Commuting to Birchwood, Warrington

[Rivergreen]

I know there are semi-frequently threads on here about Warrington, so I hope you will bear with me...

I have accepted a job in Birchwood, Warrington. The reason behind the move is to be closer to family in East Lancs (I am currently in the SE, so am not bothered about living on their doorsteps, up to about an hour away is fine). Having said that, I'm a rural girl at heart (another reason for the move away from the SE) and the area around Warrington seems pretty built up.

Can anyone recommend places to look at moving too? It'd need to be within 30-45mins rush hour drive from Birchwood. I've heard the traffic is awful around there in normal times, so I don't know how far out I can reasonably look, as checking journey times on google is obviously not representative at the moment! Nice rural villages / small towns north of Warrington would be ideal (i know this would be an easier search if I was looking south of Warrington and deeper into Cheshire!)

I’ve got a couple of friends who live in Newton-le-willows and really like it and Culcheth always seems nice (they have a really good independent kids shoe shop)

Lymm is gorgeous. Not sure what the commute is like at peak times though.

Lymm to Birchwood isn't too bad, you can avoid the motorway by going over the toll bridge (if you can stretch to a whole 24p a day) and then Woolston Grange Avenue. It's expensive though, you'd probably get more for your money to the north of Warrington.

Thanks @Chosennone and @emmathedilemma, I've heard Lymm is lovely, but pricey! It's at the southerly limit of where I would consider, being an hour away from family.

@TwoBlueFish That's good to hear about Culcheth, it's on my list. I hadn't thought of Newton-le-willows at all, so will make sure to check it out.

It looks like the move will be a good few months away, so hope I can visit a few areas post-lockdown!

Bump for evening crowd...

What’s your budget?
Dunham Massey i think you can do the whole thing on little back roads, which could avoid very heavy traffic.
Newton-le-Willows is nice enough too.
Lymm is gorgeous but if you need a big house you will need big pockets.

Budget?

Glazebury or Culcheth were the first places that came to mind. Pretty close to Birchwood, but sort-of rural. Lymm is lovely and feels quite rural. Appleton and Walton are nice areas (south Warrington) if you have the budget.

I worked on Birchwood Park about 6 years ago and the traffic isn’t great, but they’ve invested a lot in the road network around there (extra lanes etc). I imagine the combination of that and more people having the flexibility to work remotely, means that the traffic may not be as bad as it used to be.

Thanks both. @lastqueenofscotland and @whatarewordsworth

Budget would be up to £300k. I don't need anything huge, there's only me. Although I would rather not be in any kitchen/living/diner as my only living space jobby. And would want a house with both a garden and parking, so that might restrict me from the most expensive areas.

This is between Culcheth and Glazebury:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/98710103#/

It’s a nice area with a lot of open countryside around. That house is on a main road but it isn’t a hugely busy road - just an example of what you could get for your budget.

Only thing to be wary of with Culcheth is that HS2 may run quite nearby, so worth keeping in mind. But it is a lovely area and is somewhere we seriously considered when we moved back to Warrington.

Thanks @WhatAreWordsWorth I had clocked that one on a rightmove trawl last night! It's definitely the sort of thing I would be interested in, now I know the area is good! It's an encouraging sign! :)

Good to know about HS2 though, I didn't even think about that.

With regards to HS2, it’s the kind of thing that a search would bring up if you were looking to buy in that area anyway, but definitely something to keep in mind.

If you want a short commute to Birchwood and rural/semi rural, Culcheth and Glazebury are definitely your best options.

You’d also have Bents nearby (I always spend FAR too much money in there) as well as some really lovely restaurants in Culcheth. And you’d be handy for the East Lancs.

Get the map out and look at green belted areas around Widnes, St.Helens, Newton Le Willows, Wigan etc. If you go south to Cheshire its much more expensive
Look either side of the M6, parbold, Roby Mill, Upholland are nice but a bit farther north

I'd agree with Culcheth/ Glazebury/ Newton. Croft, Winwick and Lowton too.

HS2 will run round the main part of Culcheth and through Lowton so definitely something to consider.

I live in South Trafford and work(ed) on the Gemini business park close to Ikea in Warrington. Commuting traffic generally isn't too bad. from observation and occasional experience the M6 north is a lot worse. Birchwood its self got pretty grid locked at commuting times. The Warburton bridge mentioned above gives a route around if the M6 has an incident but when that happens the local roads get clogged up.
Culcheth and Lymm are both very nice small rural towns with good local amenities. IMO the country around Culcheth is fairly heavily agricultural and flat so not so good to get out into although Pennington Flash and the canal are close by. Both aren't he easiest to get to the larger towns cities using public transport.
Going north Appley Bridge and Standish seem nice places with good motorway access and better public transport options.