Commutable locations to raise a family but also be close to the sea/river

[bonniekruger]

Our house is under offer and we are hoping to move somewhere where we will be closer to the coast or a river to be able to do water sports and other activities that are free or don't cost an arm and a leg. We're an outdoorsy family - 4 year old and 8 year old. We need to be commutable to London - +-1.5 hours one way.

Are there any suggestions for good suburbs/locations/towns/villages? Have been looking at Winchester but I have no knowledge about the area.

Also been looking in the Ipswich area but the high schools are an issue if you're closer to the coast. Also lots of new developments which in themselves is not a problem but there is quite a lot of them happening.

Any suggestions would be very welcome. We're originally from South Africa but children born here. We would like to explore a different part of the country from our usual Kent locations but would not rule Kent out if someone could convince me there is a lot to do in Kent.

Our kids do swimming, karate, tennis, cubs/squirrels so an area where there are good activities for kids along with good primary and high schools.

Well I live in South east Kent and we do loads of water sports.....I won't try to sell it to you.... But why is it boring 😂

Agree with Winchester, coast, schools, rivers, commutable. Have a look at Twyford, Stockbridge, Alresford, Shawford, Compton

Titchfield Chichester and Emsworth are on the slower lines - if you can get somewhere on the main line from Portsmouth that would be quicker for commuting - maybe Rowlands Castle?

We live in Meopham , Kent.

Lovely leafy lanes and houses. Pricey but do able on your budget.

The train station for the fast train is 10 mins from us and the fast train from Ebbsfleet into London is 15 minutes.

The other stations are 5 mins either direction for normal speed trains to the coast or London.

We are an hour away from most seaside towns
Herne bay , margate , Southend, Whitstable, Dymchurch, ramsgate, etc there's lots !
We have lots of nature reserves, country parks , right near brands hatch race track.

lots of national trust and english heritage sites . Dover castle , leeds castle, hever castle. Knowle house.

Also have bluewater shopping centre 10 mins down the road, huge.
Watersport centres / lakes locally.

Across the dartford crossing into Essex in 30 mins if good traffic
Great schools , primary and secondary . Grammar schools about 8 within a 30 min drive either way .

Depends what's more important , but the train 15 mins into central London is a godsend ! X

Just see your hubby is bored of kent haha ! Missed that part .

When we leave kent we will head towards Devon! Commutes not that bad from some parts if your really wanting a nice beachy life !

West Sussex; Southwick, Lancing, Worthing, Goring, Angmering, Littlehampton, Arundel.
the coast and the South Downs with some good schools and activities for the children.

Wivenhoe, Manningtree, Mistley (Essex) are all riverside and have train stations. Alresford is nearby and has a station, Brightlingsea is on the coast and maybe ten minutes drive from Wivenhoe station which is a direct London line. All easy drives to the rest of the coast - my favourite beaches are Frinton and parts of Clacton, but haven't been to a bad one yet on this coast. Mersea has a watersports lake and an active paddling community. Further down, Maldon/Heybridge Basin is lovely although would mean driving to Witham (10 mins) for the train. Witham itself is not my favourite but some of the surrounding villages are lovely.

I did the commute 5 days a week from Witham and then Colchester years ago and I wish I'd been able to be that bit further out where I now am, it's so much more peaceful and I love living, and now working, near the water.

Left field suggestion - east midlands parkway/Nottingham. As far as you can get from the beach but the national waterspouts centre is here, chalk lakes with outdoor swimming and watersports and the canal network links all things. 1 hour 25 from London and £650k buys you a lush house with money for beach weekends to spare!

You could get from Cardiff to London in that time and would get a lot for your money there. Right on the sea and the Gower is only an hour away

What part of London and how frequently do you need to commute? Getting across London could take up half an hour or 45 min of your travel time, so would limit the suggestions offered.

For example Suffolk or Essex trains will go to Liverpool street, but much of the south coast will have trains terminating at Waterloo, or Victoria.
There is the high speed train to Kent, from King's Cross or Stratford but it doesn't cover all of Kent (and you weren't keen on that area)

Not Littlehampton, although the sea front is fine.
Rustington, East Preston, Ferring, Angmering, Shoreham on Sea.

Are we selling it to you OP?

I live in Winchester now which is absolutely lovely, it’s near the New Forest, South Downs & Wessex Downs plus coast, and only 55 mins into London on a quick train, but downside is house prices are shocking, it was even voted one of the most expensive cities to buy in a while back. Schools are all very good, but traffic can be heavy due to it being well placed within the main road networks. However we use to live near Chichester previously, and that was just as nice if I’m being honest and Chichester harbour has loads of water sport opportunities, and is quite a hub for that sort of thing. It also has the beautiful Sussex South Downs/countryside and is a great place to bring up kids as I lived there when my daughter was little. Bit longer getting into London than say Winchester, which probably makes it a little cheaper to buy in, but hopefully still within what you need. Obviously some villages can be better value than buying centrally in either city area itself. Both have beautiful villages.

I would second that. We have relatives who live in Llandaff near the cathedral, one of whom commutes to London by train three times a week. There's a good range of outdoor activities on their doorstep, and the Brecon Beacons are within easy reach.

https://www.outdoorcardiff.com/parks/llandaff-fields/?cn-reloaded=1

You won't get much for your money in or around Winchester. You could look around Newark (Notts) - River Trent all around, direct to King's X in just over an hour. Some beautiful countryside and villages, and your budget would do you VERY well.

Wittering I would agree are lovely but a nightmare for locals in the summer season. Trying to get in and out of the areas. Emsworth is a good shout.

Winchester is lovely but not coastal and not sure your budget would stretch. There is an area called the meon valley, where you can fairly quickly access the coast but you are a bit more inland, you can then use multiple options for trains.

Kesgarve high school and farlingaye are good in the Ipswich area

Even more left field - Yorkshire? York fast trains are 1 hr 45 to London, if you are outside the city of York (which, I admit, adds commute time) houses are reasonable, there's the coast, moors, you can be in the wilds in 30 minutes and not see a soul for hours, lots of rivers and loads of outdoor opportunities.

Maybe a bit longer on the commute time than you'd like, but cheaper housing and fewer people make up for a lot.

I think you have to be practical here- as someone suggested Cardiff or York - now I love both but you are really pushing it for commuting- could easily be 2.30 door to door - doing that more than once a week will take its toll on a family. Both Excellent places if no real ‘commuting’ Also neither are cheap, cheaper than London yes, but if you want a nice house in a good area, it really isn’t cheap, not actually cheaper than bits of Kent, plus huge costs on season tickets that would totally wipe out a slightly cheaper house.

I think OP you need to be looking at that south coast area or maybe round Reading and use the country parks with lakes or indeed go somewhere where the housing is much cheaper to balance out commute costs- so somewhere like Newark ( much as I’m not over keen as am from reasonably close to there) isa decent shout. To be honest I think on balance somewhere like Whitstable or broadstairs or Folkestone would work , even though it’s in Kent

I like Ipswich, but it's 1hr 10 on the train into Liverpool Street, so 1hr 30 door to door will be tight.

I will say though that the trains are pretty reliable. 99.5% of the intercity trains are on time to within 15 mins and 94.7% are on time to within 3 mins which I think is pretty excellent.

Kesgrave Northgate high schools are generally the good ones within Ipswich. There are various low traffic neighbourhoods that would probably be cat suitable.

The town is very mixed - some decent local restaurants etc, but shopping is pretty limited now.

There is Alton Water nearby for watersports, or places like Waldringfield, Levington etc for larger sailing or people paddle board out there.

I agree with comments saying Cardiff/York would mean serious commitment to commuting. We did try living in South Wales for 4 years but the commuting to Heathrow for my husband (only once a week) was far too much. Beautiful place and people, but just not practical. That’s when we returned to the South Downs area just after the pandemic, although Winchester instead of Chichester this time, as again it’s an easier commute for him and I had previously lived in Winchester and wanted to return.

Lamberhurst, Ticehurst not too far from you have access to Bewl Water which has lots of water sports- the visitor centre is a nightmare and hellishly expensive, but there are lots of other access points.

@Cactusmumma it brought it home to me when looking for a mumsnetter who wants to remain in her existing area of Cardiff ( decent area) but buy a 4 bedder and I realised it was as expensive as not far from where I live (Bath) you could actually buy what she wanted in Frome , Chippenham, Corsham for cheaper - and be within 20 minutes of Bath. ( 11 minutes on train from Chippenham). Much quicker into London and season ticket lower too. You can’t leave cost out the equation- commuting ain’t free.

Problem with Chichester is that bastard A27 "Chichester ring road" multiple roundabout gridlock hellscape. It's just crawling on weekends from March to September, both ways.

Marlow is worth a look

Yes, I agree, commuting by train isn’t cheap if long distance! Even if doing it by car, petrol/diesel and car maintenance costs shoot up. The amount of miles we put on one of the cars during my husband’s 4 years of commuting from Wales was huge. So much easier now. Obviously worth it to those that wish to live in a certain location due to family etc, but if you have the choice, less commuting is better.