Towns and villages near Bedford

[ClockSpanner]

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!

Giving this thread a bit of a bump as we are still looking. Wondering if anyone has any information on Wootton and any of the surrounding places? Thanks!

Wotton has a bit of a reputation and I was never keen on the surrounding area due to the proximity of the landfill, A421 etc.

@Dougieowner thank you for replying. A reputation for what? It seemed nice when we drove around and the schools seem well regarded?

Gosh this is so hard, I'm scared of making a mistake and buying somewhere we will regret but we really need to move.

@ClockSpanner where did you end up?

We are also looking at the area and cant decide between a dormer village like Pavenham or something more services like Brohmam

We got two small kids but thinking ahead for when they are a bit older and want to do activities

Hey @Ozm

We ended up in Wootton. And it's been great so far. Been here 9 months now. It has everything we need in close walkable proximity like schools, both lower and upper. And mine will not need to take the bus to middle school as it should change by the time they get to year 3. Sainsburys local and tesco express, pharmacy, doctors, pubs etc. And a short drive to Bedford for anything else and MK easily reachable down the A421. We are the other side of Wootton to the PP who mentioned the bypass noise. No issue whatsoever with any proximity to it or landfull sites over toward Stewartby and Kempston Hardwick etc they would be much too far away to be an issue here. Everyone we have met has been welcoming and friendly.

We looked at Bromham and I really liked it but we couldn't get the right house there at the time. The school is well regarded as I'm sure you've seen. I don't know as much about Pavenham but also think it's supposed to be lovely. So I'm sure it comes down to what you're saying about proximity to amenities. And personally for me I think I'd go for Bromham based on that. We looked at a house just over the border of North Beds in Cambs and decided it was just too rural for multiple growing children.

Not sure that's been helpful for you but we definitely don't regret anything about our move so hope you'll feel the same soon. Good luck!

@ClockSpanner thanks it has

Where we live now is very convenient with supermarket and nursery 4-5 minute drive or 10 min walk

Pavenham is the house we love more but amenities would be 10-12 minutes and always car

Decisions decisions!

We live in Bromham and it's a great village. Big enough to have good facilities. Lots going on, esp for kids.
Great access to M1 for both North and South and to town and MK
Good primary school
Rural walks on the doorstep
I have brought 3 DC up here and they all want to live here when they finish Uni.
For us Pavenham would have been too small.

What about Riseley, bigger village but smaller than Sharnbrook. Shop, café, pub and primary school. Secondary is Sharnbrook. Very active community. Lots of footpaths and bridleways for long walks.