Where to live near Crewe, Macclesfield or Wilmslow station?

[northsouthmaybe]

DH and I work in different cities (me Manchester, him London). Both mostly WFH but need to get into the office 1/week. 2 primary age DC. Currently live in period semi in South Manchester- keen for a bigger garden, detached and more rural feel but anywhere leafier/detached near us goes for upwards of £1m whereas our budget is around £800k.

Hoping for advice or suggestions of good places to look - needs to be within easy-ish drive of a mainline station to London (Crewe/Macclesfield/Wilmslow) for DH commute and ideally no more than 1h by car/train from Manchester for mine.

Other criteria: good schools, large village or small town, decent enough public transport (even if that's buses rather than trains) for when DC are older, easy access to countryside walks/woodland, sense of community. Oh and if it can be incredibly picturesque there that would be a bonus!

Would love to hear any thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Holmes Chapel and surrounding areas. I’d avoid Crewe personally and parking around Crewe station is a pain. There’s Hartford on the Crewe - Liverpool line and is doable into Manchester in an hour but you’ll be leaving at 6.30 am and before 4.15 pm to miss the traffic

Thanks for the reply! Are Holmes Chapel and Hartford both family friendly, with a good sense of community? I think the area is definitely more important than the commute as we'll both be at home most of the time.

No experience of living outside of Manchester but loads of commuting up and down that line to London! Macclesfield is lovely and will feel like it's not such a lengthy commute to London. It was the place I always thought I'd live if my need to be in both Manchester and London had continued.

That's good to hear re Macclesfield! Were there specific areas you liked or just the place more generally?

It was the place generally, but also it felt like a milestone on the London to Manchester journey. On the way up Macclesfield is the point where you start thinking about how long you've been on the train already. You look out the window and it's lovely.
On the way down you remember how close to Manchester Macclesfield is and ask yourself why the heck you aren't already living there.

Macclesfield is nice. There is also Congleton which is a short drive to Macclesfield station or you can get the train from Congleton to either Macc or Stoke.

Have you considered the outer, more rural areas of Stockport? I commute from SK6 to London once a week and it's very doable. Commuting via car can be a nightmare though, so I stick to public transport. A detached with large garden in say Marple Bridge is definitely doable with £800k. Good schools, great countryside and picturesque.

Cheadle Hulme - Swann Lane area, which is a conservation area, could be what you’re looking for. It’s near the train station (10 mins walk max), and excellent schools in the area. Cheadle Hulme High School is among the top schools in Greater Manchester. Also, plenty of shops within walking distance which is great if you’re working full time. Fantastic pubs and lovely walk to Bramhall Park.

Could look at the surrounding areas to Macc; Bollington, Kerridge and Rainow.

Holmes Chapel and Goostrey may also be worth looking at.

Anywhere near Wilmslow may be pushing it on your budget for what you want house wise.

Holmes Chapel is lovely, we don’t live there but have visited regularly for years with our children, as is Knutsford (which would be my choice if we were moving back to the area) which has the added benefit of the picturesque Tatton Park, as well as a cinema and lots of lovely shops and restaurants.

I was also thinking Congleton as a good option

When I was a kid in the 70s we lived in the worst house on the best road in Macclesfield: Prestbury Road.
I have wonderful memories of a large garden, safe roads and good neighbours. I went to Bollinbrook CofE primary and would have gone to Fallibroome Comprehensive. Brother went on a scholarship to King’s which I believe is closed now.
I expect house prices would be around your figure, OP.

We live in Macclesfield for commuting reasons - it’s so easy to get on the train there. Plus you can get some lovely houses within walking distance of the train station, and the whole town (but especially one side) is on the edge of the countryside. It feels like the best of all worlds. The town is improving massively, and now has loads of bars and pubs and cafes, plus a lovely market once a month.

We also came from South Manchester and I wasn’t sure I’d love it, but I do.

Crewe isn’t very nice or cool. I wouldn’t want to do the commute from Wilmslow to either of those places.

With your budget in Macclesfield you’d get something absolutely perfect.

This is very close to where we used to live. This is leasehold but there are lots of freehold places for less.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146694839#/?channel=RESBUY

Kings is still very much going, they have just moved.

Right! I saw they’d sold the land but didn’t check where they’d moved to.
DB was a student and later friend of a wonderful teacher, rugby coach and raconteur who died recently.

Kings has moved to just outside Macc.

Just be aware that the faster trains stop in Macc but not the surrounding stations - typically they stop in Stoke, Macc, Stockport then Manchester.

Wilmslow trains are the same - some slower, some Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport then Manchester.

Wilmslow has one state secondary, Macc has four do more choice there.

Ahh I see, thanks @OttersAreMySpiritAnimal (great user name by the way!)

@Comefromaway don't know Congleton at all so will research! Are there particular bits of it that are nicer/less nice?

@bauchbobo rural Stockport could be an option...I think DH liked the idea of being a smidge closer to London but if it's the right house/location I might be able to sell it! We previously thought about Disley but worried it was a bit of an A6 corridor, is Marple Bridge less road-y and/or are there other parts of stockport where the houses tend to be off the main drag?

@ALT72 I don't really know Cheadle Hulme (which is silly given it's only a few miles from where we live now!) but will investigate. Do they get the low flying planes or is that more Cheadle village?

Thanks @feelingalittlehorse - yes I think you're right re budget/our wish list for Wilmslow, will check out the other places you mention.

Thanks for the vote for Holmes Chapel @Annie098, sounds like it could be a good option. Knutsford seems lovely but I'm put off by the planes...

Thanks @Rainydayze - any particular areas of Congleton you'd recommend?

Astbury is nice, just outside congleton.

How nice to have such fond memories @Sgtmajormummy - I'd love that for my DC so will be keeping an eye on Rightmove for places on that street... 👀

@EveningSpread a fellow south Mancunian! Glad to hear the move went well for you. Which side of the town is the side which feels like it's the countryside? That's exactly what we're after.

😍

Oo thats interesting re secondaries - definite advantage to have more choice

Chelford is a village not a town but it is much cheaper, and you get a lot more house for your money than wilmslow or Knutsford. It is on the Crewe to Manchester train line, and has easy access to Manchester, wilmslow, Alderley edge, Knutsford. Lovely community feel.

Another one to look into - thanks ☺️