Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Cambridge areas

31 replies

slowrunner07 · 18/05/2023 20:02

Hoping to get some advice on where to live around Cambridge. Need to be within a 45-60 minute commute of Addenbrooke's hospital.

Looking for a small town or large village, good schools (1 primary age child and one preschool age), good public transport links to the city, green and leafy. Where should we start looking?

OP posts:
Original poster
slowrunner07 · 18/05/2023 21:09

Bump!

OP posts:
Octavia64 · 18/05/2023 21:15

The radius of a 60 minute commute to Addenbrookes is enormous, lots of towns and villages.

Any more detail?

Buying or renting? Rough budget? Would the commute be by car?
Public transport out in the villages outside Cambridge is generally crap everywhere.

Octavia64 · 18/05/2023 21:22

Going south from Cambridge is generally more expensive, going North cheaper.

At a reasonable radius are places like Ely, Camborne, Saffron Walden, Newmarket.
Ely has a train station and you could get the train into Cambridge. I believe Camborne has a bus. Don't know about the other two.

TrishTrix · 18/05/2023 21:23

I understand hospital parking is tricky.

Will you get a parking permit or would being within cycling / walking distance help?

Not up on Cambs areas I just go to visit my friends and don't think too much about where they live (sorry).

SeasonFinale · 18/05/2023 21:27

Watch out for this though

TheHomeEdit · 18/05/2023 21:35

Addenbrookes site is getting a station soon (it’s currently being built). Also be aware that a £5 a day congestion charge is currently planned - I think for introduction within 5 years. It might not happen but apart from terrible traffic and parking issues this is something else to consider is you were thinking of driving.

Lovetotravel123 · 18/05/2023 21:40

Ely. It has a train station which gets you close to Addenbrookes. From the station there are frequent buses.

MadEyeMoodysEye · 18/05/2023 22:08

Histon/Impington is lovely. On the guided busway to Addenbrookes and the city centre.

HeddaGarbled · 18/05/2023 22:14

Royston or any of the villages on the train line between Royston and Cambridge.

SatsumaSplit · 18/05/2023 22:26

St Ives? Fits your criteria, reasonably priced and the Busway goes to Addenbrookes from the park and ride. Or anywhere along that bit of the Great Ouse, Huntingdon, Bluntisham, Earith etc

FraterculaArctica · 18/05/2023 22:31

Look at Ashwell.

mumarooni · 18/05/2023 22:41

There's some lovely villages long the river around st Ives. Hemingford grey, holywell. St Ives is a very handy and nice little town.it is small but has, lovely river front, good charity shops, little free museum, refill shop, nice cafes. Cambridge can be accessed by park and ride bus route from st Ives centre. Somee great primary schools in the area too.

JanglyBeads · 18/05/2023 22:44

(Not sure the St Ives secondary qualifies as a good school at the moment though- looking ahead for the OP!)

A budget figure would be most helpful, OP.

NutellaNut · 18/05/2023 22:53

Saffron Walden ticks all the boxes.

NellyBarney · 18/05/2023 23:21

Bury St Edmunds

whiteroseredrose · 19/05/2023 05:32

Friends who work in Cambridge live in Saffron Walden which is lovely.

Beninthesortingoffice · 19/05/2023 05:40

Linton

Original poster
slowrunner07 · 19/05/2023 10:14

Thanks for all the responses so far! Looking at around £750k for, ideally, a 5 bed or a 4 bed with home office space.

OP posts:
BlackKnightinYellowWellies · 19/05/2023 10:18

Meldreth is very pretty and has a good pub, primary school and railway station.

gizmo · 19/05/2023 10:20

I think you're on the money with considering public transport links. Traffic is dire, parking at Addenbrookes expensive and the City Council is going to take steps to discourage driving in the town centre which might displace a lot of traffic into commuter routes.

On that budge and if you want more rural I'd second Histon & Impington but Waterbeach is also very nice and has a station with regular trains into town. Well worth a look.

Octavia64 · 19/05/2023 12:51

So the best public transport links would either be the guided busway www.thebusway.info shows the places on the busway

Or the main train line, there's two lines coming into Cambridge and one out North.

Going North, waterbeach has a station and Ely has a station. You'd get a nice house for 750k in either of those.

South - ashwell, Royston, meldreth, shrepreth, foxton

Royston is more of a small town the others are villages. Can't comment on schools.

Caroline8398 · 19/05/2023 12:57

Castle Camps is a lovely village, with a good primary school & local pub. Saffron Walden is really nice, but a town rather than village, and all the surrounding villages equally as good.

BlueChampagne · 19/05/2023 13:06

Sawston is less green & leafy but has all the amenties and easy to cycle to Addenbrooke's. Schools are pretty good.
If you plan to drive, check out Cambridge traffic before you draw your 45-60 min circles round Addenbrooke's.
Suggest you post on Local too.

Grumpyfroghats · 19/05/2023 13:08

What about Trumpington? Very close, good schools, nature reserve