Moving to County Durham, advice needed

[lilleolme]

Hi all, this is my first post and new to Mumsnet, so hi!

We are looking to move to County Durham from down South and was wondering on the best areas?
We have been looking at Bishop Auckland and surrounding towns/villages. Schools not need at this stage.
Would like the best of both worlds whereby being in a town but near to countryside. We will be buying and have quite a healthy budget.

Thanks
Em

Just avoid the ghastly Dominic Cummings

@lilleolme do you need to be close by to anywhere specific?

Wolsingham, Staindrop, Heighington all lovely

Barnard Castle is nice. I’m not bring facetious!
Nice Georgian market town, lots of independent shops (really nice fish and chips), N York Moors, Yorks Dales nearby, castle (obvs...). A1 handy fri access to Newcastle, Teesside, Leeds and further afield. A66 for E-W travel. Bowes Museum.

Oooh interesting thread as I would love to move up that way from the the South West!

We need to be accessible to Teesside but happy to be in a lovely area up to an hour away.

So I’ll watch this thread :)

Bishop is a bit hit and miss - some nice bits and some fairly grim bits as well. Same goes for a lot of the surrounding towns and villages. Agree with previous poster that Barney is nice, as are a lot of the villages in that direction.

I like Darlington, and you get a fair amount for your money

We need to be accessible to Teesside but happy to be in a lovely area up to an hour away

If that was my criteria I would look at Saltburn-by-the-Sea and Guisborough

#someaddedsugar no where in particular

I would second Darlington - a good size town centre, huge parks and green spaces, lots of countryside surrounding it and some gorgeous houses. It’s also straight onto the A1 in both directions so ideal for commuting. If I remember correctly it’s about 15-20 minutes from Middlesbrough, 35 minutes from Durham and 45 minutes from Newcastle.

Chester le street is also nice - some gorgeous houses (very similar in style to Darlington) with lots of green space etc.

Wolsingham and Stanhope are lovely villages and very picturesque however not the best for supermarket access etc.

@Dontletthebastardscheeryouup Darlington would be handy for you!

I'd recommend you look at Yarm and any of the small villages surrounding it. Gorgeous town with all amenities within a 5-10 min drive. 20 mins from Saltburn-by-the-Sea (great beach) and the A19 straight from Yorkshire upto Newcastle if you need to commute. It has a train station which runs direct to York, Manchester, London to name a few.

Op where in teesside do you need to get to?

Yarm doesn't go directly to London. Eaglescliffe does but trains to London are very limited.

Sorry I think I made the teesside bit up somehow!

I'd look at Darlington, also lots of villages in the surrounding area that would probably suit. I'd personally avoid Bishop and there are some nice spots in Teesdale if you want something more rural.

Barnard Castle is nice.

Absolutely, the healing waters can be miraculous for eyesight problems.

Where are you moving from down south (just to get an idea of the area) and what amenities are you looking for?
I live in the north east (was a long term southerner) and made the move up.
There's lots of lovely places but a lot of places to avoid. The lovely places really are lovely though and generally the people up here are very friendly and not snobby in the slightest.
Bishop Auckland is a shit hole. Definitely avoid. Yes I get the irony of my snobby comment and the shit hole comment before anyone points it out.

@Hopingtobeamum

We're moving up from Hertfordshire, we want somewhere with good access to shops but within distance of the countryside. I need a town as I will be moving my father up with us and will need to get him a transfer into a local old persons sheltered accommodation as that is what he is in down here. My parents were both born in Durham but it's been years since they moved from there.
So he will need to be within 15 mins of me.

Chester le Street is a bit of a trek from Teeside!

I would agree that Saltburn or Barnard Castle would be good choices

Avoid Bishop, it's grim.
Darlington is better if you want a decent sized town or Barnard Castle if you're happy with somewhere smaller, both good options.

What about - Stokesley / Great Ayton / Great Broughton - close to Teesside and on the door step of the North Yorkshire moors.

Lanchester is a lovely semi rural village with a nice community feel. Big enough to have decent pubs and restaurants but with pretty housing stock. Close to Durham for other amenities.

Pricing in County Durham fluctuates wildly between the posher areas and those which are a bit more working class. A house in say Tudhoe Village or Beamish (both naice) may be 400-500k, but move half a mile away and the same house might be only a third of that. Depends what you want.

@pinkflamingo86 I'd second that (if it's village life you're after).
The villages along the A19 all the way down to the A1 are lovely. Yarm, Richmond are particularly nice market towns.

Hi, I am new to mumsnet and i would like to say hello to everyone

Sedgefield