Lancaster relocation

[Toffeelass24]

Hi
We are looking to relocate to Lancaster or the areas around it but not sure of nice areas to live. Looked at south of the river or Bolton Le Sands. Would need to get one child to college so don't need schools but on a good bus link. Can anyone recommend any areas? Budget upto £320k -£350 at a push.

Hi, I came across your post because we are also relocating this year. I’ve lived in parts of Lancaster, Morecambe and Garstang for the past 25 years. Let me know if I can help in anyway.
Where are you relocating from? :-)

Hi Bakerlife87
We are coming over from Yorkshire (south). Started house viewing last couple of weeks, and hubby is up this week looking at more. Viewing Halton,Nether Kellet and Bowerham.
Visited Garstang but not sure of bus connection to Lancaster, is it easy for commute?

@Toffeelass24

Hi Bakerlife87 We are coming over from Yorkshire (south). Started house viewing last couple of weeks, and hubby is up this week looking at more. Viewing Halton,Nether Kellet and Bowerham. Visited Garstang but not sure of bus connection to Lancaster, is it easy for commute?

All nice areas. I'm in Nether Kellet twice a week for work.

Garstang is a gorgeous market town. I don't use public transport, if I'm honest, but plenty of people do. There's a lot of kids in Garstang who attend the Grammar School which is in Lancaster. For colleges, you've got the option of ones either in Lancaster or further down the A6 in Preston as Garstang is sat pretty much between the two.

Will be putting our house up for sale in Garstang within the next few weeks, if it's of any interest or help to you?

With regards to house hunting, specifically, areas such as Bolton Le Sands and Nether Kellet, you will find your money doesn’t stretch as far. They are lovely areas, and desirable ones, (Nether Kellet semi rural etc) so things are more expensive.
Garstang is also quite an affluent area, so again, it’s pricey, however, it’s a great place to be. (Canal side walks, local shops etc)
Areas such as Bowerham and Galgate, or Hala, you might find you can get more for your money.
It just depends what sort of lifestyle you’re after. Bowerham/ Galgate is very popular for student housing with it being close to the university. They’re not bad areas though, not by any means.

The bus between Garstang and Lancaster takes quite some time. Which college are you considering - a school 6th form or an actual college?

I believe the villages don't have an evening bus service anymore. South Lancaster - Bowerham, Newlands Corner, Scotforth are very well served by buses until late at night because of the university.

Are you aware of the massive building for Bailrigg Village around Galgate as well as the bypass?

Where do you work as the traffic does clog up around the city centre at rush hour as it doesn't take much for it to grind to a halt.

I really appreciate your knowledge and kindness. Is there any areas in Garstang I should not look at or are all roads ok? We have upto 350 k max and ate open to kind of houses so hoping I'll find something! .

I don't know Garstang that well. Most of the new builds are on flood plains though!

I would check commute times if you need to travel into/through Lancaster centre the A6 gets backed up.

Do you know which college you're thinking of? Lancaster of Kendal or further afield?

We’ve lived in Garstang since 2018 but I did work here prior to that since 2013, and I knew I always wanted to live in Garstang. We’re only moving because my partner has been promoted at work, but his new position is 300 miles away!
There’s not really an area of it that I would say “you shouldn’t move to”. There are properties that you might not consider but this could be because parking is a problem or just anything that doesn’t fit your requirements. It really is a great place to live.

We did a lot of research before we bought our house as Garstang comes under ‘Wyre Borough Council’ rather than Preston or Lancaster and the area was hit hard in 2015 when storm desmond struck. A lot of ‘old school’ personalities generally don’t like change or anything being built, and they often tell you that areas flood or new builds are taking green spaces. My partner would never have bought a house in an area that he thought was likely to flood. (He’s nicknamed Mr Safe haha so it just would never have been an option!)
I’m not denying that new builds take up green space, they do, but people in new builds also bring business to the town and keep little market towns thriving. That’s just what I feel though.

We have a 4 bedroom detached and are looking to list around the £340k mark. There have been 2 properties on our street that have sold within 6 months recently. An estate agent told us last week that there is a shortage of family homes on the market so that might be 1 of the reasons why things get snapped up quickly at the moment

Which college are you considering? Lancaster or Kendal? Many travel to Kendal as it has an excellent reputation so you'd want to be on the north side of Lancaster.

Where will work be?

Bus links to villages like Nether Kellet are poor. Halton may be better as several routes converge there. Definitely check bus timetables out.

Bolton le Sands or Slyne or Hest Bank where you're close to A6 will be good for buses. Also Carnforth/Crag Bank near A6 would be possible although the A6 in Carnforth can get very congested.

I don't know much about South Side of Lancaster.

The A6 does get backed up at Galgate, from the M6 (junction 33) towards Lancaster. A couple of years ago saw the completion of The Bay Gateway, which is a link road from Junction 34 right through to Heysham. This has taken a considerable amount of traffic away from Lancaster City Centre but there’s no denying it’s still busy at peak times.
The only time the A6 is ever slow or crawling through Garstang is if the motorway is closed. Garstang doesn’t suffer from congestion, as such.
My partner commutes every day from Garstang to Morecambe/Heysham and his commute time is never longer than 35 minutes

I meant the A6 and indeed Ashton Road at Pointer roundabout still get backed up certainly in the mornings.

The Galgate section is a law unto itself and if the rest of the uni staff have to return full time to the uni the hell will return until the proposed bypass is built!

Generally yes the traffic is heavenly around Lancaster now compared to prior to the Bay Gateway being built.