Moving to a village near York

[flutterbye88]

Hello! I’m looking to move back to my Yorkshire roots (from Brighton/Lewes) with my family, 3 children (1yr, 3yrs, 5yrs) and husband.

We’re visiting my parents in Wetherby and have some time this week to drive around and look at areas. So we’d LOVE some help and advice from you lovely locals.

We're looking for the following specifics:

1. A large village or small town (pretty and surrounded by nature)
2. A lively/friendly community that we can be a part of, friendly families, a friendly pub, or two (that welcome children!)
3. A decent primary school (and thinking way ahead, in the catchment area of a good secondary school)
4. An easy link into York for weekend fun (we both work from home during the week)
5. A 4 bedroom house & large garden for approx 700k - that isn’t in a flood zone

After doing all the usual internet searches, we’ve made a shortlist of the following areas:
Ampleforth, Elvington, Escrick, Haxby, Heslington, Hovingham, Norton, Pocklington, Riccall, Sutton on Forest, West Tanfield, Wheldrake.

One of the most important things to us is the ‘VIBE’ of the village so we’d LOVE some help and advice from lovely locals with first-hand experience of such places! (Or any places you think might fit the bill)

Thanks!

We lived in Howden for 6 years. Its 40 mins drive from centre of York and has great train links to central London. Really nice little town and amazing value.

One of my favourite York villages is Fulford
I probably wouldn't move to Heslington as apart from the Uni theres not much there.
Would you consider Malton?

Appleton Roebuck is lovely

How about Tockwith?

I have family who live in strensall who are happy there and say the schools are good. No idea about the vibe but easy access into York and also countryside.

I was brought up in York and currently live in Manchester. My sister and her family moved out to Wheldrake to get a big house to bring up the kids. I think they really rated Wheldrake primary and it may have sometimes shared some of the facilities with a local private school (like the swimming pool but you may have to check) and also did things like forest school on a Friday, her kids are now teens and go to Fulfood school which I believe she is also happy with.

I grew up in one of the suburbs of York, which was nice enough but probably not the vibe you're looking for.

I lived close to Strensall as someone mentioned above which had some great walks but also quite a few estates, (like my suburb) and an army camp so might not find the village feel you're after either? Probably a bit more accessible for York centre than Wheldrake (used to have regular buses in and out of York when I was a kid in the 90s lol) and catchment for Huntington School secondary which was the high school I went to too (which was a good school when I went). Not familiar with the local primaries there though.

You can't beat Beverley. Born and raised there!

Beverley is lovely

Beverley is lovely, close to Hull as well as York.
Heslington is the main student area of York.

Beverley is not really near York though, and the A1079 is a bugger if you get stuck behind something slow moving. Not my idea of weekend fun 😆

Howden school is shitty, even after changing head i'm afraid, would not recommend.

I would add Easingwold to your list. It's a lovely village with several shops & eateries. You could also take a look at the villages between York and Harrogate. Some are on the trainline but may be a bit sleepy for what you want. Someone above recommended Tockwith, but having driven through I found it rather soulless. Howden, as mentioned, is a good option and there's a train every couple of hours direct to London.

I live in Ampleforth. It’s a great location - half an hour to Thirsk (for Tesco and train to London), half an hour to Malton, 40 mins to York. The village has two pubs, a coffee shop and a local shop / post office. The C of E primary has just closed however the RC primary is good. It’s in the catchment area for Ryedale comp which is very good. Also Ampleforth College is down the road. The moors are literally on your doorstep and the coast isn’t far either. Also only half an hour to get to the main dual carriageways / motorways to sweep you north or south. The village has lots going on and has an active village hall and various committees. Loads of young families as well as older members of the community. Your house budget will get you what you’re after too.
Another option could be Helmsley? Although that’s a bit further from York.
hope that helps!

Some on your list are so small. We were in Hovingham yesterday and it’s beautiful but very quiet.

Haxby is a great busy village with really lovely primaries. Secondary catchment is Joseph Rowntree which I’ve heard mixed things, although lots of positives. Some nice shops and the famous Bakehouse.

Strensall primary is excellent as well and Huntington secondary has a really good reputation. Much quieter than Haxby as a place to live but some nice housing stock.

Ampleforth and Sutton on the Forest are both lovely on your list.

Easingwold as well? As your DC get older, Easingwold is a bit bigger and they can be a bit more independent, plus there's lots of activity clubs in the town itself so you don't have to drive everywhere.

Id say worth looking at Alne / Tollerton and Crayke as well?

Worth making sure that anywhere you look at is on a bus route for when your DC are older - I'm not sure about Hovingham and Ampleforth is more limited. I went to school in Easingwold and I remember being jealous that the Crayke / Ampleforth kids always got to leave early if it started to snow to make sure the buses could get up the hill 😅

I think Hovingham might be too small & quiet to fit your criteria, but second Helmsley.

Slingsby is a lovely village with a very well respected Primary School and properties that might suit your criteria.

I was coming on to say Easingwold. Gorgeous town, I'd love to live there.

The university is in Heslington, which makes for quite a non-village vibe.

Heslington is really just the University.
Dunnington is a nice functional village, access to decent schools and buses into York.
Check for flooding carefully wherever you look.

Sutton on Derwent is fab

Maybe bigger than you’re looking for but Tadcaster is lovely!
would also recommend looking at tockwith x

Dunnington is deffo worth a look

I work in York once a week.
Many of my full time York based colleagues live in Pocklington.

Bishopthorpe would be my choice - it is a lovely village - near to York and easy access to Leeds by road - good infant and junior school and Fulford school for secondary (which is highly regarded) it has a nice pub and seems popular with people moving up North from London

Dunnington is dull! I'm sure it's lovely but it's not for me.

Fulford is a York suburb really not a village and has a busy road through the middle of it - good location if you are going to work at the university though and obviously in catchment for Fulford School.

Heslington is nice - two pubs one decent - primary school is good as is Archbishop Holgate school for secondary which is good but the village is very dominated by the university - again it's really more of a suburb of York but it does look the part more than Fulford

Haxby is ok a few pubs and shops, a good chippy (millers) and the centre is nice but it's quite estatey in parts and merges with Wigginton which is one big estate with an ok pub - secondary will be Joseph Rowntree which is good - Haxby is supposed to be getting a train station

Strensall is also estatey and a bit further away from York and has Huntington for secondary school which has a better reputation than Joseph Rowntree - though both are good - it has an ok pub or two

Sheriff Hutton and Sutton on the Forest always look lovely- as does Beningbrough which as a lovely pub and nice river walks - don't know much about them though

You might want to consider Wilberfoss - if you are looking towards Pocklington - it's very friendly to newcomers - I know someone who moved there from outside of Yorkshire who loves it - it's in East Yorkshire though so I don't know much about schools

My mum lived near some on your list, and I had many years of visiting the area.

I personally would find Hovingham and Ampleforth too quiet, but both are very pretty. I preferred Easingwold to both Hovingham and Ampleforth, it felt pretty and villagey but not as old and sleepy.

However, this is a visitor's perspective, it's difficult to know the true feel of a community until you live there. But something about Easingwold appealed to me.