Best towns/larger villages near Ascot/Wokingham/Bagshot

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We are considering a move out of London to more easy-going secondary schools in Surrey/ Berkshire. I am not from UK originally and feel I have a lack of insight into the many lovely areas SW of London.

Can fellow Mumsnetters comment on any small towns/ larger villages that are near Ascot, or Wokingham? I am happy to look south towards Camberley/Bagshot too. I realise this is a varied area

Our ideal location would be:
near main train line to London
safe and leafy, good community
good proximity to shops/cinema etc (within 5 miles)
decent pubs/restaurants
Waitrose perhaps!

I grew up in the countryside but DH didn't so can't go "full country" if you know what I mean..

Many thanks in advance

Frimley is near Camberley, but is more villagey, but easy to get to Camberley for cinema and shops. It has a centre with Waitrose and a train line into London.

Tomlinscote is the well regarded secondary school there. There’s also Collingwood College and Kings College in Camberley. Collingwood is a very large secondary school.

Sunningdale certainly has Waitrose, but is very expensive and I don’t know about the train line. Charters is another well regarded school.

If you wanted to go as far as Woking, there’s a fast direct train line to Waterloo. Horsell village is within reasonable distance of the station and Woking High or The Winston Churchill School are the secondary offerings. Hook Heath has some lovely houses.

These are state schools, but there are independent options, although I can’t comment on them.

Thank you, this is really helpful… really want a nice place to live, where we’re happy to stay even after school years ideally. Shall start some research on places you have mentioned!

Twyford is on the Elizabeth Line and has a Waitrose - can't help with the schools though.

Ascot has a lot of house building going on by the old Heatherwood hospital, which I would imagine would affect the catchment area for Charters, so that's something to be aware of. Charters is an excellent school.

Thank you MistyMountainTop… that’s now been added to “the list”!

Another vote for Twyford. Not many places have such a good rail line into London and it has a big Waitrose and a fairly nice centre with shops, restaurants etc. Also close to nice countryside. Close to Henley for Picturehouse cinema and walks along river. Close to Wokingham which has lots of nice places to eat & drink. Also has a nice little cinema. Trains from Wokingham to London are slow though which makes Twyford a better bet for commuting.

Decent schools too.

Ascot itself appears to fit your brief. What’s your approximate budget and what size/type of house?

House situation TBC… thankfully it’s easy to research that bit of the puzzle online with various estate agents.
Learning about the best locations is my primary aim here, relative to some schools we are considering. It’s so helpful to get people’s feedback and I’m feeling positive as there seems to be a good variety!

Have you looked at Guildford? Really nice town, loads of good shops, bars, restaurants, etc, beautiful countryside on the doorstep, fast train to Waterloo. I've lived there and near Wokingham, and much preferred Guildford. Wokingham was a lot slower by train to get into London.

We were looking at similar places when we moved a year ago and ended up moving slightly further out to Newbury which has a couple of excellent secondary schools. Train to London is about 40-45 mins to Paddington. We really like it - a few nice independent restaurants and pubs and then your standard high street shops like M&S, H&M, next etc. Also every supermarket you could ever want (Waitrose, M&S food, tesco x2, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl). Some parts are quite tired but I much prefer it to the likes of Ascot, Maidenhead and Camberley, as there seems to be a bit more community (we have family in those areas). Also only 30 minute drive to Oxford and within minutes you’re in some beautiful countryside.

Ultimately, we found we got a lot more for our money. Some of those commuter towns closer to London aren’t much cheaper than London itself and really lack soul.

Guildford fits the bill. Fast trains into Waterloo. Good state schools although catchments tricky. Lots of good private schools. High Street lovely, lots of good restaurants and Cafes. Spectrum, Surrey Sports Park, all year round Lido, Royal Surrey Hospital. Lots of private options too for sports and health.

Countryside on your doorstep.

Quite pricey.

Love Guildford and the villages around it like godalming. I think Surrey is more expensive than Berkshire on the whole property wise - both expensive for all the reasons you’re looking at them!

Wokingham is a lovely town.

I have family near Wokingham. The Elizabeth line goes to High Wycombe and Reading now.

Horsell, St John's. Brookwood which is on the mainline to Waterloo lovely primary school, a few good local secondarys state or private. Near canal and walks. Near to Woking and Guildford Town with good cinemas and theatres

I’d also recommend renting before you buy. Each village m/town has its own vibe and we moved to a new area and went straight to buying. We’d have never bought where we did if we’d lived there for a while first.

Thank you all for your responses! Lots to consider here

We are considering a move out of London to more easy-going secondary schools in Surrey/ Berkshire

I have several friends and family who live the the Sunningdale/Sunninghill area, and it's a very nice, if expensive, area to live. They have all had children go to Charters School, and while it gets an excellent reputation, several of my friends children found it to be huge, a bit impersonal, and anything but easy-going. They all complained about pressure, and extremely frequent testing. Some coped fine with this, and on the whole enjoyed their time there, but at least two that I know personally found the pressure to be too much, and ended up as school refusers in their mid teens.

I'm not saying it's a bad school, far from it, it gets excellent results, and I know several children who were very happy there, but I wouldn't describe it as easy-going.

Guildford or Ascot for the right balance of schools, town, nearby green and commuting.

It is a mistake to move to Wokingham thinking you will “just drive to Twyford and take the Elizabeth Line” unless you want to be doing that journey to arrive in Twyford by 6.20am every day - the parking is hellish in Twyford and you will regret it. Also Wokingham doesn’t have the school profile you are looking for and is being rapidly ruined by over development. It’s not the gorgeous town it was ten years ago.

Twyford is great for London as you can go Paddington in about 25 minutes, and you have Lizzie line as well. Wokingham isn't on Elizabeth Line and is slow into Waterloo. Best to try and live in walking distance of the station if in Twyford though, as parking is a nightmare now. You'd then be in catchment for Piggott School which is excellent and you would also stand a fair chance of Kendrick or Reading (Grammar) if your child is able to pass the exams. Private schools are plentiful, really you'd have to visit to decide which suits but neighbours kids love Shiplake College, Bluecoat and Luckley House, you also have Reddam and several others. Twyford has enough shops to find most everyday items you might need, a biggish Waitrose and a small Tescos, just up the road towards Reading is a M&S food and an Aldi a bit further on, and a Lidl and Sainsburys and Asda all in 15m driving distance. Lots of lovely shops in Henley, we almost never shop in Reading now (parking v expensive) but head to Bracknell instead or Wokingham has a nice range of independents too.
Cinemas in Henley, Wokingham and Winnersh (all just over 5 mins, but also on public transport)
I don't live in Twyford village myself but lots of friends do, its's a very safe area I would say, and you're never too far from the countryside/good walks.
Good selection of pubs and cafes all in a 10 mile radius. Excellent local Indian restaurants (divided opinion as which is best, there are 3), a really great family run Italian restaurant/wine bar as well as pubs that do food.