Moving To The Cotswolds

[AbbeyRoadNW8]

Hello my wife and I are planning to move to the Cotswolds from the Kent coast. We are thinking of living around Broadway within about 5 -10 miles. Does anyone have any recommendations for nice villages or small towns to live? We just want somewhere quiet to live. Our budget is up to about 500K.

My son, daughter and grandchildren are moving to Shipston On Stour. Does anyone know what its like to live there? It won best place to live last year I think.

We had a holiday in sedgebarrow on the outskirts. Would prob get more for your money and i5s really close to Broadway

Example, sedgebarrow
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73690153.html

There is a bungalow too for around 300k

Hi @AbbeyRoadNW8,

Contrary to some posters I think your budget is plenty!
We moved here from London, rented for a while and then picked a market town on the edge of the South Cotswolds to live.
What I would say is we found that renting somewhere chocolate box and beautiful (and touristy) is not as fulfilling as living somewhere with a working atmosphere, lots to do & great community whilst still being beautiful and close to the twee villages for a visit when we can.

Plugging in your criteria gets over 200 properties 😊

A couple of things....

• it takes longer than you think to get from one place to another in the Cotswolds, so the 10 miles from Broadway could give you a time of up to 45 mins from your children in Shipton.

• If 45 mins is ok for you, do consider villages outside of Cheltenham & Tewkesbury. Restaurants, theatres & festivals at your doorstep (and your children might appreciate a night out a short taxi ride away now and then 😊)

Here are a few of my favourites from my search. I do not know this area very well so maybe some other posters will be able to advise on the locations of them.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66957813.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-76589788.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66158493.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-77848720.html

It’s enough for some places but not others! It all depends how chocolate box you want. Stow and Broadway are very expensive but around Moreton, less so. I would want to be in reach of Cheltenham, personally, for the theatre and some great restaurants. The racing for me too.

When I briefly looked at Right Move, your budget wasn’t a problem for Moreton and Bourton and I suspect around Blockley too. There are new developments around and these can be good as they are often quite small. However you do need to consider the garden and you might get a better one with an established house. It will be fun looking!

@AbbeyRoadNW8
There's nothing wrong with dreaming. Sometimes they do come true too. You may find something needing work for example. I would keep your options open avoug location too. There are some beautiful places all over the cotswolds.

How lucky are you AbbeyRoadNW8 !!!!
Moving to the Cotswolds.
I visited once and would love to go back again.
Bourton on the Water, Stow on the Wold, Blenheim.
When this pandemic is over I shall get a ferry over and tour around.

Happy house hunting.

You could also look at Bloxham, the Barfords and around Deddington and The Tews and Rollrights. Still the Cotswolds and bit fashionable now due to Soho House but can be good value.

A couple of people have mentioned Cheltenham. I would just say, that's quite a long way from Shipston! (probably getting on for an hour, depending on traffic). I have the impression the OP wants to be near to grandchildren and children in Shipston. I know I'm biased by Blockley would be perfect! (Or Draycott, just outside Blockley - 1 mile away and possibly a little cheaper. There's a house just come up for sale in Draycott: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70768251.html

[quote hellymart]A couple of people have mentioned Cheltenham. I would just say, that's quite a long way from Shipston! (probably getting on for an hour, depending on traffic). I have the impression the OP wants to be near to grandchildren and children in Shipston. I know I'm biased by Blockley would be perfect! (Or Draycott, just outside Blockley - 1 mile away and possibly a little cheaper. There's a house just come up for sale in Draycott: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70768251.html[/quote]
I think you are right Cheltenham is a bit too far especially as we are going to be on childminding duty most days.

Thanks for the link to the house in Draycott it looks interesting.

Did you get sorted @AbbeyRoadNW8 ?

Well we finally moved. Been living in Willersey near Broadway for about 3 months now and we love it here. Much nicer than the Kent coast.

Glad you got sorted

Is there much going on there op? I'm looking for Cotswolds villages that have a good sense of community- groups etc?

Normally, yes there is a lot going on. However with the Covid 19 situation so much has had to be cancelled.

Here is a link to the Willersey page.

willersey.org/

We are only about 1.5 miles from Broadway which normally has lots going on too. One thing we have noticed is that everyone who lives here seems to take pride in the area and appreciate how lucky they are to live here. We were surprised how many people from delivery drivers, people buying our no longer needed furniture, workmen and visiting friends all say how lovely the area is and how lucky we are.

Blockley, Chipping Campden etc have a great sense of community. But I can also recommend Shipston On Stour a great place to live with lots of amenities. Its not quite as pretty as some cotswold villages but a great place to live and it is more affordable. Also Hook Norton is well worth looking at.

@AbbeyRoadNW8

Normally, yes there is a lot going on. However with the Covid 19 situation so much has had to be cancelled.

Here is a link to the Willersey page.

willersey.org/

We are only about 1.5 miles from Broadway which normally has lots going on too. One thing we have noticed is that everyone who lives here seems to take pride in the area and appreciate how lucky they are to live here. We were surprised how many people from delivery drivers, people buying our no longer needed furniture, workmen and visiting friends all say how lovely the area is and how lucky we are.

Blockley, Chipping Campden etc have a great sense of community. But I can also recommend Shipston On Stour a great place to live with lots of amenities. Its not quite as pretty as some cotswold villages but a great place to live and it is more affordable. Also Hook Norton is well worth looking at.

Thanks so much. We visit the area numerous times a year so have stayed in most of those places. Broadway, Hook Norton & Chippy are too large for me. I'm looking for a smaller, more close nit community. Will check out Willersey. Hope you continue to enjoy it. I'm well jel!

Try Ebrington and Brailes. If you have a large budget the Slaughters are very nice, Gutting Power and Great Rissington. Willersey is really nice and we are very happy here.

We lived in a village 5 miles from Broadway for 11 years, before moving to Dorset.
Agree Bourton and Broadway, are nightmares in the summer, but perfect the rest of the year.
We loved being close to Cheltenham, the schools were on the whole very good, and of course only 2 hours from London by road.
We did miss being so far from the sea though.

Broadway is lovely, but expensive and can get very busy in tourist season. I sold my house there earlier this year, so speak from experience! £350k for a 2 bed with no parking.

I love Blockley - pretty village with amenities, and it’s where they film Father Brown too! Plus the villages around broadway are nice too - Childswickham, Willersey, Stanton, plus Winchcombe is lovely too.

My sister lives in Ebrington, which is a lovely village, with a great community. By the time they'd lived there a fortnight they knew more of their neighbours than we did after 20 years in our house!

@RustyBear

My sister lives in Ebrington, which is a lovely village, with a great community. By the time they'd lived there a fortnight they knew more of their neighbours than we did after 20 years in our house!

Great pub too! Although the Slaughters are beautiful, I get the impression the residents are sniffy/sick of tourists, so would rule that out. Broadway too big. Thanks for other suggestions though. Is Rissington affected by plane noise do you know?

CHIPPING CAMPDEN

Hi I have 2 boys age 1 and 10 I live in the West Midlands right now and I’m thinking of moving to Chipping Campden. As beautiful as it is on the eye, would you say children get bored living that way? I’m just a quiet down to earth mother not rich lol would you say I would fit in too ?

Rachel x

How's Willersey? Still enjoying it? I'm warming to the idea of a bigger village now. Thinking Chipping Norton. Just think the number of people and amenities would be good as I'm going alone. Just about to put the house on the market but there's not a lot there for sale at the mo.

@Rachel7979

CHIPPING CAMPDEN

Hi I have 2 boys age 1 and 10 I live in the West Midlands right now and I’m thinking of moving to Chipping Campden. As beautiful as it is on the eye, would you say children get bored living that way? I’m just a quiet down to earth mother not rich lol would you say I would fit in too ?

Rachel x

Chipping Campden is a really lovely place to live and there is a great community spirit. One thing I have noticed living in the Cotswolds is that people who live here all say how lucky they are. I'm sure you would fit in. The only thing I would say is house prices in CC are really high. The other thing we have noticed is that where we used to live in Broadstairs the supermarkets (Sainsburys and Tesco) were huge. We have not found anywhere yet nearby which are comparable. Mind you the Aldi in Moreton is the poshest one I've been in!

@BRAV0Juliet

How's Willersey? Still enjoying it? I'm warming to the idea of a bigger village now. Thinking Chipping Norton. Just think the number of people and amenities would be good as I'm going alone. Just about to put the house on the market but there's not a lot there for sale at the mo.

Willersey is really great. We often wander down to the duck pond with the grandchildren to feed the ducks. There are cows, sheep and chickens nearby too. There is a good sense of community here too but with Covid a lot of the activities were cancelled last year.

The good thing about Willersey is it is a lovely village that does not attract the tourists so its a little haven. If we want more life we just walk into Broadway.

Chipping Norton is busier but again not full of tourists . Getting to Oxford is easier from there too. We are closer to Cheltenham.

We have noticed too that there is not much for sale recently too, you just need to keep your eyes open. The problem is that unless you know your house will sell really quickly the property you are interested in will be sold before you get a buyer.

Good luck.

Charlbury - ‘Gateway to the Cotswolds’
Small town with railway station and buses,
Brilliant community spirit. 5 churches, 4 pubs, a brand new sports, library and community centre. Wilderness Festival on the doorstep. Named as one of the best places to live in The Times a few weeks ago.