SADDLEWORTH help please - choosing a village

[SaddleworthHelp]

Hello, looking for some local experts and opinions!

We would like to move to Saddleworth but not sure where. Uppermill is obviously busiest area but think we would be competing with lots of others for very little available property. Also £££.

We are looking at some of the other villages and would really welcome any help choosing.

You seem to get lots more for your money in Springhead / Lees / Grotton. We’ve spent some time there and seems nice enough but not much going on. Any insight into these areas at all please?

Or should we be aiming for Diggle / Dobcross etc?

Greenfield also attractive but seems to be mostly new builds (nothing wrong with new builds but we are after something a bit different).

Thanks in advance

It’s always been a competitive market over there (just over the hill from me). Dobcross is the prettiest by far, in my opinion, but also the most expensive. Small houses don’t always come with gardens or parking either. Greenfield is the most modern, but is the only village with a station. Wouldn’t really count Lees as Saddleworth. Grotton and Springhead are nice. You do have a lot more choice of styles of houses in Uppermill and Greenfield I think. Have you tried looking up at Lydgate?

Totally not what you’ve asked, but 15 drive into Yorkshire (the bright side !) Marsden might have what you’re after. It’s a really popular big village on the train to Manchester Piccadilly.

@ShavingTheBadger thank you very much! Very useful insight. Do you know much about Grotton and Springhead? I wasn’t sure if they were a bit close to Oldham town centre (we used to live in the middle of Oldham a long time ago and I wouldn’t want to go back).

Probably helpful if I say what we’re after:
Good schools for our primary aged children
Nice countryside
Nice community feel with some stuff on for kids
Don’t need loads of shops but would like a nice coffee shop/pub within walking distance.

Thanks again all!

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads we did look at Marsden and it’s lovely! Thanks for the tip. However think we are pretty set on Saddleworth now

I’d think now about those primary school aged children not being primary aged forever and will want to go into Manchester! In which case greenfield has the best transport links by a mile.

Dobcross is beautiful but you’ll struggle to get a house with parking and it’s so expensive. I would look at Diggle or Delph.

Also Mossley has a similar vibe but is a lot cheaper and has good transport links. Mossley Hollins is an outstanding secondary school too.

I don’t live in Saddleworth (I’m north Chadderton) but drive and cycle through Saddleworth regularly and we do a lot of walking there. I don’t think Grotton and Springhead have that town centre feel, they are really nice. Denshaw also has that village feel but is pretty small compared to the others. Another bonus with Greenfield is that you get to walk to Dovestones rather than fight your way through the car driving dog walkers in the car park. However, Dovestones can get really busy on sunny days and bank holidays - I’d happily live in Greenfield but not too close to Dovestones as you get inconsiderate parking in the streets close by.

To be honest, they are all lovely. You’re in the middle of countryside, lots of little shops, cafes and pubs. The best bit is the brass band competitions at Whit Friday, and the rushcart thing in August. I think Grotton and Springhead both have decent bus services to Oldham, Manchester and the other villages, so they are a little bit more connected.

Thanks all for your help. We are also looking at Austerlands if anyone has any insight there.

Austerlands isnt really Saddleworth. I agree value for money Mossley would be a good shout but my favourite is Uppermill.

Austerlands, Springhead, Lees, Mossley - all reasonable places but not snob-Saddleworth. You want Dobcross, Delph, Diggle, Uppermill. Grotton used to be highly thought of but that seems to have faded. Maybe they're just keeping it to themselves.

What’s your budget op?

Budget is about 500k.

Thanks all. Appreciate Springhead, Austerlands etc are on the outskirts but wondered if that would make life a bit easier for kids when they grow up and Saddleworth proper still on our doorstep. Best of both worlds? Or am I kidding myself? Need to find more out about amenities etc.

For amenities, Uppermill is best.

This is a bargain

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119208800#/?channel=RES_BUY

I was also coming on here to recommend Marsden and Slaithwaite!

PeggyGa - That's an auction guide price so likely to go for considerably more, i reckon at least 20% more.

Austerlands has a really nice little community feel and is definitely Saddleworth. Id choose it over Springhead personally, which feels more “Oldham”. Lees has a nice centre, but again feels more Oldham. Groton and Lydgate are nice, lots of big houses, but not much centre or community feel. Greenfield is ok, pretty outskirts. Uppermill is the biggest village with most shops and bars/restaurants, but as the secondary school is moving from Uppermill to Diggle this week it will be interesting to see how the village changes! It’s far too overpopulated for me, no longer a village. Diggle is likely to change- the new school opens next week. It’s likely to bring a lot more traffic that the village won’t be able to cope with. And they’re about to build 70 new builds on the lovely green fields surrounding the school, so it will get even uglier! Dobcross is a lovely village, pretty and central but not much in the way of shops etc. Delph is another pretty village with a good community feel. It does have it’s fair share of new builds, but they hide behind hills, so aren’t as glaringly obvious. Denshaw is just too far out and the roads are very fast as a motorway rat run.

All the village centres are generally over crowded and parking is hard work.

I’d spend some time there and see where you like. Moseley is nice too, as are Marsden, Slaithwaite and Meltham just over the moir.

Thanks @Honeyroar that’s such a useful post. Is there a sort of centre to Austerlands that I’ve missed somewhere? Have been having a drive around!

No there isn’t really a centre to Austerlands, nor any shops, but they do have a little community field/playing area. I meant it’s nicer than Springhead or Lees imo. Of the more central villages, Greenfield, Uppermill and Delph have shops and pubs/restaurants. Diggle and Dobcross have a post office and a pub or two (with food). Dobcross has a good school and community feel. Diggle does a fair bit for community events too. From re reading your post, I’d have a look at Delph. It has a chemist, post office, co-op, three or four pubs (that do food, one is a good hotel too), two Italians, one indian, a cute cafe and a bistro bar. It has a library that does children’s events, and a theatre/arts centre that puts events on all year. It also has a village social committee that puts on scarecrow trails, Xmas light switch one, a little music festival each year to raise funds. Other villages often copy, but Delph seems a little more clued up. It’s an easy walk to the Castleshaw valley, which is almost as pretty as Dovestones, but less known. It has a little Roman fort up there too. Greenfield has a library too and a good few shops (including Tesco) and a Drs. Uppermill is far too busy for me, but it depends what suits you. I live much more rurally.
Marsden would tick a lot of your boxes too, lots of shops, nice restaurants, a theatre and trains to Manchester/Leeds. They do a lot of community events too.

Whenever I go to Delph there's this gorgeous outdoor cafe that serves delicious food and drink from a horse trailer.
Yummy cakes and fantastic hot chocolates. They do fun things for the kids too.
Lovely atmosphere. Nice way to break up/end a walk

Marsden is a delight but the schools aren’t great. I wanted to move there until I saw the primary schools aren’t brilliant & the secondary has a questionable catchment 🙈

One of my friends lives in Denshaw. It has a really lovely community, they do some lovely village things each. Halloween & Christmas trials, scarecrow festivals etc.. I love Uppermill to visit for coffee or lunch. It’s a really vibrant spot. I’m over the hills in Yorkshire, so many lovely places within 30 minutes!

Thanks very much everyone. That’s very helpful. Thanks especially @Honeyroar for all your help.

I know Grotton fairly well and spent a lot of time there- it looks nice enough but I'd echo other posters here, there's not a lot to it.

Your children will soon grow and will need to be able to get around themselves. There is not a lot of choice school wise wherever you go round there, and it's just tough if you don't get into your preferred. Also high in the racism, there is just zilch in the way of diversity.

If you have to move around Saddleworth and not bothered about the amount of taxiing you might have to do, I'd choose Uppermill or Delph too, but Slaithwaite is lovely. I really like Mossley too, only 20mins ish to Manchester.

Austerlands is in Saddleworth i used to live there i paid Saddleworth parish council on my council tax and it was Yorkshire before 1974, also when I voted the constuabcy is Saddleworth North, I live in Denshaw lol.