Relocating to West Cheshire or Wirral - where's best for families?

[luckymummy2010]

We are planning a move in about 18 months and its making my head spin! Have been looking at the Wirral and also the areas around Chester as possibles. I'm from the north west originally but have lived in the south east for over 20 years. My DP is from Surrey and has lived here all his life.

We currently live in a very nice village in Surrey. I actually love it generally and DD is at a really lovely rural school which only goes up to year 2 (hence the timing of our move). What I don't like about the area is that it?s very, very materialistic. It feels like having money is valued far above education, good manners etc - we are moving mainly to be nearer to family but I'd also like DD to grow up somewhere where "marrying money" isn't seen as a career! I?m a working mum and there aren?t many of them at DD?s school. On the other hand I do seem to be slightly addicted to living somewhere with nice local shops, cafes etc!

Schools are a very important factor in our move - ideally state schools but private is a possibility. Somewhere semi rural near a nice town would be ideal.

Any ideas or tips would be much appreciated. I have overloaded on Ofsted reports, property websites and Up My Street statistics! If you could chose anywhere to live in the Wirral or West Cheshire where would you live?

Thank you!

Hi sanfairyann

Which villages do you like in particular? Saw a lovely house for sale in Higher Kinnerton (I still think about the massive bathroom it had...about the size of my living room in Surrey!) but I think that's actually over the boarder? Are the schools good on the border side?

i like it all round there - dodleston is a v friendly village have you looked there? kinnerton is nice too.

Fab, thanks sanfairyann, just had a look at Dodleston and it looks lovely

we're in West Kirby - great location for access to Liverpool, schools are great - both primary and secondary (girls and boys grammar), right on the sea front. not very villagey though. if you've a lot of money then Caldy is the place to live - although quite impractical unless you want to drive everywhere.

Thanks babyjamas - West kirby comes up a lot, its obviously a lovely place to live. Yes I have driven through Caldy - looks pricey!!

I second Doddleston, as well as Tattenhall, Kelsall, Tarporley, Christleton as all have proper village feel and good schools at primary and secondary level. Malpas very pretty but driving down the A41 to civilisation would drive me mental as it's so slow going. Also Heber school not what it was. Farndon also good, or go just over border to Rossett or Marford.

ooh this is making me feel homesick! love christleton too

wingandprayer, from my initial online research I thought Tarporley was top of the list (area, house prices, schools) so I took family there during school holidays and we had the most horrid experience at lunch when we were asked (quite rudely) to move from one area of a hotel restuarant to another (slightly grotty) area because we had our (perfectly well behaved, sitting quietly) children with us and it really put me off! We also didn't see many children about even though it was hols, but lots of retired people, driving volvos (I'm slightly exaggerating but you get the gist). I think I may have misjudged it?? Is it more family orientated than I saw from that visit?

If you're interested in the Tarporley area, take a look at Bunbury. More villagey, and has a good primary school so far as I know, which is a feeder for Tarporly high school.

Thank you IsItMeOr

Hello again. Tarporley does have a Volvo contingent but then it is an affluent village in Cheshire - any similar village does!! I would have a look at Tarporley based estate agents because like Is It Me says there are plenty of lovely surrounding neighbourhoods too. Bunbury is very nice.

Thank you wingandprayer I will

Tarporley probably isn't a good indicator of 'child friendlyness', and I think I recognise the feathered hotel you visited

There are also lots of child friendly places round here, but there are a few pubs i know I have to avoid now I have kids, guess that's the same everywhere.

I know Kelsall primary has a good reputation and think Kelsall feeds into Tarporley high which is also well regarded.

HTH

This thread is making me homesick too - stupid husband making me move to stupid Scotland. I miss Cheshire Oaks!

Frodsham used to be really nice, and the high school was great (well, I did OK out of it!) but I'm not sure what it's like now because it's been a lot of few years since I darkened their doors for the last time. It was more of a town than a village though, so I'm guessing it'd be even bigger nowadays. Tarporley is lovely and definitely has more of a village feel. I used to work for an estate agent in Northwich called Macmillans and they opened up a Tarporley branch just as I was leaving, so they'll probably have a decent selection of houses - might be worth a look.

West Kirby is the place to be for family life
The trains run into Liverpool so teens can be a bit independent, there's a leisure centre and the schools are excellent.

I'm in Nantwich if you're interested in going that far south. Very reasonable house prices, lovely small town, DSD's secondary school is the highest rated in Cheshire.

Hi we are seriously thinking about moving to West Kirby from Surrey. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? We looked at Birkenhead School and really liked it. Our daughter is 11. TIA

Ramsey See this is an old thread, but all the posts still apply.

Birkenhead School is fantastic (my brother went there when it was boys only). Parts of Oxton/Noctorum are gorgeous and much more accessible than West Kirby. Tbh, I love WK but you can get there for the days out etc if you live elsewhere. It's a bit out of the way for easy access to the motorway and be a right pita to get to school every morning. The boys who lived in Oxton had a much better social life! Birkenhead Lawn Tennis Club is fab too (for tennis obviously and social) which your dd could join. Also much closer for town to get across to Liverpool for shopping.

We will be moving back to Oxton way once my kids are nearly high school aged.

Thank you so much will look into your suggestions! Much appreciated and good luck with your eventual move

WK is lovely as is the majority of west Wirral - we live down the road in Meols. Birkenhead School is easily accessible from WK as there is dedicated school bus that a few of my DC's friends get. It probably takes 30 mins with all the stops.

As Star said above, Oxton village is lovely and has lots of independent shops bars and cafes. We regularly go for brunch and then have a walk round the village. Also, the Secret Gardens of Oxton is an annual event that we do not miss. However, you have to be careful as only a few minutes walk can lead to less desirable parts of Birkenhead.

Personally, we love living on the west side of the Wirral. For a family it has everything; great buses, train line (direct to L'pool city centre in 20m), cycle paths, beaches, parks, free tennis courts and football pitches, supermarkets, shops, bars and cafes all in walking distance. Finally, my DC feel safe where they live and this is extremely important now that they have started wanting more freedom.

Good luck!

The normal one thank you for your response great to hear so many positives. Also happy that there is a dedicated bus service so hopefully my daughter will be able to make local friends quickly. Oxton sounds lovely will have to visit but love the sea views in WK. The comment about it being safe is very comforting. Thanks again

I'm on the Wirral and I think you should have a good look at West Kirkby. It's a lovely little seaside town with lots of bars and cafes and good leisure facilities for the kids. There are really good grammar schools in the area and great comprehensives there, too. Primary schools are really good, too. If you choose to go private, the main school is Birkenhead High, but the grammars do better in the league tables.

West Kirby's very safe and half an hour from Liverpool on the local train.

So jealous of you having the chance to move to Cheshire/Wirral!
I grew up in Heswall- great primary and excellent secondary schools- grammar schools and secondary moderns- the grammars aren't the crazy super selective grammars that are around here- (north London)

Definitely look at Heswall- Gayton and the Lower Village and my favourite- Oldfield Heswall . Some beautiful houses , lovely countryside ( the Dales,Wirral way) and great views over the river Dee to Wales.
My DS asked me why the children in Heswall ride their bikes on the road? Made me feel very sad to think how busy the roads are around here and the fact my kids will never be able to take themselves off to the beach with a picnic on a sunny day ... ahh wistful thinking!
Also Caldy has some great homes- depending on budget of course! You will get a lot more for your money on the Wirral then Surrey but stick to the west coast -Gayton, Heswall,Thurstaston, Caldy, Weat Kirby if you want the grammar schools.
Thorton Hough, Willaston, Puddington and Ness are beautiful villages but I don't think they are in the catchment for the grammars-maybe someone can correct me on this?

Thank you for your response and advice. Nice to hear from someone who grew up there. Just hoping our house sells quickly and we can purchase the one we have fallen in love with!

I live in caldy. Tumbleweed blows through it daily. avoid!