Relocation to glossop?

[Ljw511]

Hello, new to the forum.
We’re thinking of relocating to Glossop and would love your honest opinions on the area.
Highly value a sense of community, gym/groups, local shops and bars. Life outside e.g parks/walks/camping is very important to us. We would like to know what life is like there!
The relocation would mean a job change too so any advice on traffic routes/areas to avoid would be really helpful too.
If glossop is a no go - where else would you recommend within commuting distance of manchester?

Thank you!

Where in Manchester would you be commuting to and how long a commute, in terms of time, are you prepared to do?

I grew up in Glossop. The old town is lovely, you are right on the edge of some of the most beautiful countryside in the UK (imho), great parks, local shops and weekend market and I know lots of really lovely people who live there.

However, the traffic is a nightmare and beyond a joke. If you are commuting into Manchester you could be looking at a minimum of 1 hour each way on a good day. It can take a lot more and if you get a breakdown on the moor, accident on the M67 or M1 / M62 with diversion over woodhead you can lose hours in unmoving traffic. Public transport is pretty poor as an alternative. I am sure it's the only place in the UK where bad snow will half your journey time

If you have kids I also believe that there are currently not enough secondary school places so quite a few kids have been allocated places outside the area.

Your nearest hospital would be Tameside which doesn't have the best reputation (although whenever I have needed to use it I have had no complaints )

I dont know how true this next bit is but my parents complain bitterly that all local investment goes to Buxton as the big name town and Glossop loses out in investment.

I appreciate my post is quite negative but honestly I love Glossop. The traffic is the big problem, most of the other stuff you will probably find variations of anywhere so if you can cope with the traffic it's a great place to live.

I dont live in the area anymore so I can't comment on other places to live in the area.

Glossop itself it okay, it recently had a bit of a revival with interesting artisan shops. But ... the traffic is horrendous, a bypass has been promised since I lived there 20 years ago has failed to materialise. And it's a very dark, rainy place too. Some people like dramatic scenery and weather, others hate it.

Try Marple - similar price bracket, very family oriented. Nice shops and restaurants.

Two train stations into Manchester. Lovely canal and access to nice walks and parks. Not too far from glossop but a bit nicer imo. Traffic in the rush hour can be a pain but not an issue if you have the trains.

I live in Glossop with my boyfriend - we moved here a year or so ago when he bought a house.

I work in the centre of Manchester and generally find the commute is fine other than the occasional cock up by Northern Rail. It’s about 35-40 minutes on the train into Piccadilly from Glossop, or you can go from Hadfield/Dinting which add/lose journey time respectively. If you wanted to drive into the city centre it would take an hour because as pp have said, it’s a nightmare getting in and out in the traffic - though this gets easier once you know some of the back routes!

It is a small town feel (big Tesco and M&S though ) but lots of nice cafes, pubs and restaurants plus a few smaller independent shops. There’s even a vegan pub if you go for that sort of thing. The leisure centre/gym is not great but I gather the pool is beautiful and a PureGym is about to open which might push the local centre to improve its facilities.

School wise, we don’t have kids but my DP is a supply teacher and has visited most of the schools in the wider area. Glossopdale is the main large secondary but there’s also a catholic school (Phillip Howard? Or something) - he says both of them are nice, but schools a bit further out aren’t great. Lots of primary schools and good nurseries though.

The countryside is beautiful and it’s great to be so close to some really nice walks. There are two main parks (but probably other smaller ones?) that are both lovely.

A major pro of Glossop is also that it’s pretty affordable. We have a 2 bed with loft conversion, end terrace, with a small garden, that he bought for £140k. There is a 3 bed house not far from us currently up for £125k! Next door is similar in size to ours and they rent it for about £600 a month. You could get a nice three bed for about £725, so could always rent in the area for a bit to see what you think before settling.

I wasn’t sure about the move out to glossop, it’s far from all of my family/friends/support network and I was worried about doubling my commute. But I really like the town and settled in quickly. It can be tricky when you want indoor entertainment though as the nearest place for the cinema etc is Ashton or you have to go into Manchester. Same with the hospital as pp said. As long as the trains are working it’s a nice commute, and if you get on at Hadfield or Glossop you are pretty much guaranteed a seat though it does get busy further down the line.

If you want an easier commute, a lot of the south Manchester suburbs are lovely but more expensive. Altrincham is near Dunham Massey and not far from Tatton Park which would be outdoor options. My parents are in Sale which, assuming traffic is alright, is about a 35 minute drive out to Glossop so if you wanted camping and walks in the Peak it’s still achievable from most of Manchester!

Lived and worked in Glossop all my adult life until I finally escaped a couple of years back.

As others have said the traffic is horrendous, even just travelling around within the town can be bad enough and far quicker to just walk, but getting in and out of Glossop (especially out) is just insane most of the time.
The weather is also very grim due to being just to the west of high ground, it can often be bright and sunny just a couple of miles away in any direction but Glossop just seems to have a permanent blanket of grey cloud over it.
Houses are a lot less affordable than they were just a couple of years back, I suppose Glossop is getting caught up in the current Manchester property bubble driven by this ''Northern Powerhouse'' bullshit.
Low level crime and antisocial behaviour is an issue, especially mindless vandalism and petty theft.
Shops are ok I suppose although there seems to be less shops selling useful everyday stuff and more shops selling expensive/artisan etc

I was going to move there and was put off by the traffic into Manchester. It's really bad!

I much prefer saddleworth