying a house near me in London.

gozo I appreciate your input sbout teddington. I'll be on the train soon, to go have a wander around the area, it sounds ideal and in an area I'm not completely unfamiliar with, I've been to Richmond, Kingston, and even visited someone in Twickenham a couple of times years ago, so its within my comfort zone. It sounds perfect.

I'm also thinking of a similar move a few years down the line. Kalinda's link would be my choice too but out of interest, is aircraft noise any worse than the rest of London?

Luna - we rented in that very development for a year and there is no aircraft noise at all. We also rented in East Sheen/Richmond and that was a nightmare.

Who knows what will happen if another runway at Heathrow is allowed

the streatley one is lovely. Amazing views, very peaceful, but two minutes along river bank to lovely hotel and cafe. Oxford is 20 minutes on the train, loads of walks from the door. I did post a new village video on the another thread a couple of days ago.

Streatley is a nice village, but there is almost nothing there and the trains to London are rubbish. They stop everywhere and take an age.

I would also be a bit concerned being so close to the Thames. Lots of villages around there flood in winter.