Market Towns - Commutable to LHR

[SighthoundSusie]

Ideally looking for Market Towns upto 1-2hours away from Heathrow.

Also require 4/5 bed property, good side gardens, utility and garage plus primary/secondary schools.

Would like all the usual amenities but especially local parks and, National Trust, type spots too.

Where springs to mind? I'm drawing blanks.

Peterborough maybe

Buckingham is another option

Op, are you planning to commute to LHR for work or just travel because an hour's drive could become two hours during rush hour. The M25 stretch between the M4 and M40 can be very very slow moving.

Go onto Rightmove and do a search. There are currently 84 four or five bedroom houses with gardens and parking within 40 miles of Heathrow in your budget of £400k. If you view the map you can see where they are clustered. On the app, you can drag the map across and search a slightly wider area.

I understand the desire for a house with all the bedrooms/bathrooms/garage/laundry room/ in a nice market town with NT properties nearby but realistically I think you may only be able to find towards the edge of your search area unless you are willing to compromise on a smaller house or less desirable area.

Just to add, there are 19,387 four to five bedroom houses within 40 miles of Heathrow and only 84 are £400k. None of the areas I recognise are particularly great.

I knew I would be asking the impossible.

My partner is set on a new build on the edge of an area that we don't know.

We cannot afford to buy a 4bed in our current area so have no choice but to look further afield.

Banbury does look promising. I wondered about Northampton and also along the M4.

Commute to LHR would be twice a week max.

Where is the new build? Maybe we can advise?

Why do you need four or five beds? Do you have children?

M4 corridor is very busy. You need to do your homework and be really realistic on travel times. If you're working shifts and travelling random times it won't be so bad but peak traffic could be a real headache.

@SighthoundSusie Northampton is not that great in my view. Banbury is much closer to to very pleasant places in North Oxfordshire. The M40 is a decent enough commute to LHR. Better than Northampton and I would not look at Peterborough. Same issues as Northampton and Wellingbotoigh. Swindon is a possibility too and obviously on M40. Again it’s very pleasant around the town with decent access to countryside and culture. Closer to the coast as well! I don’t see the need to be 2 hours drive away when you can get a decent house that’s closer in good enough towns.

Melksham, Devizes and Chippenham also meet your price criteria with a choice of properties. Buckingham has a few options but Buckingham has no railway station and is some distance from any motorway. Has a great grammar school though!

With that budget and wish list, you would be hard pushed to find anything on the M4 corridor in Berkshire. Like others I'd look up towards the M40 and Banbury. My husband commutes up to Warwick from Wokingham, and it takes him about an hour - worth looking in that direction.

If you're looking West, out towards Devizes/Cheltenham, you might find something.

You're going to struggle to get a 4-5 bed detached anywhere for £400k.

You could go as far as Southampton or Portsmouth. They're about an hour and a half away and have good transport links, though realistically £400k will barely get you 3 bedroom semi in an ‘up and coming’ area.

You don’t want the M3 though. M40 is usually flowing!

Wiltshire. DS drives to us from close to Heathrow in around 2 hours or less. Salisbury/Amesbury might work but you'd probably need to come a bit further west with that budget to get everything you need.

Think we need to look at increasing our budget.

I knew it would be a big ask.

Hadn't thought of Warwick, will take a look. Thank you.

There are some houses on Rightmove in Bicester which are just within your budget and one in Ambrosden for £425K which is a village close to Bicester.

Thank you. Will take a look.