Moving to Bucks or Bedfordshire

[Kyara]

Hi All

We're 1st time buyers looking to move from south London. We have been looking at houses on Aylesbury, Haddenham, Leighton Buzzard, Cheddington and Chesham.

We would like to be close to a station with good commute links to London and would love to have nice places nearby to walk our dog.

We liked a property in Aylesbury Lavender Grange, near Elm Farm and also saw a property online on Haydon Hill that seems nice.

We're going to visit Leighton Buzzard this weekend for the 1st time.

Any information or advice about good/bad areas or anything you could share would be much appreciated.

In that area Milton Keynes and Leighton Buzzard has the fastest and second fastest trains into London so just bear that in mind when looking at properties, because often (and it is often!) when the line out of Euston are closed and train companies start prioritising destinations it does tend to be Milton Keynes & Leighton Buzzard that get prioritised. Additionally most parts of MK are in the catchment of both the Buckinghamshire and Aylesbury grammar schools.

I have friends who live in various Buckinghamshire villages that are about 5-10 miles from MK as they prefer taking the fast trains into Euston and Manchester. There are also the old medieval villages in Milton keynes (the shenleys, lougton) and nearby towns - stony stratford that are great. MK and the surrounding area is especially good if you have children you want to send into private as there are 3-4 really good schools and one of them acts as a feeder into Stowe.

LB has great rail links to London, but beware... it was going downhill when I lived there 20 years ago, I can't imagine what it's like now. We moved there because of the train service into London. I don't miss it, tbh.

Have a look at Thame too. Couple of miles from Haddenham and a really nice market town with a lot going on. Princes Risborough (on the same train line and goes into Marylebone) also quite nice and worth a look if you’re in the area.

Do you have a viewing booked in LB? I would otherwise question if it's an essential journey?

I am from that area. Will you be commuting into town regularly or just want easy access to see friends etc as that would influence my advice.

I live in the Aylesbury area... in that exact part 😂

It’s a lovely area. When we move, I’d like to stay in Elm Farm/Lavender Grange, or Bedgrove/Stoke Mandeville. If you want to ask any questions you can PM me.

Stoke Mandeville station goes straight into London, although from Elm farm you can walk into town and get on either line (Amersham/Princes risborough)

What else do you want from the area?

Haddenham I do like, it’s a little bit more expensive though. I don’t know the area as well.

I too know Aylesbury and Haddenham well and all parts in between.

Firstly, Lavender Grange is not Elm Farm. It’s the wrong side of the railway line. Elm Farm and Bedgrove are worth looking at too. Haydon Hill is north Aylesbury and less attractive. South Aylesbury has higher prices. If you were at Bedgrove or Elm Farm you could get the train from Stoke Mandeville. Bedgrove has a big green space in the middle of it. Haydon Hill has space around the brook on the edge of it. Dog walking space is not great in Aylesbury but you can walk along the canal.

Haddenham is a much better shout. It’s a big village and very attractive in the centre. Thame is lovely but the station is at Haddenham. A bit further down the line is Princes Risborough. Both these places are pleasant but be careful about schools. All these stations end up at Marylebone. Leighton Buzzard ends up at Euston so which is better for you?

Bucks is a grammar system. MK and Beds are comprehensive. The commute into Bucks for grammars from MK can make it a long day. Thame is Oxfordshire and has an excellent comprehensive school.

The best non grammar in the area is Waddesdon but the catchment is tiny. However I would consider Waddesdon or Quainton for village life but they are north of Aylesbury Vale Parkway Station so it would depend on your commute.

I don’t like Aylesbury much and hardly ever go there. DH is from Chesham and his company is there. Know it well! The Metro line from Chesham is slow. It’s a decent enough place to live though. Not as posh as Amersham! More the working class cousin.

If you can take a day, have a drive around. The prettiest countryside is near Chesham. There is also Lowndes Park in town. You are essentially in The Chilterns so beech woods are nearby. Tring is also worth looking at on the Euston line. Compact and attractive town centre and has a M&S food store.

I’m not sure what your budget is but Aylesbury is full of non descript housing estates and more will be built. It’s lost it’s character. Empty shops and cheap shops abound. It has a Waitrose next to the ugliest car park in the county. The theatre is ok. Cinema likewise. It’s got great grammars but the other schools are often poor. Depends what you want and whether you want a town or somewhere smaller but a bit more interesting.

Also NO Aylesbury grammar or The Royal Latin School at Buckingham has a catchment area that extends to Milton Keynes. That does not mean MK children don’t go to these schools but they are not catchment priority children.,

Valid point @PresentingPercy it’s been a long week and I’m tired! OP - I’m Elm Farm/Stoke Grange area.

I assumed you meant Stoke grange at the back of Elm Farm. It’s lovely there at the moment, but there are plans to build housing And a link road at the back of Stoke Grange.

I wouldn’t live the lavender grange side of the railway personally, because traffic in the morning backs up really quickly, and to get towards Aylesbury town centre can be a nightmare in rush hour (in non covid times!)

I’d agree with Percy, if I didn’t need to be in Aylesbury I’d choose somewhere like Quainton or Waddesdon but not ideal for commuting.

I don’t know Chesham well, so I can’t comment. Amersham is lovely but expensive.

What about somewhere like Wendover/Aston Clinton/Weston Turville? Wendover has a train line, and it’s about a 5 minute drive from Weston Turville to Stoke Mandeville station.

I think it depends what you are after- but I would definitely check out Leighton Buzzard, the villages around Milton Keynes (like the Brickhills), around Tring, and also Woburn. I have lived in some of these areas, admittedly in villages rather than the towns but I really liked Leighton Buzzard, good market, lovely forest-y surroundings (try Rushmere Park and the canal walks), good coffee shops and a few decent restaurants. It’s not mini-Fulham, but then that’s not what everyone wants. Apparently the locals really like the middle school system there, but as others have said once you are over the border into Bucks you get the grammar school system. Woburn is lovely but pricey and less good commute, lovely bar and the deer park is beautiful. Tring a bit more sleepy, but beautiful villages around there (Ivinghoe etc). I get a bit of a dodgy vibe in Aylesbury sometimes but don’t know it that well.

Wendover is going to have problems with HS2 construction. It’s to the south and west snd it’s already horrible. Having said that, houses in Wendover are selling and it’s still more expensive than Aylesbury. It’s got better access to the countryside.,

Weston Turville will soon join with Aylesbury as huge numbers of new houses are going in. Aston Clinton is very linear. Neither are far from Wendover or Tring for trains though. WT is popular because it’s a decent place to live and attractive in parts. Again it’s very handy for the reservoir there for a walk or a quick drive out into the Chiltern Hills.

If you are only going into London occasionally, your options open up. You might also consider North Marston and Whitchurch.

Wow so much useful information! Thank you everyone

• Aylesbury

So we went for a 2nd viewing on the house we liked in Lavender Grange, but this time the estate agent completely changed the history about the house and family that is living there. Also they're currently renovating the kitchen with cheap materials and we have no idea what else they're going to change in the house in the meantime. Another downside is that it has the main Aylesbury rail line (4 trains per hour) passing at the end of the back garden. Very disappointing as we liked the house and the neighbourhood and it was within our ideal budget

• Cheddington

Although we liked a house there with a big garden, we think Cheddington might be too remote for us, at the "town center" we only saw the station and a church. Please let me know if we missed something as we just drove through.

• Leighton Buzzard

We had a few viewings there today, but we didn't like any of the houses or they didn't really match what we're looking for. We drove through the town center and surrounding areas and it seemed nice.

• Others

Unfortunately Wendover and Tring are out of our budget. Aston Clinton and Weston Turville seem to be too expensive as well. I didn't look into MK properly yet, do you think would be ok to drive from one of the villages during peak hour?

• Our Current Situation/Budget/What are we looking for

We're a couple on our late 20's. For now kids aren't on the plans so schools aren't a concern. We both work from home, but when things go back to normal I'll probably start going to the office in London twice a week.

Our top budget is 400k, but our ideal budget would be around 350k.

We would like a 3 bed house, ideally detached or link-detached, with garage or private parking and a garden. I think we would like to be in a place at least with some take away options, so not too remote, but with countryside nearby, not sure if possible though

MK and Beds are comprehensive

Much of Bedfordshire is lower/middle/upper, although they are moving towards primary/secondary at the moment.

Have a look at Flitwick, Ampthill and Houghton Regis.

Berkhamsted would be worth a look but isn't cheap. Cheddington does have a bit more too it away from the station but it's quite separate. Wilstone has a community village shop, farm shop and pub but not sure about takeaways. Tring is your best option for rural plus takeaways I think but you say out of your budget.

I would avoid Houghton Regis. High deprivation and very poor transport links other than easy access to M1.

The Linslade side of Leighton Buzzard should fit your budget, is close to the station and has good schools. They will be going away from the middle school system over the next 2-3 years, so possibly slightly disrupted in the short term if you have DCs in the 7-13 age bracket.

Woburn Sands is lovely but seems to be joining up with MK.

Second Flitwick as worth a look. Good train line, practicalities all available, close to lots of lovely villages and countryside.

You are going to struggle to get detached for your budget in the better areas of Aylesbury. However if you lowered your sights you could live in Wendover which is more desirable. I’ve also attached a house in Waddesdon but there’s little there apart from the school. Quainton is attractive. The Green is just below the windmill. It’s a decent place to live. I would suggest that if you want detached you will have to buy in a less desirable area but I would choose location over house. The Bedgrove one in Aylesbury is rarely available and it’s a very spacious estate.,

These too.

We recently moved to central beds and we love it. Flitwick and Harlington are on the Thameslink to London. So many lovely villages to choose from, as well as Flitwick and ampthill which are a bit bigger.
Here’s a detached 3 bed under £400k, it’s in Westoning which is a village with plenty of countryside and a short drive from Flitwick for amenities.

Flitwick Road, Westoning, MK45
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-84182272.html

I'm definitely going to take a look at Flitwick. Thank you.

What about Biggleswade?

The house might be detached but it’s small.

We’ve just moved from Oldhams Meadow which is Bierton side of Aylesbury. Was there 10 years and loved the area. 20 minute walk into town, easy access to the ring road to get round town (and alternative routes when they regularly snarl up), surrounded by fields for walks.

Kingsbrook is a new development nearby and as new developments go it’s pretty decent. Wide roads, plenty of offstreet parking and not too built up/rabbit warren. Even has a local pub from before the development was built.

Trains from Aylesbury into London are quite expensive, however going from Stoke Mandeville or Wendover the cost drops quite a bit.

Going from Great Missenden is cheaper still! Tring to London is quicker from some areas of Aylesbury.

Yeah, Great Missenden is much cheaper for trains. Cheaper than Amersham even which is a stop closer, but that’s within london tube zones.

I’ve found that pricing odd too!