Chocolate box pretty places to live - that are also family friendly, community friendly places?

[Whereto]

DH and I are moving with young children, and need to commute back into (or stay in?) london 2 days a week max.

We have no idea where to go!

So we wrote a list of criteria.

We both want pretty! Neither of us have lived in a “pretty” place before. But we also really want schools and community (places where the kids would be welcome to trick-or-treat on Halloween, and there’s a sweet local school, it’s still liberal, etc).

Please inspire me! Where can we start looking?

Kingscliffe (Northamptonshire/Cambridgeshire/Lincolnshire borders) is a pretty village with definite sense of community - local community sports facilities, very very friendly (have friends there). Think it's quite expensive but probably not compared to London. Commute from Peterborough (v fast but £££) or Northampton/Milton Keynes. Wouldn't want a commute to South of the River/Victoria though!

@Dogmum40 I'm a rubbish shot...

The Cotswolds

@Dogmum40 And that is the UK in a nutshell. You might have been poor and relied on food banks but obviously can’t see the irony in voting for the tories who made those things necessary in the first place.
But hey ho this is a light hearted thread for people with millions to spend

@Whereto

Our budget is around £1.1m, could spend more - but less is better!

We’re prepared to travel quite far for somewhere that we’d be really happy as it isn’t full time commuting.

Have even idly thought about Scotland! I do love it there. But maybe a part time commute would be impossible?!

Oh go for St Albans then! The cathedral quarter is very pretty. It is liberal and the MP is wonderful.

Could you stretch it for this...

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/59287761/?search_identifier=1a6577b63134b5bfaef84ef0ac541e8f

I'd love to live here.

Kingscliffe is nice too, or Oundle and it's surrounds

@Theworldisfullofgs

Could you stretch it for this...

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/59287761/?search_identifier=1a6577b63134b5bfaef84ef0ac541e8f

I'd love to live here.

I knew this would be an Inigo house from the first picture - no 5 with the dog made it certain!

@Theworldisfullofgs

Kingscliffe is nice too, or Oundle and it's surrounds

Ooh, love Oundle! We had a mini break there last year.

Woburn or Ampthill. They are beautiful.

OP hasn’t asked for villages, though. She has just stipulated ‘pretty’.

Oops I accidentally added "village" to chocolate box , please ignore OP

...and several were cities not towns as @GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal pointed out. Duh