Looking to move to an area within a 1 hour drive of Milton Keynes…

[Mkcommute]

DH will be starting a new job in Milton Keynes soon and we are needing to relocate.

We have a budget of £900,000 (for a 5+ bed or large 4 bed detached) and the house must be within a 1hr15mins drive of Milton Keynes (or about 50 miles).

Does anybody have any suggestions for any specific areas to look? Things that are important to us are:

• nice area to bring children up in
• good schools fairly nearby (open to private and state)
• ideally a semi-rural affluent village or suburb
• not super far out in the sticks nor in a town centre

I’ve been trying to stay close to the M1 for ease for DHs commute but can’t really find anywhere we like the look of. Happy to go as far up the M1 as Loughborough. I think north of MK may be better due to south of Milton Keynes looking incredibly expensive due to being close to London?

Areas that have already been suggested to me are:

• Woburn
• Market Harborough
• Lutterworth
• Ampthill
• Long Buckby

Would be great to hear more about these places too.

Thanks!

Blakesley/Maidford/Litchborough villages are lovely - may be a bit small tho compared to the towns you have listed! Long Bucky is nice - that’s the only village I really have any knowledge of out of your list!

Thank you! I’ll take a look at these. Villages are ok - I’d just like to not have to drive for ages to get to a shop/pub/civilisation!

Look at Olney, just outside MK

Look at Olney, just outside MK

Look at Olney, just outside MK

Ampthill is lovely and ticks all of your boxes. Olney has a similar feel. Both have independent shops, nice pubs/bars/resturants, a fair amount of community events, are near lovely countryside and feel prosperous without being snobby.

Buckingham, Brackley or Winslow might work for you.

There are plenty of schools although private are better than state, all are nice market towns and are 25 mins to Milton Keynes.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143685431#/?channel=RES_BUY

Although Helmdon is a bit in the sticks.

Definitely look at Olney and the surrounding little villages; it’s lovely. Good schools - and private options nearby. Lots going on in the community and it’s easy to get to other interesting places.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136647179#/?channel=RES_BUY

I'd take a look at Leighton Buzzard, Olney, Ampthill, Woburn Sands, Woburn, also some villages around Northampton are nice and properties a bit better value that way.

Stony Stratford is a nice town too.

Olney is lovely, but quite small. It’s basically one long street with a few pubs, a few independent shops and bakeries. It is lovely tho, but if you want more of an urban feel ( not sure where you’re living now), then Market Harborough is gorgeous. Lots of shops, bars, life etc. much bigger than Olney, but still feels villagey.

Might be too far from MK for you tho as it’s up past Northampton

Thanks for your recommendations!

We’re currently in a village in Cheshire (although neither of us are from here) which we absolutely LOVE. It’s a lovely, affluent village without being mega rural and we’d love to find somewhere like this in Leicestershire/Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire. I worry that some of the villages are very rural and that I’d feel out of place there!

Chipping Norton ( small town ), Hook Norton and surrounding villages

Also Wendover is nice

Buckingham or Winslow.

Buckingham has a good grammar school and is a nice small town with everything you need. Good bus links to Milton Keynes and Oxford.

Winslow is a bit smaller but very nice. Lots of lovely surrounding villages.

All easy reach of Milton Keynes

They are not within the time limit Op has suggested. It's not a particularly easy route traffic wise to get from them to MK

Bicester could also be another option. Not sure what the schools are like but good transport links to mk but also in easy reach of the m40, Oxford, london, Birmingham etc

Agree Wendover is lovely and less than an hour from MK but it’s a PITA for the M1.

Avoid long Buckby itself but alot of the surrounding villages are nice

Definitely not Long Buckby.

Another possible area is Tring/Cheddington. Not near M1, but on the Euston line.

A lot of the recommendations here are small market towns, which would probably suit you well. Many of the villages are lovely, but zero amenities which doesn’t sound quite what you want.

On schools, bear in mind Buckinghamshire has the grammar system, which is a whole other consideration!

Is the M1 for London?
Because if so you could move over toward Thame, giving good schools, access to m40, 40 minutes to MK, but close to Oxford, Marlow, Henley etc… Just a thought

Some of the villages in Northamptonshire are absolutely lovely and you would get a lot more for your money. See Little Brington, Mears Ashby, Flore, East Haddon, Walgrave, Old, Chapel Brampton - there's actually loads. All within 1 hour of MK