Leighton Buzzard, Beds - recommendations / areas to avoid

[goldenpeach]

Hello, myself, my partner and my 9 month-old daugher are thinking of relocating there this year from London. We have seen the town twice and were given a little bit of advice through the nct's/freecycle grapevine, but I would like more tips from mums, please... Seems like Cedars is the school to aim for, where do you suggest to look for a good family house, pref detached? Thanks

The Linslade area is very nice, I lived there for years and was v happy. Close to the mainline station for Euston too. Close to many amenities. Where we lived was a 5 minute walk to the town. Which has a market twice a week, with a farmers market once a month.

The surrounding villages are nice too, but you will pay extra.

Cedars is an upper school, so it will be some time before you dd will be going there. Linslade schools had a good rep, when I was there. Dd would have to gone Southcote had we not moved.

We left as we emigrated, I don't think we would have left otherwise.

www.leighton-buzzard.co.uk/

Anyone else from LB? Thanks Sandcastles.

Yup. I live in a village outside Leighton Buzzard - about 4 miles. I like it. There is a big hoo-hah going on at the moment with huge housing developments being chucked at the area but I suppose that's the case pretty much everywhere in the south east. DCs are at the church of england lower school in the town at the moment, very happy with it.
Linslade is nearest the station if that's at all important.

My parents are in Leighton Buzzard - I'll try and remember to ask them about things locally when I speak to them on the phone this week. I think I'm right in saying that you'll pay more for the houses at the linslade end of Leighton Buzzard due to the station - the whole comuter desirability thing. Some lovely places nearby, Woburn being one although pretty pricey IIRC

I was born in Linslade and then we moved to Heath Road (different side of town) when I was one. 'Cedars' had the better reputation of the two 'Upper' Schools as it had once been a grammar school whereas Vandyke Upper School (where I went) used to be the Secondary Modern. When I went there they were both comprehensives but Cedars still had the better reputation, especially for sports. I think I went to Vandyke because the primary and middle schools I went to fed into it.

Heath Road, where I lived had some big and nice houses and was seen as reasonably posh. There are nice roads off Heath Road and joining Heath Road to Plantation Road (which runs parallel). There are also some nice wooded cul-de-sacs off Plantation Road. Linslade is a nice part of town and nearer the station. As someone else said, there are now lots of new housing estate plots but I imagine a lot of them are small.

It is a long time since I have lived there and I wasn't in a position to buy a house at the time.