Towns and villages near Bedford

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Hi, Just wondering if anyone can give me some opinions about some of the places around Bedford please as we are thinking of moving in that direction. More familiar with the A1 side of the county at the moment.

Mostly interested on opinions of villages north of Bedford such as Clapham, Bromham and Sharnbrook etc and places south of Bedford such as Elstow, Wixams, Cotton End, Wilstead etc.

Thanks!

Born in souldrop, grew up in sharnbrook, both lovely community feels. Sharnbrook obviously slightly bigger, so has a few more amenities. What about felmersham? Other ideas, turvey, blunham, bromham all slightly bigger. But felmersham and bromham easy access to Milton Keynes which is much better than Bedford for shopping etc. Not sure if that's any help...

I live in one of those north villages. Plenty of amenities. Does have a bit of a drug/anti social behaviour problem though, being bear the A6 it has county lines issues.

Plus there are massive housing developments in the pipeline so won't be villagey much longer. Definitely check the village plans of wherever you are considering.

Souldrop is tiny, with just a pub. Don't think it's even got a shop? And just the one road in.

Sharnbrook is so big it feels like a small town really. Mind you, Clapham is bigger. Check the flood map when looking at Clapham. Actually I think Sharnbrook high street flooded a couple of winters ago too. Harrold and Felmersham tend to flood as well.

@han01uk

Thank you, glad to hear that they have a nice community feel. We have young children so that would be important to me.. along side schools of course! I hear Sharnbrook has good schools. All the places you've mentioned are in our search area too so guess it is a case of seeing if the right kind of property comes up for sale. So far we're seeing one in Sharnbook and one in Elstow and one in Wixams But I'm already aware they seem to be quite different places hence my post to try and get some opinions. Thank you for your thoughts!

@VanGoghsDog

Thank you for your response. Interesting about the county lines.. very sad, and I'm not naive enough to think it won't still be an issue in 10 years time when my children hit their teens. Would you day the anti social behaviour is mostly linked to this and teenagers etc? Also thank you for the flood info. I know the Ouse is prone to flooding in lots of areas so will be sure to check each property. And yes lots of new builds going up everywhere I think! Seeing one in Wixams but not convinced it will be for us! The other properties are much older!

Depends how ‘village’ you want to go. Clapham might as well be Bedford because it virtually joins it. Ditto Elstow. Wixams is a massive new estate, hideously close together houses. Sharnbrook is lovely, the Secondary school not quite as good as it used to be. It’s more like a small town though. If it’s really a village you’re after then Yelden, Swineshead, Carlton, Turvey, Harrold, Stevington etc…

South of Bedford is becoming increasingly overcrowded - huge estates gone up pretty much all over.

@Bunnyfuller thanks, I was under the impression Sharnbrook was just a large village so interesting to have two comments now saying it's much bigger. I guess we aren't looking for anything too isolated and small or we might end up with teenagers who are cross they can't get around easily enough. I did love Harrold but there's nothing in my price range there or in many of the other villages to be honest! I think you're right about Wixams and the property we are going to see is likely to be too hemmed in for our liking. Interesting about the secondary school and you saying not as good as it used to be.. do you know why or have any other school recommendations? Thanks again!

I lived in Wixams until a few years ago. It has grown a lot since then though.

Advantages would be the new secondary school and the proximity to A6/A421. Shame the station hasn't been built (yet?).

It was very quiet but parking was becoming difficult, it wasn't built with multiple car ownership in mind for some reason. I used to run a lot in the area and it had good access to countryside.

People I know who live there now seem to like it but a new development wasn't for us. We moved to a village in another part of Bedfordshire and much prefer it.

Live in Bromham and love it. It's a village but on the larger side. So good facilities. 2 cafes, library, small supermarket, PO, 2 churches. Lovely countryside you can walk to. Good Primary school. A preschool and a nursery. Easy access to MK and good access to Bedford and on the right sie of the town for the train station. New housing estate going up at moment of 400 houses so should be houses available. Current housing stock goes vv fast.

My kids have grown up in Bromham and are now old teens and all of them love it. Not a huge amount of antisocial behaviour just the usual littering, loitering and noisy mopeds! I am sure there are drug use my teens have never come across it in the village. They both now wall to the pub!

Thanks @AnnPerkins glad you didn't mind Wixams even though it wasn't for you in the end. Whereabouts did you head towards, understand you don't want to say specifically! I have read that the station is very very likely. And yes good access to the A421 and out to the M1 and A1 is a factor for us hence we are looking at South of Bedford as the villages to the north may not be as easy a commute. Do you have any opinion of Elstow?

Thanks @Lottsbiffandsmudge great to hear. We also liked the look of Bromham when we visited. Nothing quite right for us on the market yet but its definitely on my radar!

There was a change of head teacher not too long before Covid, and seems like the nurturing side has gone out of the window. Bro ham is nice too, although again so close to Bedford it doesn’t feel really separate and another gazillion houses going up there too. You’re right about the small villages and teenagers. We were in Yelden, adults absolutely adored it but our teenagers are happier now we’re on the edge of a town.

Bromham being 'close to Bedford' is an upside imo! Can get to M1 in 20 mins and A1 in 25mins. When you have school runs etc that closeness is a positive! And yes for teens so much better... Bromham also has thriving Scout and Guide sections, with a massive Scout site in the woods, martial arts clubs, football club, dance school etc all in the village.

@Bunnyfuller @Lottsbiffandsmudge thank you both, think you've confirmed what I felt when ruling out houses in the more rural villages even though they are beautiful. And hoping something might come up Bromham now.. so far they've been in budget and too small or the right size and over budget.. isn't that always the case! Do either of you have any thoughts on Elstow? I know it's south of where you both are but think on paper it's the best house of the ones we're seeing so far.

Have you checked out Cranfield?

Not Clapham. I live there and it's nice but there's a railway line planned to go through it with a viaduct over the bypass. Traffic can be bad already during term time because of Bedford Modern School. The railways will cause years of traffic disruption but made worse by the extra 500 houses being planned.

I wouldn't recommend cranfield either. The prices are inflated by landlords renting to local students. All post graduate so it's quiet but the lack of university accommodation means landlords can make a fortune and houses are in demand.

Bromham is seen as very posh so more expensive than nearby areas. Not necessarily a bad thing if you have the budget.

Hi @Dougieowner yes we have driven through it, it looks another nice village and great motorway links too. Nothing that looks right for us on the market there at the moment but it is in my rightmove search area! Do you recommend it?

Thanks @chiffchaffchiff that was all interesting to note down. I would say that currently our budget does not seem to stretch to Bromham for the size of property (or the possibility to extend) and garden that we are after unfortunately, as it sounds very nice indeed!

Oh Oakley (very near Clapham) is nice. Also busy with a school but I drive through it for work because it's better than going through the roundabout at Clapham/Bedford. You have more options to dodge bypass traffic when the rail line starts.

Harold, Odell and Carlton are all beautiful but similar prices to Bromham and Biddenham. I've seen a few houses for sale from older people that would easily make you your money back if renovating but turnkey properties don't come up often and come at a premium.

Lived the for 30-years, only intended staying for a couple of years but never quite got around to moving until last year when we moved back to the leafy Cotswolds.

As you say, good links but far enough away from Bedford & MK to remain rural (despite the housebuilding going on).
If you like the countryside, walking etc then check out the Thrift and the lovely walks that are right on your doorstep (good excuse to get a dog).
Yes the is an airfield there and yes Marshall are talking of relocating from Cambridge but it is not a commercial airport and 99% of the time you would not know it was there (plus it stops further development on that side of the village).

Definitely worth further investigation.

@chiffchaffchiff We liked Oakley too. Tbh we liked most places we drove through and we did a very scenic route but it was a peaceful saturday morning so no traffic at all. Even when we came back towards Bedford later in the day it was only slightly busy near the Morrisons/Sainsburys.

I know that isnt an accurate reflection of the traffic though as we are relocating to be back near family so been into Bedford plenty of times. I'm happy with my understanding of the A1 side of the county and its various towns and villages but in reality our work situation would be easier being the M1 side so its just learning a bit more about the different places.. love Mumsnet for this sort of thing!

We aren't looking for a turn key property really, and my husband would love a full building project... I am a bit more reserved about how much work we undertake as we have young children so to do a full project feels daunting and I'm scared about ability to get builders etc in to do the work but certainly not adverse to some work that needs to be done. We also are fortunate to not need to move in immediately and live through a build. I think doing work is probably the only way we get the size of property and garden that my husband is after, for the price we can afford. He is very fussy 😂

I've sent you a message and a link to a house

Thanks @VanGoghsDog I've replied!

We headed back down the A6 to Central Beds, near the Herts border. We still have easy access to the M1 at Flitwick and the A1 at Baldock or Stevenage. Trains are really easy too at Flitwick or Hitchin.

The schools in the area are just starting the transition from 3 tier to 2 tier so a lot of changes due over the next few years.

@AnnPerkins Ah yes some lovely places that way too. Thanks for the info. My parents are in Central Beds and they have talked a bit about the changes happening in their local schools. Ours are pre primary at the moment though not for long as eldest will start next year. Hopefully they will have figured things out before secondary school level for them if we were to buy somewhere that is yet to transition.