Location help please - Lancashire & West Yorkshire

[Pyjamas90]

DH has a new job which means more remote working, he'll only be in a few times a month. I'm almost fully remote.

We're looking at a few locations but are not fully sure of the areas, ideally within 1 hour of Preston, we want somewhere more rural (ish) and not too overlooked. We like older houses and cottages but are focused more on location and garden.

We've seen a nice houses online in Pilling, Poulton le flyde, Carnforth, Keighley, Edenfields and Bacup. I don't know any of the areas too well, does anyone have any suggestions of areas or big no-go areas please?

Whaley or Clitheroe along the A59. Also nice are Wrea Green, Parbold, Upholland or Lytham. You’d get something decent in all of those places on your budget.

I'm near Poulton le Fylde, town it self isn't particularly rural unless you're in one of the surrounding villages. The centre is lovely with lots of bars and restaurants, but like everywhere has a few 'less nice' streets. The issue of getting to tje motorway has been eased somewhat by a new by pass, but there are also thousands of new houses being built in the area so that additional congestion will probably negate out the improvements...
I'd go for somewhere closer to Lancaster or Ribble Valley personally. Garstang, Inskip, Billsborrow are nice between Lancaster and Preston.

Chorley and surrounding areas.

The first one is right on a road junction and you have no privacy from the attached house at the back.

Second one is lovely.

I’ve just moved to within 30 mins of Preston after 20 years in West Yorkshire. I wouldn’t live in Keighley or Bacup because they are not nice areas. Hebden Bridge is nice but can get cut off in winter. I wouldn’t live there for that reason. Saltaire is lovely but the areas around it aren’t. Bloody awful traffic in the morning on the tramshed roundabout. Frequent roadworks on the roundabout making traffic even worse. Poor schools (having worked in many of them).

Previous poster mentioned towns along A59 - completely agree. Any of the Ribble Valley, Chorley, Clitheroe, Whalley, Barrow, smaller villages off there like Langho (quiet but v nice), Skipton. Not Accrington, Darwen, Blackburn. This area is really well known for outstanding beauty but also for being a bit of a gourmet paradise if you like going to restaurants.

Lancashire way:

Garstang
Longridge
Higher Penworthem
Clitheroe

All are small towns that have countryside on the doorstep but plenty of amenities.

Hebden Bridge is lovely but the downsides are sky high house prices and constant roadworks on the Burnley Road.

They're both rather more than an hour than Preston. From where we are (quite near the latter) they're 'days out' distance, not half day or commute.

You could move up to the south Cumbria/north lancs border. In between Lancaster and Kendal, say Kirkby Lonsdale/silverdale/arnside/milnthorpe/ Kendal.

Carnforth is not posh but it is very nice and friendly. Friendliest Booths shop of them all and very handy for the m6 and the train south, as well as reasonably priced.

It's bloody lovely here !

You can get a nice house for £500k and you'd be in Preston in 45 mins.

😂 well I have several family members.who live there and love it - it's rural but close to the M62 for Manchester/Leeds as well as having a train station, has great schools and apparently living there adds ten years to your life, so there's that.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/greater-manchester-village-add-ten-26689811

I wouldn’t touch East Lancs with a barge pole. Miserable horrible place.

As long as you’re not near poor folk OP you’ll be fine 🙄
Like the whole town of Keighley is horrendous and full of petty criminals and rough types. Peak bloody MN.
And Hebden Bridge is a ball ache to get to and from.

Not Keighley! Skipton maybe?

Calm down. OP is asking for opinions on where to live.

Keighley is the 3rd most dangerous medium sized town in West Yorkshire, and out of 118 towns in West Yorkshire it’s placed 21st for dangerous crime. Crime is 148 per 1000 people. I literally know someone who was nearly murdered there a few months ago (not exaggerating, trial starts in 3 weeks). So yes it’s got nice ‘pockets’, but it’s not all Silsden and Howarth. Far from it. Having spent a significant amount of time working in and around the area, no thanks.

Living near Preston, there's very little which ever attracts me to visit some of the eastern parts on Lancashire. That doesn't mean there aren't nice places to live but with the huge area the OP is considering, there's almost certainly good options nearer Preston

I live near poulton. It is lovely and has a train station right on its doorstep. It’s not rural, pilling is more rural but you would have to drive to the train station. There’s lots of little villages nearby though (also would need to drive to the train station) like st Michaels, elswick, garstang. We’ve just had a new bypass built so it’s a lot quicker to get to the motorway now if driving.

Does anyone have any recommendations for anywhere slightly more north? I've been looking north of Skipton (Grassington) and surrounding villages. I'm keen to hear any honest reviews

I think my view of poulton is coloured by only ever going there for the mobile mammogram truck in the shopping centre car park

@Topsyturvey10 Plagues of tourists and cars maybe be your problem in the summer once you get into the Dales - I would recommend visiting on a lovely summer's day before making a decision!

It's all about perspective I suppose- we're looking at Keighley surrounds to move, but from Liverpool it's definitely a step up re crime rates. Ilkley Moor on the doorstep is certainly a huge part of the appeal.

Villages around Keighley are fine though - Harden, Wilsden, Cullingworth are good as are Oxenhope, Micklethwaite, Steeton were all fine when we lived near there.

Whalley or Clitheroe if you want somewhere nice near Preston

Todmorden and hebden are great for commuting to Manchester or leeds but not so good for anything not on that line.

Wouldn't do Poulton, or going towards Blackpool, although there are some very pretty villages/standalone ex farmhouses.
Any more details re transport/schools/hobby needs for example to help us help?

@Mytholmroyd agree. Tourism central. And second homes and air bnbs. These places are so popular the properties are massively overpriced and snapped up very quickly.
@thecoffeewasthething if you live in L’pool it’s not exactly the bronx. Northern towns all over have areas like this. Parts of Leeds are uninhabitable according to some on MN but ordinary folk manage to live there quite happily. I guess because so many are escaping from the south for the ‘quieter pace of life’ they are paranoid at ending up somewhere really undesirable and full of ne’er do wells.

I grew up in Pilling and live not far from Poulton now. I agree with the lists above, considering places between Lancaster and Preston, like Garstang, and someone mentioned Elswick. Pilling is a lovely place to grow up but you'll be driving miles for a bank and to get to a motorway. Other places mentioned above have better transport links.