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!

Olney is lovely!

Market Harborough is also great, the schools are good, plenty of independent shops and restaurants plus the usual supermarkets (including Waitrose). Nice countryside within 10 mins drive.

Things Buckingham, Brackley and Winslow have going for them:

All are affluent, sweet market towns, there's a Waitrose in both towns, the Brackley one is bigger though.

Good grammar school in Buckingham (my children went there)
Numerous good village and town schools for primary
For secondary, if not the grammar then there are several fee paying schools, Stowe for uber posh, Akeley Wood for cheaper private, Thornton for all girls private, Beachborough for mixed prep to age 13, Winchester House in Brackley
There is a state secondary in Winslow which is fairly new but no experience of it

Amazing countryside all around: Stowe landscape gardens, Waddesdon Manor About an hour from the Cotswolds

There are quite a few independent shops and high street stores in Buckingham, Brackley and Winslow. It feels safe, crime is pretty low. It's a good place to bring up children.

There is a private university in Buckingham which used to look expensive because it was fee paying for a 2 year degree but now tuition fees are a thing it's cheap compared to some universities. It means there are quite a few young people in the town. There is a station opening in Winslow in 2025 which will go to MK and Oxford so will make London within reach.

Bad things:
There aren't many decent restaurants although if you go further afield there is Paris House at Woburn and there are chain restaurants in MK.
It's a bit of a mono culture although the university helps as there are quite a few overseas students, 50% I think

And Buckingham is only 30 minutes to MK which is why we moved here, as dh got a job there.

I agree with Olney too. We used to live in a tiny hamlet near Olney and if we ever moved back that way I would choose Olney.

Depending on the age of your DC I would look at schools first. You will have a good choice of houses within your budget and MK is cheaper compared with the SE and you will get even more for your money in Northants/beds.

But. State schools are really not good. We have family there and looked at relocating for a cheaper house, but couldn't find a single school on the Sunday Times list. Going private would have cost more than the mortgage savings.

If you want private, you could look towards Bedford. For state, Aylesbury has a grammer, but higher house prices.

We used to live in Tring. It’s lovely. About 45 minutes from MK.

Olney for sure. 15 minutes to CMK on back routes. Good schools and nice village. Don't go in Milton Keynes areas, secondary schools are oversubscribed and nicer schools the houses are packed in new build areas. Speaking from experience here.

East haddon
West haddon
Althorpe
Horton
Olney
Lavendon
Woburn Sands/ woburn
stoke brueune

Bucks - some nice villages there

I am in Northamptonshire and it takes me 35/40 mins to get to MK via the back roads

And can be neighbours with Clarkson, Cameron etc if Chipping Norton 😁

Take a look at St Neots, it’s under 45min drive to MK. It’s a fantastic place to raise small kids, has lots of amenities including cinema, pool, water parks, bowling, golf clubs, trampoline park, rowing club, gyms and great places to eat out. Has wonderful large parks and green spaces (loads of play areas) that run the length of the town along a beautiful river so you feel as if you’re in the countryside while in centre of town. It’s friendly and safe, the whole town is walkable, with a a great community and lots of events. It’s on the train line to London with regular trains, and 20 miles from Cambridge. Your budget will easily get you a high spec 4/5 bed detached in the posher bit (Eaton Ford). Outstanding infant and primary schools locally, but you’d probably want to opt for private for secondary (excellent Kimbolton is nearby). For work it’s easy commute to Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Peterborough, and London.

Hitchin, St Albans and Harpenden are all further out than the ones already suggested. It might not fit your budget re: detached house but they have some good state schools and are not too quiet. Would definitely suggest a visit to get a feel for the places if you haven’t been already.

I live in a village not far from Long Buckby. All the villages in the Daventry area are lovely, so well worth looking at and £900k will buy you a very nice house round here (just to give context, I live in a G2 listed 5 bed cottage, that cost £700k). There is also a choice of private senior schools, including, Rugby School, Princethorpe and Stowe, and two excellent state grammar schools in Rugby. Most village primary schools are good and there are 3 good prep schools nearby too. State secondary schools in Daventry aren’t great, but there is a good one in Guilsborough and some of the non-grammar options in Rugby are fine too.
Transport wise, you are near the MK rail links, the M1 and also the A5, which is the way I always go to MK. It takes me approximately 45 minutes to get there (not in rush hour).
Holiday-wise, Birmingham and East Midlands airports are less than an hour away by car. There are also miles of canals to walk along if you like the countryside.
Have I sold it to you yet 😁

We live in Wing, which is just in Buckinghamshire and couple of miles from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, which is the nearest town. Nice village with a primary school, high school and sixth form, local convenience shops, pub etc. There are schools in Aylesbury that there's busses to I believe (mine isn't old enough yet).. I work in MK and go up the A5, takes me 25-30 mins, which I've found more reliable than the M1 in all honesty.. depends whereabouts in MK he needs to get to.. there are lots of villages round us also Stewkley for example and easy to get to MK no M1 required.

Woburn and Ampthill from your list are both lovely also.

I’m from Buckingham; as PP’s have said, there’s enough here to not have to drive if you don’t want to - Tesco, Lidl, Aldi on the outskirts, and a Waitrose in the centre. Rather a lot of barbers, charity shops and nail bars, but equally lots of independent shops and cafes too. And a great butchers. Tuesday and Saturday there’s a market, and a flea market too on a Saturday.

Eating out in the centre there’s a couple of decent pubs, a Lounge, then independent Italian (excellent!), South American, new Mediterranean place, Greek, then a couple of good curry houses too. If you want late night bars it’s not for you!

They show films (recent ones) at the local uni where a lecture theatre becomes a cinema.

If schools are a consideration, then you’ve got the grammar school system here. My DC went to the non grammar school in town and did perfectly well, one is now at the university here too.

You’ve got Milton Keynes 20 mins drive away, including a station that will get you to Euston in 35 mins, and Oxford is about 35-40 mins if the traffic is kind.

There’s some nice villages too - Maids Moreton (despite being famous on TV recently for a murder!) is lovely, with a great pub, and still only 15 mins walk into Buckingham. Watch out for villages to the south and west though as HS2 is blasting away the countryside.

Avoid ampthill - very overcrowded and awful traffic. Redborne school
is Not as good as it was. Olney is much nicer , could look at Bromham as well

Anywhere in Northamptonshire is within an hour of MK. Lots of lovely villages around Long Buckby

I’m in Shefford about 30 mins from MK it’s lovely. Ampthill was on our list when viewing houses and so was Flitwick

I would personally be careful going too far from MK. We live "within an hour" of MK in Northamptonshire but its mostly single carriage way roads all the way there with regular road works, especially going into MK at the moment. My husband has done this drive daily for 2 years and it rarely takes him under an hour, leaving the house before 7am and leaves work between 4:30-5pm most days. Even going down the M1 doesn't make much of a difference because although "faster" roads its a longer route from where we are.

Another vote for Olney here. Our friends lived there for around a decade and I’ve very many happy memories of visits.

Buckinghamshire 😀

look at Haddenham - a large village about an hour away - albeit country roads not motorway.
it has lots of amenities and a really close community. A farm shop, sports venue, tennis and cricket, 2 primary schools, doctors, large co op, fish and chips, library, pubs, coffee shops, wildlife hospital that has a visitor centre etc Within 7 mins drive is a Waitrose in Thame, and 10/15 mins drive to Aylesbury for larger supermarkets, cinema bowling swimming and nightlife.
then surrounded in lovely countryside, loads of national trust places.

bucks is an expensive area - but for a reason! There’s even talk of a train route going from Aylesbury to Milton Keynes but not sure if / when.

There are some lovely villages between Daventry and Banbury. You have Woodford Halse, Byfield, Chipping Warden, Boddington. All lovely villages and about 45 mins from MK.

We live in Towcester- 20 mins from MK, great schools, and a lovely place to live 😀

I work in MK and live in south Northamptonshire. Easy commute and 10 mins to J15 of M1. I would suggest looking in Grange Park/Wootton fields for suburbs, possibly East Hunsbury, collingtree park, Towcester, stoke Bruerne, Roade, Hackleton, Hartwell, or Hanslope, stony Stratford, (bucks).

Also, given your budget I’d be tempted to look at some of the “villages” in MK - best of both worlds - look at Willen specifically.

I wouldn't move to Northampton unless I had too. Certainly not with the OP's budget

Bicester will not be the type of place that they're looking for at all.