Looking for a nice village outside Norwich

[MegBusset]

Title says it all really, we are considering relocating near to Norwich (DH's home town), want to be in a smallish village with its own primary school (non-faith) and a nice pub. We are considering the likes of Taverham, Little Melton and Stoke Holy Cross, just wondered if anyone had other recommendations (or places to avoid).

My in laws live in Horsham St Faith which is lovely. But the (very good) primary school is C of E.

I also like Horsford and Spixworth.

Where do you / DH need to get to for work? Will you have a car?

I lived in Stoke Holy Cross for 5 years and it's a nice village, the school is good, but the pub is actually a restaurant so not great for a Friday night drink as you can;t just sit down without eating. It also has a good bus service and by car takes no time to get into Norwich as you cut throught the main routes in by going via Lakenham.

The villages I love are probably a little more rural feeling, and you would definitely need a car..Shotesham, Bergh Apton, Alpington, are all lovely.

If you want better facilities, Mulbarton, Hethersett are bigger, with corner shops, choice of pubs, and again have better public transport etc.

Little Melton is nice too.

Let me know if you ahev any more questions, I lived in and around Norwich for for 35 years and wish I could go back

DH works from home, I am SAHM (for now) and we have a car, so not too much of a problem if it's a rural village, but would want to be walking distance from school. We wouldn't want to be more than about 10/15 miles from Norwich really.

Friday nights down the pub are a distant memory but would want a pub for Sunday lunch/beer garden etc, mind you I imagine DH would want to go for a pint now and then so a proper pub would be best!

Where do you live now, FK? And why did you leave Norwich?

We had never really considered moving there as DH didn't much like it when younger and ran away to London as soon as he could (I'm from London). He grew up in some rough areas and let's just say a lot of his family are living on benefits, pregnant at 15 etc so that's the impression I had of the city, but we are coming to realise that there may be nice bits, and we could certainly get a much bigger house there.

I live in Hethersett. You can get into Norwich in about 15/20 mins. The park & ride is very handy. We have lived in Hethersett for 7 years and have just bought a new build as we didn't want to move anywhere else.

My dd is at the local middle school and ds is at the local nursery - both within walking distance.

Two pubs - Queens Head & Kings Head both with beer gardens. The Kings Head is probably more of a traditional pub.

Tesco Express for day to day shopping.

You can cycle round to Little Melton & Great Melton within minutes.

Little Melton is not so great if you don't have transport.

Meg I live in Kent, we moved 2.5 years ago, had to move for DH's job, we didn;t want to!

Norwich and the surrounding areas is a lovely place to live IMO. Norwich is a really good centre, of course there are the not-so-nice areas, but the majority of villages and suburbs are pleasant and most of the schools are reasonable afaik.

If you don;t need to have daily access to Norwich, I would consider looking over the north / west side of Norfolk, because property would generally be a little bit cheaper than south Norfolk. YOu also have easier access up to the coast, if you are hoping to spend time exploring, days out etc. I have friends who live in Reepham, Aylsham etc areas which are a bit further out but there are some pretty villages around there and also up towards Holt.

HTH, let me know if you want the low down on anywhere else specific!

How about Wymondham? Any good/bad points about it?

wyndham is not a little village, it does have some nice houses, but i cant say its a place i visit much, they have an indoor play area and a waitrose there as well as the police headquarters for norfolk

some parts of it look ok, but its not as nice as the other villages that have been mentioned on this thread

i am in norwich btw, i dont know many villages, but my dp worked as a courier for a couple of years and he knows lots of nice places, i will ask him if you like

I think the advantage of Wymondham (or similar) would be that there's a bit more going on, not so much of a culture shock, a supermarket in walking distance plus there is plenty of housing stock in our price range. Would not quite be the rural idyll, but then with young DCs it might be easier to make friends, more places to go etc...

Sneaky bump in case any Wymondham-ers are around today...

Well, funnily enough....

I used to live in Wymondham for a bit, and my sister has lived there for several years.

I love the bit round by the Abbey and the house down by the river on the left hand side is my house should it ever come up for sale

There are some bits to definitely avoid - the older more established bits are probably better. Secondary schools are highly thought of.

Ooh, which bits are best avoided and why?

Hethersett is better than Wymondham (honest!).

There is loads of new build going on in Wymondham at the moment. Schools are bursting at the seams.

Actually, Fimbo is right, there are yet more houses going up in Wymondham.

Mt brother lives not far from Aylsham - Aylsham High School seems much sought after - and have a look at places on the rail link between Norwich and Cromer, because that is pretty handy!

Loddon is lovely, south of norwich off the A146, quite smallish village, excellent schools.. posh

We did look at Hethersett but I couldn't seem to find a primary school there that wasn't CofE, is there one?

ie there is a First school but not a Middle one (7-11).

Well my dd is at Hethersett Junior School (changed status in September from middle to Junior). We didn't know if was C of E until she had been there for a while! It certainly isn't all church going.

The first school where my ds is in the nursery has just had a recent Ofsted inspection where they were graded as an Outstanding School. It is ranked fifth in the country.

As an "outsider" I think you would be mad not to at least have Hethersett on a short list.

I think we have decided that south of Norwich would be better than north, as DH will occasionally need to commute to London, and it will put us nearer to my dad who lives in Suffolk.

Re: Hethersett, I'm afraid the lack of community school is a deal-breaker for us (something DH and I feel very strongly about). But perhaps Little Melton would be a good option, within easy reach of Hethersett and has its own primary school.

I am from Scotland and don't really get the different school options in England. What exactly is a "community school"?

Little Melton & Mulbarton all end up at Hethersett High eventually.

I used to live near Surlingham. It's on the Norfolk broads, has a nice little primary school, a couple of pubs - one on the broads - very pretty and surrounded by lovely countryside and near to Norwich. I actually lived in Bramerton, and it was nice but very small and no school or shop.

Fimbo, 'community' school just means a school that isn't affiliated to a church or particular religion. Hethersett High School is a community school. But the Junior one is CofE. A lot of people wouldn't be bothered by that, but DH and I just couldn't in all conscience send our child to a school where a particular religion will be promoted to them. At a 'community' school you will get RE lessons and a collective 'act of worship' but you have the right to withdraw your child from that part of the curriculum.

• I love Norfolk!

Also wrt admission, I believe a CofE or RC school will have the right to give preference to kids whose parents go to the affiliated church.