Malvern or Ledbury? Or any other recommendations for Cheltenham commute please.

[Prophetorwell]

Ideally, we'd like to be near Cheltenham (in a village), but it's just so expensive! Trying to widen the search, but we don't live in the area yet, so it's difficult to get a good feel for it on short visits. We'd like to try and keep the budget to about £750k for a detached with decent garden and off-road parking.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144467015#/?channel=RES_BUY
Have a look at this one it’s only 5 mins from Junction 6 of M5 and the village has 2 pubs ( gastro). The village is supposed to be the poshest in Worcestershire which is debatable, but is still a proper locals village with a GP surgery, dentist and cricket club.
Small village shop is attached to posh cafe but it is close to Worcester so you wouldn’t need to rely on it.

Toddington is fine, not much there (apart from the steam train station). The pub isn’t great. But it’s very close to Broadway which is a nice much larger village with good amenities, very popular with tourists. It’s a 30 minute drive to Cheltenham if you use the motorway. To be honest I’d be very bored there.

We live in a village in between Gloucester and Tewkesbury, and both work in Cheltenham. There are some nice quiet villages around us - Hartpury, Ashleworth, Hasfield, Corse Lawn, Apperley. Only nuisance is the trek round when the roads shut due to the river Severn flooding. More towards Malvern, there is Redmarley, Pendock, Lowbands - all nice quiet villages. Don't look at Gloucester and the outlying suburbs, it's a dump. There are no nice parts.

We moved out of Cheltenham when our kids were little, as we just couldn't get enough house for our money at the time.

House is lovely! I really don’t want to go north of Worcester though. Ideally, I’d rather be in Wiltshire or Somerset so I’m more comfortable going south than north. I did spend a night in Worcester for work a couple of years ago and thought the city had a really nice feel.

Thanks for all the village names, that’s really helpful, as I’ve definitely seen houses in some of those places but thought they mustn’t be very nice if my budget was getting something decent.

It’s a very rural county with poor infra structure so if you can find a house close to the artery roads accessing M5 that would be the best place to start. Malvern is ok but despite major road improvements the access to junction 7 is very slow. Also it’s the other side of the river to Cheltenham so you have to factor in where you can cross the river. Sounds daft but bridges along the river Severn are on average 6-7miles apart and can cause traffic hold ups at busy times. I only live 5mins from work on the other side of the river, it’s been bliss over the Easter break because there has been no traffic. Normally it takes 20-30 mins when the schools are open.
And of course there is the flooding. It’s been particularly bad this year. Don’t be tempted by Upton-on-Severn, they all have webbed feet. The pretty riverside cottages are best avoided.
Also public transport is crap, buses are infrequent and you sometimes have to drive to the bus stop if you have children using school buses.

Although, you can get a train from Worcester Parkway to Cheltenham , the secret squirrel HQ is close to the station. The train service is excellent to Birmingham and if you fancy a day out in Cardiff, there is a very regular service from Ludlow. Ludlow is worth a day out too.

I really wouldn't attempt to commute to Cheltenham from Malvern. We once stayed with friends in Malvern when attending a several-day-event in Cheltenham so did the commute for 4 days in a row and it was awful. It takes forever to get off the little winding slow roads and onto roads where you can make decent progress, at both ends. You really need to be closer, lowering your ambitions for size of property if necessary and planning to extend when you can.

Bishops cleeve
Woodmacote
Gotherington

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/65262809/?search_identifier=305b3d266b24a110b82c564a73bf4e44d91d04d4b5d19bba704ec972ecb797ef

This is in Alderton, nice village, we nearly bought there.

Via the M5 (get on at Worcester) it takes 40 mins, very easy journey.

I’m not keen on places with lots of modern housing/estates. Witcombe is still looking good as it looks quite pretty.

Depends how much road noise bothers you with Witcombe. We went to Crickley Hill to walk the dogs last summer, and the noise was horrendous... not something I could live near. And the road through Shurdington into Cheltenham is the road to hell either end of rush hour.

Tewkesbury, or the surrounding villages, make for a good commute to that side of Cheltenham. Good range of pubs, places to eat and nice walks.

Hanley swan is a lovely village south east of Malvern - you’d get in the motorway from there by going south to the m50 then pick up m5. I’ve got to central Cheltenham from there in 35 mins before. I think if you’re the ‘wrong side’ of the river it would be ok if you have a job where wfh is no hassle in the case of flooding.

I live in Longlevens, Gloucester. It's one of the better places in Gloucester and Churchdown is too. Longlevens has pubs, local shops, bus routes and walking distance to rugby Kingsholm 🏉 its also 10 min drive to the donut 🍩

To answer your original question, Malvern. That said, the drive between Cheltenham and Malvern can be a bore (a lot to do after getting of the M5), so u wouldn't want to do that as a regular commute. Malvern is lovely though.

Witcombe - you might get a nice garden but I would be worried about the road noise. The bypass is very loud. Cranham would be nicer but not sure if your budget would stretch.

You do get more for your money north of Cheltenham. Winchcombe is lovely.

One place I would highlight is Badgeworth. It is a place where Cheltonians opt for if they want a bigger house/ garden for their budget. It is only a couple of roads really, but at Christmas you see all the big detached houses beautifully lit up home alone style! V easy commute to the donut too.

Wherever you decide, make sure you register your interest with local estate agents. Certainly in Cheltenham, the really good houses never make it onto rightmove. Good luck!

Thanks for the tip about registering with local agents - I need to get on with that!

I did wonder about road noise in Witcombe - will see how it is, but we’ve been put off others for this reason.

Have added Cranham and Badgeworth to the list. I really like Winchcombe, but haven’t seen anything come up in ages.

Badgeworth is a good shout, it’s in Cheltenham really but feels more rural, it’s a 5 minute drive from me.

Don't rule out Upton st Leonards because of access to the M5 - it's less than 10 minutes to J11a if you drive through Coopers Edge. Much closer and easier than from Malvern or the Worcestershire villages that you are looking at.

Also, another poster recommended the village I live in (one of the West of Severn villages between Gloucester and Tewkesbury). Its very nice here but I really wouldn't recommend for commuting - it's an absolute pain in the arse every time the main road floods. It can take and hour to get in to Gloucester so God knows how long it would take to get to Cheltenham!

Loved the cottage in Witcombe, but despite being on the market for over a year, they’re not budging on price and it has some costly work needed.

Does anyone know Churcham? I know it’s the wrong side of the M5 but price is so appealing!
https://www.onthemarket.com/details/14722923/

I know it’s the wrong side of the M5 but price is so appealing!
Not just the wrong side of the motorway but, more to the point, the wrong side of the river. You (and everyone else) would have to go over the bridges in Gloucester in the rush hour to get to Cheltenham. There isn't another river crossing until Chepstow/M48, about 25 miles south.
Shame because it's a lovely house.

I have just seen this thread.

We live in Witcombe and love it.

A Gloucester post code will get you more house for your money.

This one seems special. I would do a search 3 miles from Witcombe and see what you can find.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147310931

... We moved up from Somerset in 2020.

We had no idea on areas. We did a day of seeing 6 properties and scored them and chose ours.

We are really happy here and it works really well for me getting to work down the M5, my husband into Cheltenham and friends coming up to visit.

Agree with this. Great countryside location, so close to the forest but that commute would really put me off. Outside rush hour it's easy but you could easily be looking at 45mins to an hour to Cheltenham at peak time.