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Original poster

Someone find me a house?!

58 replies

moonbows · 12/01/2023 21:31

I spend far too long messing about on Rightmove, and never seem to find anything that's right.

We are looking for a cottage - a holiday home, I guess, though I think we'd move there once the children are through school. Ideally it'd be a 4 bed stone cottage, in wild mountains, near a station, and no more than 2 hours from London. This is evidently impossible, and so I go round and round in circles, trying to find somewhere that appeals.

Things that matter:
Not much of a garden (have a garden already, don't need another!) but a bit of outside space
No traffic noise
Possible to get to without a car - probably means a station needs to be within 10-15 miles
Ideally would have a view and be remote (not in a village, or if in a hamlet, ideally not attached)
Lovely outdoor walks, bike rides and swimming (river, sea) nearby

Where should I look, what can anyone see?

OP posts:
Probablymagrat · 12/01/2023 21:36

Whats the budget?

parietal · 12/01/2023 22:13

you want to be remote but also within walking distance to a station? that is pretty optimistic, because most stations have shops / mini town centre in walking distance. not remote hillsides.

also, i'm not sure there are many wild mountains within 2 hours of London.

would you like it to have a unicorn in the garden too?

Not meaning to be cruel, but you may need to think carefully about what is realistic.

Also, are there areas you have visited and liked? If not, try getting AirBnBs for a weekend in different possible locations to see what suits you.

And any particular side of London? 2 hours from North London is not the same as 2 hours from south London.

sunflowerandivy · 12/01/2023 22:20

Wild and remote within 2 hours of London, can get there by public transport but doesn't want it to be attached to a village. You are seriously living in a fantasy land.

TheEverdelightfulsamantha · 12/01/2023 22:55

Inverness is within two hours of London if you fly? Might find more what you need?

LynetteScavo · 12/01/2023 23:22

https://search.savills.com/com/en/property-detail/gbcfrscrs210167
The budget is pretty crucial! What is it?

If you move there permanently will you use a car? Having no car and a house in the middle of wild mountains could prove a bit tricky. Taking an Uber isn't quite as easy in the middle of nowhere as it is on London.

ShirleyHolmes · 13/01/2023 00:00

West Yorkshire - Calderdale Valley?
forest of Dean, no mountains?
Malvern?
Lots in Wales - nice parts of the Valleys, Brecon Beacons, Black Mountain range in Carmarthenshire but all longer than 2 hours and poor public transport.
Mendip hills in Somerset?
South Downs ?

Budget?

Knobknob · 13/01/2023 00:14

A house in a hamlet in wild mountains with a train station ten minutes away by the sea? This is the most incredible brief I have ever read

What about a semi in the Chilterns with a train into Marylebone. You'll have to drive to the station though

OneHundredOtters · 13/01/2023 00:16

Wild mountains seems optimistic in under two hours but you can get to Sheffield in two and then it's 35 minutes on the branch line in the Peak District which has a number of little villages that probably fulfil the brief.

Not loads for sale at the moment though. This is a both further round.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128507570

You'll need a car though somewhere like that. I think you'll have to accept cabbing it from the station and maybe keeping a little runabout there.

Original poster
moonbows · 13/01/2023 08:35

i know, this is a total unicorn brief, and I think it’s entirely possible that the place that takes our heart WILL be a semi in the Vhilterns. But I’ve seen people doing some completely amazing channelling here, coming up w ideas the OP would never have thought of.
Budget, sorry, forgot that: up to £600k.
Nb downs and cliff walks (eg like Dorset chalk) are fine too. And happy to cab from
station but would like there to be a way to go and get eg milk by bike without braving an A road.

OP posts:
Lastqueenofscotland2 · 13/01/2023 09:12

I wouldn’t have a lock up and leave in the Calder valley like someone suggested above. Huge amounts of it flood, the bits that don’t flood are still often very very wet and windy and a lot of houses do suffer the effects.

Somewhere near Macclesfield could fit the bill, immediate access to some amazing bits of the Peak District but a very fast train to London and a proper town for everything you need.

TheNoonBell · 13/01/2023 09:14

If you are going to be rural you will need a car or motorbike. When you get out to the villages there will be one taxi driver and they might have another booking when you want to travel.

VictoriaBun · 13/01/2023 09:20

I think you need to downsize your expectations at least from mountains to rolling hills !

BIWI · 13/01/2023 09:24

It's the 2 hrs from London that's the main issue here. Unless you mean 2 hrs by plane or train?!

Petronus · 13/01/2023 09:31

Here - good trainline through church stretton, but not actually in the town. Small garden, proper hills:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/120467264#/?channel=RES_BUY

Youre welcome!

scottishnames · 13/01/2023 10:03

As previous poster has said, most really remote villages don't have taxis. This is because everyone who lives there needs a car. If they are too old/ill to drive then they rely on family& friends, neighbours or community transport schemes.

Hav you looked at the rail network to see which areas have little local stations? That might be a starting point. www.britrail.com/map/

But in many remote places, eg here in the Highlands, there are very few trains. People rely on coaches - which are often excellent - but need to be pre-booked to be sure of getting a seat. And they run along major roads, not remote byways. There are local buses, but often just once a day.

Having said all that, I hope you find somewhere. Some parts of East Anglia are still pretty rural and are close to the sea. And what about parts of Dorset? Lots of hills, views and the sea nearby as well. Both areas rather gentrified and certainly not remote, but you might find a secluded house on the outskirts of a pretty village. And there will be taxis.
As an example, I don't know Dorcester well (approx 2.5 hrs from London by train), but I just looked at a 10 miles radius from it on Rightmove. I can't imagine for a moment that this is what you had in mind, but might you be prepared to settle for something like it? www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129468170#/?channel=RES_BUY

Original poster
moonbows · 13/01/2023 12:46

You're all amazing, and very patient: thank you!

Just to explain a bit more: I know very well that my list is entirely impossible, and that some or several of these desires will have to give. The car-free bit, well, you're all right that it probably isn't realistic even to have a holiday house without having a car (clearly not possible to live full-time car-free in these sorts of places). But I'd like this to be somewhere that car-less older teens/early twenties can potentially get to without a car. So although I kind of long for somewhere deep in the Lake District, that's just never going to be a goer, as even the taxi cost to get there (assuming you get there and then don't move) will be insane.

Church Stretton is a great idea, I will add that to my list of places to look.

Dorset - I do keep looking at Dorset, but oh dear, trains are so terrible there.
Macclesfield - @Lastqueenofscotland2 do you have any specific ideas of areas to look? Sounds really lovely.

@londonmummy1966 those are all waaaay out of our price range, but my goodness, that Etchingham one is just lovely.

@LynetteScavo that's quite a place! It's too forested for me, but I'd sacrifice a lot of my must-haves for somewhere like that but a bit more open to the air.

OP posts:
Original poster
moonbows · 13/01/2023 12:50

BTW if anyone else is interested in the train thing, then I've found this site useful: www.commutermaps.co.uk

It shows you train stations within a certain time of your chosen city, which is much more helpful than distance. From ours, we can get to Newcastle as quickly as we can to Dorchester, for eg.

OP posts:
Ohjustboreoff · 13/01/2023 14:47

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/122756285

Build your own with a station less than a mile away and wild swimming. Further from London though!

Original poster
moonbows · 13/01/2023 15:35

@Ohjustboreoff wow!

OP posts:
Original poster
moonbows · 13/01/2023 15:36

Scotland is really too far tho… that would be a once a year trip and I’d always rather rent someone else’s house for that sort of trip!

OP posts:
SollaSollew · 13/01/2023 15:51

Hi @moonbows what an exciting position to be in. I love North Yorkshire, it's moors and dales rather than wild mountains but you can get there relatively quickly if you choose the right train...

These all have a compromise in some way because as you rightly say what you're looking for is a bit of a unicorn but here's some tests for what you'd be prepared to compromise on if nothing else:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126649760#/?channel=RES_BUY this one is 10 miles from Thirsk, quickest trains are 2hrs 11mins. Top of budget and needs work but it's a really gorgeous spot, I know this area the best of all 3, bonus being you're rural but close to the very naice market town of Helmsley.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/127865534#/?channel=RES_BUY this one is wilder still needs some work but is right in the dales. There's a train station around 4 miles away but is 3 1/2 hours due to connecting in Leeds which is about 1/2 an hour of your journey

If you could compromise on being remote, this one is semi detached but it's well in budget at £450k and needs no work plus has gorgeous (hilly) views.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124330004#/?channel=RES_BUY Northallerton Station is 2 hours 20 direct from Kings Cross and 6 miles away. Osmotherley is a lovely village.

Good luck!