Holiday cottage to buy - recommendations for areas?

[redwinggirl123]

Hi,

We live in South Manchester and are looking to buy a little country retreat for weekends away and wanted ideas/locations for places to buy.

We are looking for:

• Max 2.5 hours drive from South Manc
• Holiday cottage feel in a pretty village with walks on doorstep plus a shop/pub
• Ideally 3 bed, would consider 2 with ideal option to add another
• Budget circa £200k

Obviously we know the lakes and peaks but they are ££, so looking for places that are still lovely, but less pricey e.g. Forest of Bowland?

Any other suggestions or thoughts welcome!

Thank-you!

The first thing I would consider is the travel time and cost of fuel.
Friends sold a caravan as it was a 6 hour round trip, the novelty soon wore off.

I would look slightly inland in North wales.
Think of Towny Rhly etc now they are a bit run down and cheap but a few miles inland its fab.
Go and drive this route
www.flintshire.gov.uk/en/LeisureAndTourism/Tourism/Flintshire-Leisure-Tour.aspx
It will show you some fantastic hidden gems.
Have you considered a City apartment? Local Parks river etc?

Yes thanks agree re travel which is why we want max 2.5 hour drive which we know we will do. Want more rural as have a dog so house with outside space a must. Will check out that location cheers!

How about the conwy area?

I visited Ryll for the air show a year or so ago and i was shocked at what an incredible dump it is.

But drive out to the other side of the A55, its like a different place

Conwy is very nice but as Deganwy has some £1mill + houses it makes cheaper stuff hard to find

Anglesey it’s fantastic and you can be there in 2 hrs - easily rented too. Benllech, ceames bay, treauderr bay or newborough are all fab

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58972373.html

This is cute

Or this

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39370035.html

Am not jealous at all !

As someone who lives in a small village... holiday cottages sit empty half the year, push prices up for locals who might have family and jobs locally and have a huge impact on rural facilities (when houses don’t have people living in them, that’s when the bus service/ shops/ pubs close). Holiday cottage owners don’t join local groups, help their neighbours... the list goes on. So if you must do this, just be aware that you’re helping the kill off the ‘cute’ area you’re (not) moving to. Unpopular thought I expect, but it’s a valid opinion. Can you honestly not just stay in a bnb?

Totally valid point. It's a shared property between myself and my parents who will eventually retire there so yes looking for long term not just a few weekends here and there.

Have you considered Northumberland at all? A little further for you to drive, but great value for money. Rural, absolutely stunning walks/hiking, amazing heritage and gorgeous coastline. The Breamish Valley is one of my favourite areas, but Keilder Forest and The Cheviots are also beautiful. Along the coast, consider villages like Amble, Bamburgh or Walkworth. x

This is what I mean about super value for money:
I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/56049454

Oooo I love the village this is in and it has so much potential. This is on the west of Northumberland too so should be a comfortable drive for you.

I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/47156406

Wow MrsP - that 2nd one is stunnnnnnningggg

banana - I'm assuming you're fully aware that the first ''cute'' one you linked to is actually made out of wood (timber frame and plywood walls) with render stuck to it?

What's wrong with timber frame building? We have plenty of stuff standing from the medieval era built like that!

The medieval one have been built out of Oak and last for hundreds of years, the modern ones are just made from cheap fast grown Pine and are more prone to issues, many mortgage providers won't touch them

Another one saying think about travel time. We are 2 hrs door to door to ours which is manageable for a weekend. We are 5 mins off the main trunk road at the other end. There are nicer villages about 8 miles further on down B roads that look fine on paper but in reality it’s another 30 minutes drive which is another hour out of your weekend.

Shropshire/Mid Wales border? Houses are as cheap as chips and there aresome very pretty villages.

The Northumberland ones are amazing! But it's more than two and a half hours from Manchester IME.

whiskey - So there's nothing wrong with a house made of timber frame and ply wood walls, with evidence of internal damp... oh but of course none of that matters because it's sooo cute.

I take the point about mortgages on these properties! I really do. But a lot of those post-war pre-fabs have stood up surprisingly well, with lifespans much longer than originally thought! While some are reaching the end of their lives now, others that have been well-maintained are going strong. My friend lives in one (housing association) and she loves it.

Timber-frame building is undergoing a massive resurgence at the moment because it's cheap, quick, and potentially more eco-friendly than traditional brick-building.

This is a really interesting article: www.independent.co.uk/property/gardening/the-peoples-palaces-70-years-on-britains-prefabricated-houses-are-still-home-to-many-8646134.html

@haba I think the journey time will differ massively depending on which part of Northumberland you wanted to visit. The second property in Wark is about 70 minutes from me and I live in the very South of Northumberland, but right on the east coast. Wark is more central/ westerly. My BIL lives south of Preston and he can get to us in 2 hours 30- 3 hours in normal day to day traffic - as I said, we are right on the East coast too. I guess it depends on what the OP is after in terms of amenities 😊
As soon as I've finished paying childcare costs, I want to buy a caravan in the Lake District for weekend visits and hiking. We can get to Keswick in less than 2 hours if the traffic is clear, but other areas in the Lakes takes us over 3 so it depends entirely on which area within a county! I don't mind a slightly longer drive if the sceney is beautiful.

Thanks all. You get alot for your money Northumberland but yes I think it's too far. Mid Wales Shropshire is a good should thanks! PS re the timber frame I'm sure anyone buying woukd get a full survey!