Mumsnet guides to Manchester, Bristol, Cambridge, Milton Keynes and Hitchin - your views?

[KateMumsnet]

Hello everyone

We've been busy creating the first batch of our local guides, aimed at families who are thinking about moving to a new area. So far we've covered Bristol, Manchester, Cambridge, Milton Keynes and Hitchin - we'd love to hear what you think, so if you've got a minute have a look and let us know if we've missed the mark on anything, or left out a crucial piece of info.

If you're a local yourself, any insider tips you can share - especially about schools or buying/renting a family home - would be much appreciated .

I get what you are trying to do but Got to say the "Manchester " one reads like "how can a 'yummy mummy from Surrey' move to Altrincham? Needs a bit more depth and variation. And research.

Cambridge can be brutally cold in the winter.

I can't seem to download 😟

A quote used in the MK guide is factually incorrect. There are grammars in Buckingham and Aylesbury. Plenty of kids used to get into the Aylesbury grammars from MK but there is no grammar school in Leighton buzzard.
Looking at this year's allocations however, hardly any points in MK1are within the distance range of pupils allocated places at any of the 3 Aylesbury grammars or the Buckingham one so I would not assume that a child who passes the 11 plus and lives in MK would necessarily gain a place at a Bucks grammar.

Sadly, Hitchin market is somewhat in decline and has nowhere near as many as 100 stalls. Less than half that. The transport section needs updating as the forthcoming changes mentioned at the end of the article have already happened (not terribly successfully, by all accounts!).

I don't think the article mentions the British Schools Museum with examples of Victorian and Edwardian classrooms. There are lots of hands-on activities for kids and it has special themed days and exhibitions.

As well as Oughtonhead Nature Reserve, Wymondley Woods to the south of the town is lovely for walks. On the edge of the wood, there is a fishing lake called Coots Corner which is open all year round - they've recently been putting up posters advertising a cafe open to all visitors, not just people fishing.

Might be worth adding that Stevenage Leisure Park is very close (10-15 minutes drive) and has lots of family-friendly activities: 360 Indoor Play area (bigger than both the Hitchin ones), Mr Mulligan's World of Golf (indoor golf suitable for all ages), Airspace indoor trampolining, Cineworld and lots of places to eat.

Further afield, there are several wildlife parks, all within an hour's drive: Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, Shepreth Wildlife Park near Cambridge, Woburn Safari Park and Whipsnade Safari Park.

Fifteen minutes up the A1 there is Shuttleworth with its collection of vintage cars and aeroplanes, plus a big outdoor playground. If you like aeroplanes, Hitchin is also 30 minutes drive from the Duxford air museum, part of the Imperial War Museum.

You should post this on the relevant local talk boards - that’s probably a good way to get feedback from those who know the places.

MN certainly asked for local input on the Cambridge board a couple of months ago. What they got was balanced and informative, not the inaccurate nonsense cheerleading they've now posted. As I said in my initial post, presumably at some point in the future these guides will be sponsored by local estate agents or similar, so they have to be relentlessly upbeat.

Houses on Latham, Chaucer and Newton Road rarely come on market as a quick look at any of the sold property price index things will tell you. And by healthy budget you mean £1.5million at a minimum.

For a 5 bed house, which is what the guide mentions, you'd need to add at least £1m to that. MN, by 'healthy budget' do you really mean £2.5 million? I'd be a bit more honest, if I were you -'forget it unless you're selling a large house in London', would be fairer. And you'll be very lucky to get a 4-bed semi in Cambridge for £475,000, unless it's on one of the streets the local newspaper likes to run scare stories about.

Restaurant info inaccurate/out of date (Cotto never had a Michelin star, though it should have, and Alimentum lost one). Restuarant 22 has just re-opened and should be added to the list of high end places. And yes there are the usual chains in the tourist-choked centre, but parts of Cambridge, notably Mill Road, have a great range of independents: on Mill Road alone there are Italian, Spanish, Algerian, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Korean, and Indian resturants, a brilliant posh chippy (the Sea Tree) and god's own cake shop (Tom's Cakes).

And since a lot of the families looking to move to Cambridge will probably have at least one person commuting into London, 'a fast London to Cambridge train' doesn't exactly convey a fair picture: chances are you'll pay getting on for £6.5K for a season ticket and have to stand on at least one journey a day. Which is probably going to be late or cancelled since the introduction of the marvellous new timetable. Cambridge is a great place to live, but please don't mislead people about the downsides.

HITCHIN

I've lived there for 30 years.

One thing I'd say is it is being spoiled by over development. There are plans for 46K houses which mean it will join up with Stevenage and surrounding villages.

The schools are bursting at the seams ( except the Priory), house prices are through the roof, it's almost impossible to park at the station if you don't get there before 10 am latest ( many spaces are season ticket parking) and the roads are gridlocked in the morning and from 5-6pm.

I love Hitchin but it's popularity has made it less attractive. There are huge developments of flats in the town which are mainly for commuters.

Prices are now out of reach for anyone on a modest income - terraced houses nr the station are now £500K+ yet when I moved here they were cheap and no one wanted them! It's become prime commuter belt for people in London with 2 incomes.

So my advice is, housing is limited if you want a family house in a nice area.

Hitchin guide pretty accurate. I love the place but I think you could be more open about some of the less positive aspects of the town.

I agree with lassiefromherts. Traffic is a problem in the town, with narrow roads it becomes gridlocked frequently.

If you are used to London public transport, buses in Hitchin are infrequent and v expensive.

Housing is limited at present. There are lots of small 2/3 bed houses, but if you want to move up to something a bit bigger, there is limited stock.

The council is diabolical.

It will forever be a conservative borough, due to being twinned with the true blue Harpenden. Hitchin is I believe predominantly labour/lib Dems.

The train line is currently in total disarray. Pretty much the same for all of Herts, beds, and cambs. This may settle down eventually, but the permanent timetable may mean a substantial worsening of the service.

Independent shops seem to be on the decline. All the larger independent retailers seem to have folded, but the town remains livelier than most.

If you want your hair done or an eyebrow wax you will be spoiled for choice.

Hitchin is Conservative and has been for decades (Peter Lilley was the MP) before it was 'twinned' with Harpenden. The council is Conservative majority (this all suits me !)

There has been a growing number of chains ( clothes) and now it has Joules, White Stuff, Phase 8 and Mint Velvet as well as Next, New Look etc.)

The biggest plus for me is Waitrose. (Years ago all it had was a manky Tesco (now Next & WHSmiths) a smallish Sainsbury and Safeway.

There are no good furniture shops- nearest John Lewis is Welwyn Garden City or some people go to M Keynes or London for house stuff.

For families catchment area is key; all the good schools are over subscribed so house prices in those areas (nr Girls School ,William Ransom) are sky high though the Poets estate is do-able ( 3 bed Wimpey type terraced for around £300K, detached 4 bed around £500K.

Victorian terraced houses within 15-20 mins walk of the station are now sky high (used to be the rough end of the town and still feels slightly run down with lots of pubs and takeaways on the doorstep)

Having said that Hitchin is lovely - old tudor buildings, cobbled streets in the centre - and loads of cafes. But be realistic about house prices and schooling. There is a huge difference in exam results/league tables across the town especially at sec school level (Priory has always been the lowest) so if education is at the top of your list, be prepared for hefty house prices.

Are you a southerner wondering if you can bear to tear yourself away from civilisation (ie London) and relocate to the feral wilderness of the North? Here’s our guide to how you can make the most competitive areas of Manchester (in terms of housing/schooling) even more unaffordable to locals. Don’t even think about venturing out of Altrincham/Hale/Didsbury/Chorlton/Prestwich though; you might actually be exposed to a real-life Mancunian. The horror!

@IndianaMoleWoman -it does read like that, doesn't it. Back to the drawing board, MN.

Manchester isn't the 5th biggest city in the UK www.citymetric.com/skylines/where-are-largest-cities-britain-1404

The Bristol guide has a number of errors.

If you're a fan of the theater. The English spelling is theatre plus only mention is of the Old Vic and the Hippodrome. What about the Redgrave, or the Alma Tavern?

The schools bit reads like it's been C&P from 2 different places:

Bristol has plenty of good primary schools but secondary schools have a more variable, albeit improving, reputation. The best in both categories tend to be very oversubscribed, with small catchment areas.

Bristol has good primary school provision, though parents need to do their homework thoroughly. Many primaries in Bristol are over-subscribed and some residential areas fall into catchment area ‘black holes’.

Many families choose to bypass Bristol state secondary schools and apply a bit further afield. Eight feature in The Sunday Times Top 500 State Secondary Schools Guide 2018: Gordano, Backwell, Thornbury’s The Castle School, Winterbourne International Academy, Chew Magna, Oldfield, Bradley Stoke Community College, and Wellsway.

No mention that the only way to get into any of those schools (none actually in Bristol council but in N Somerset, South Glos, and B&NES) is to be living practically nest door, and certainly within catchment.

Bristol also has terrible traffic problems. The M5 is regularly congested, especially in the summer. There are frequent accidents on the M4 and M5. Don't think about trying to drive any distance between 3.30pm and 7.30pm because you'll just be stuck in a queue. Any roads that you could have used as a direct route to anywhere are no left turn/ no right turn or blocked completely, to funnel all traffic down the same 2 or 3 main roads.

Housing is very difficult to find because the whole area is geared to student housing and HMOs. Landlords have been known to buy up almost an entire street of family housing to rent out as individual rooms.

Lastly, to misquote IndianaMoleWoman

Are you a Londoner wondering if you can bear to tear yourself away from civilisation and relocate to the feral wilderness of the West? Here’s our guide to how you can make the most competitive areas of Bristol (in terms of housing/schooling) even more unaffordable to locals. Don’t even think about venturing out of Clifton/ Westbury on Trym/ Cotham/ Redland though; you might actually be exposed to a real-life Bristolian. The horror!

Wondering if Mumsnet are going to come back to this thread? The feedback is pretty unanimous, are you actually going to do anything with it? Don't ask for feedback if you don't want to hear the answers ...

I'm guessing the intention was to emulate the commercial hook-up on this page with Autotrader: www.mumsnet.com/reviews/family-cars. Which chain of nationwide estate agents were you approaching ...?

I agree with weasel about the comments about Bristol.
For theatre both performance and participation for children there is also the Tobacco Factory in southville - a good family area to live that isn't mentioned. The area of bristol where I live isn't mentioned either!
How come Bristol aquarium is mentioned but not Bristol zoo. The latter is much better as you can see both fish and other animals with season tickets and events for families. The aquarium is rubbish imo.
The quote on Keynsham in big pink writing is inaccurate - the 2 Keynsham schools are Wellsway and Broadlands with Hayesfield being in Bath. Bristol may only be 10 mins away by train but driving takes much longer due to traffic congestion on the A4.
Bristol Cathedral choir school selects via lottery and musical aptitude and there are also places for choristers.
How come banksy is mentioned but not Aardman animations home of Wallace and Gromit? Have lived in Bristol for a long time and never heard of the others.
The Concorde museum is in south gloucestershire. Agree with other posters that people moving to the area need to be made aware of the different councils.