Widdrington, Morpeth

[Tay17]

Hey! Would anyone have any feedback/ advice on what Widdrington is like as a place to live?
Looking at possibly re-locating from the South and have been looking at the Morpeth area.

There really isn't much in Widdrington and it has nice areas and not so nice areas. If you want somewhere on a budget with the sea nearby, it might be OK. There is a train station, but the trains don't run that often. Depending on your budget, there are nicer places to be a bit further north and closer to Alnmouth station with regular trains.

I used to live in a village just outside of Widdrington. It's lovely being out in the countryside but very little around.
You definitely need a car, public transport is very limited. Where will you be working?
The Widdrington Arms used to be a regular haunt of ours and there was a lovely farm shop / cafe-bistro - pretty sure it's closed down now.
Duridge Bay is a beautiful remote beach which is spitting distance away.
I don't know what it's like to live right in Widdrington however.

@tiredoldusername

There really isn't much in Widdrington and it has nice areas and not so nice areas. If you want somewhere on a budget with the sea nearby, it might be OK. There is a train station, but the trains don't run that often. Depending on your budget, there are nicer places to be a bit further north and closer to Alnmouth station with regular trains.

Thanks @tiredoldusername for your reply. We did think the house we have seen online was cheaper than others we have seen so perhaps that reflects the area. We have a DC1 and at first thought we were thinking a 15/20 min drive to places isn’t too bad (we live in a village now and are used to driving everywhere, though our current village does have a very good train service) however I think the novelty of that would possibly soon wear off. Maybe another coastal town or Morpeth itself could be better. We loved Whitley Bay when we visited last year and also Blyth.

@JamieNotJames

I used to live in a village just outside of Widdrington. It's lovely being out in the countryside but very little around. You definitely need a car, public transport is very limited. Where will you be working? The Widdrington Arms used to be a regular haunt of ours and there was a lovely farm shop / cafe-bistro - pretty sure it's closed down now. Duridge Bay is a beautiful remote beach which is spitting distance away. I don't know what it's like to live right in Widdrington however.

Thanks @JamieNotJames for your reply. We both work remotely & if my husband occasionally has to travel it could be anywhere so he’d be driving. I think perhaps we need to look at being somewhere a little bit more near to things (particularly for our DC1) but without being too busy. It’s hard to know exactly where to look as we only really know the areas from visiting family who live locally. We know we would like to be more on the coast as opposed to Newcastle itself but perhaps not somewhere too remote!

Tynemouth, Cullercoats & Whitley Bay are lovely with great beaches, fab amenities and direct links to Newcastle city - 35 mins on the metro.
I know this as it's where I live now and commute in to town each morning on the metro. I'm pretty biased.
Although I should really be discouraging "outsiders" from moving in to the area as they're our main competition in the housing market right now!

@JamieNotJames

Tynemouth, Cullercoats & Whitley Bay are lovely with great beaches, fab amenities and direct links to Newcastle city - 35 mins on the metro. I know this as it's where I live now and commute in to town each morning on the metro. I'm pretty biased. Although I should really be discouraging "outsiders" from moving in to the area as they're our main competition in the housing market right now!

Whitley Bay was top of our list and is where my search is based around. We stayed last year as a base and loved it. We don’t see many houses come up on Whitley Bay itself which is why we’ve also been looking at some of the surrounding towns/villages but I think we should remember why we liked that area initially and not get too carried away. Haha I appreciate that 😁 I know a lot of people are relocating to coastal areas in particular. We’ve been thinking about it for a couple of years now but I think the last year or so has made us realise how much we would like to be closer to family & have a different sort of lifestyle especially now we have our little one.

Honestly, Whitley Bay is always thought of as desirable but the property prices are sky high and it's so run down. The seafront is nice but the town looks awful - I sometimes think I'm in a different place to everyone else when I go!

@potoforchids

Honestly, Whitley Bay is always thought of as desirable but the property prices are sky high and it's so run down. The seafront is nice but the town looks awful - I sometimes think I'm in a different place to everyone else when I go!

Hey @potoforchids that’s really interesting! We didn’t really venture into Whitley Bay itself as stated right on the front. My husband thinks the houses we have seen that have come up there are small for the price they’re advertised at. Are there any areas you’d suggest considering?

Monkseaton is nice; it’s a ten minute walk (or a metro stop!) away from Whitley Bay and isn’t quite as run down. Houses are still expensive but tend to have gardens etc which a lot in Whitley Bay don’t. West Monkseaton is slightly cheaper again and still only a half hour walk to the beach!

Whitley Bay and Tynemouth are significantly more expensive than Blyth for a reason. Blyth beach is lovely but the town isn't so desirable, although you'll get a lot for your money.

If you don't have to be right on the coast, I would look somewhere with plenty to do for the DC as they get older. Like Morpeth or maybe Cramlington.

@Tay17 it really depends on your budget - if you have a larger budget then Tynemouth is gorgeous. There are some slightly less expensive options in North Shields which is close to Tynemouth too.

Actual Morpeth is gorgeous - suggesting it as you mentioned Widdrington. Great transport links and schools, a lovely town centre with good shops, a lovely park and great walks. Good access to Newcastle and the coast. It is more expensive than the surrounding areas though.

Cramlington also has really good amenities but it lacks a proper town centre.

Thanks @Awkwardusername that’s good to know, I’ll have to check that area out. A garden is definitely a must and we did notice that the houses we had seen in Whitley Bay had quite small gardens!

Go a bit further north. Amble has improved massively in the last five years. Alnmouth is a lovely little village right on the beach but £££. Alnwick is great. Anywhere in that bit!

Thanks @Melonportal. We had seen a lovely house in Blyth which seemed a real bargain for what it was and I did wonder if that could have been because of where it was. We loved Blyth beach but didn’t go into the town itself at all.

We’re happy to drive to the coast (our nearest beach at the moment is 90 mins away so it’s going to be a real bonus to be so much closer) so I think you’re right at looking at somewhere with more for our DC.
I felt quite isolated during the lockdowns when he was a newborn/ tiny as our village really doesn’t have much to do, granted we couldn’t have done anything anyway but I guess it just highlighted it for me a bit.

Morpeth is definitely somewhere I’m keen on.
Is Cramlington a nice area?

Thanks @potoforchids. We’re looking for a 4 bed with a garage and probably around the £350K mark.

I’m definitely keen on Morpeth itself so will keep an eye out there and will also look more at Cramlington which I hadn’t heard of until recently.

Do you have any opinion on Ashington?
We saw a lovely house there but our family local to the area weren’t too complimentary about it.

Thanks @SirSamuelVimes definitely happy to look further north!
My husband would happily be a lot further north towards the Scottish highlands in the middle of nowhere. I think that’s a bit remote for me 😆

We visited Amble and it was lovely. My family from Wallsend go there often.
Would there be things to do with toddlers without having to drive too far around the Amble/ Alnmouth/ Alnwick areas?

Would there be things to do with toddlers without having to drive too far around the Amble/ Alnmouth/ Alnwick areas?

Loads! (I have family up there). There's Felton Zoo not far, Amble harbour is good for a wander to look at the boats, Warkworth castle is English heritage and does various events, and the path along the river is a great walk for toddlers, plus there's shallow bits for splashing about in. There's s soft play in Amble now I think. Alnwick Castle is better for older ones but Alnwick Castle Garden is great for younger ones, really interactive.

In your place I'd look for somewhere near Alnmouth station.

Do you have any opinion on Ashington?

Avoid!

To be brutal, I'd avoid Ashington and Blyth. They don't have good local reputations at all, though Blyth has a nice beach area.

Alnwick is lovely and I have lived there myself. It's a bit further out from Newcastle though, as is Amble, which has a great pier/harbour area.

There isn't a lot for sale in the Morpeth area at the moment with what you want, but there is this:

Abbey Gate, Morpeth
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115884323

And this in Cramlington (which had good shops, a cinema, good transport links to both town and country, good schools. It just doesn't have a town centre 'hub' if that makes any sense.) This option is a little on the outskirts:

Archerfield Drive, Cramlington
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/81578706

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116275697?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

?

There are loads of 'sold subject to contract' options on rightmove in Morpeth, which may give a feel of what the property is like. The property market is strange at the moment so if you wait a while there may be more options!

Worth thinking ahead about schools too. Morpeth schools have always been very good. Places like Ashington, Cramlington, Blyth very poor in the past, I think still are. Alnwick ok.

Amble has improved massively in the last five years.

I agree. I would also look at Warkworth and Hauxley. I would avoid Widdrington, Stobswood, Ashington and Blyth. Morpeth itself is lovely, as is Alnwick.

Cramlington Learning Village is Ofsted 'good', though not sure about the primaries.

The schools in Cramlington are good. It's a great place to live but it definitely isn't as pretty as Morpeth.

Have you considered Hexham? Doesn't look like there's much available at the moment, but it's usually a solid choice.