Anyone know Church Stretton in Shropshire?

[Singbluesilver]

We are wanting to move to Shropshire, from Surrey. We can afford a bigger house, which we can't here. Does anyone know Church Stretton? I love the beauty of the area, but I'm worried about making such a big move. We don't know anyone there, but we are up for an adventure and making new friends. We have 2 very young children. Church Stretton seems like a good place to bring up children, but would love to hear from anyone who knows that area.

Yes, I do, very well. Used to live near the town and walk on the Long Mynd on a regular basis. Around 250k visitors a year visit the Long Mynd and Carding Mill Valley, which is a National Trust area.

If you like hill walking, the quiet life and the countryside, the town is perfect for you. If you like a lot of culture and night life, do not move there, as it doesn't exist.

The town's population is predominantly older as a lot of people like to retire there. However, there are young people there and even though it is a quaint market town, there can be a bit of 'yoof' trouble at night. The secondary school is pretty shabby but good in terms of education. I considered putting DD1 there but we ended up moving miles away to a more remote area. ;-D

There is a very nice children's park on the side of the A49 where we used to take our little ones and a bowling green on the grounds.

There is one supermarket, a Co-Op, which is quite pricey and a lot of 'trinket shops' - selling stuff mainly for the tourists. Your nearest supermarkets would be Harry Tuffins in Craven Arms, or Tescos in Ludlow. Of course, you can always hop on the A49, which bisects Church Stretton and 25 minutes later, you are in Shrewsbury, which is a lovely town and has excellent infrastructure.

Do bear in mind that the population of Shropshire as a whole has doubled since 2002; and there has been a lot of house building going on in the town. We moved as it started getting more busy.

If you want to live near the town, Little Stretton and All Stretton are lovely little villages with great pubs. People can get a bit bothered with tourists, but to be honest, I think tourism really makes an area buzz - who wants to live in an insular community?!

With regard to making new friends...it's not too difficult. There has been a huge influx of new people moving in and now is the time to tap into that - as they are all looking for friends.

The locals are a little tricky to get to know but patience is a virtue. I know that 80% of my mates were incomers, like me.

Good luck with your plans.

We had a holiday in the area last year and it really is lovely. Tuffins is great - it's like someone heard an anecdote about what a supermarket was like but had never actually seen one and is doing their best to recreate the concept.

A lot of places still do half day closing on a Wednesday round there!

With 2 small children I'd say it's worth it just for Micky Millers Play Barn, just outside Craven Arms.

Totally agree with Fish about Tuffins though. DPs were really proud that it's been done out recently and is now "like a modern supermarket". Errrrrrrrmmmmm.....

I love Chuch Stretton, I'd love to live there. It's close enough to Birmingham if you need anything from a city. There's a primary & secondary school and lots of pubs/restaurants. Agree about Tuffins!

Agree with Mickey Millers. A great concept, and somewhere to go when it rains! They do decent grub, as well. The place is large enough for adults to have a go, too, or just sit at tables and watch the kids play.

My mum's family were from there. Back in the 1970s when I was born, it was beyond moribund - and into the 80s and 90s the oft-quoted statistic was "60% over 60" (ie over 60 years old). Housing was also very expensive.

Now, I don't know - certainly the countryside is fabulous, and Shrewsbury or Ludlow are within easy reach. My mum used to teach in Bridgnorth and commuted over Wenlock Edge - must be one of the prettiest routes to work anywhere!

Thank you very much for all your replies and info, it's much appreciated.
I think we might have a look at villages closer to Shrewsbury. I really liked that area too, and the house prices seem reasonable.

Hi! Have you moved? We are thinking about doing the same thing. We live in Guildford and want to live in Oswestry. I'm scared but excited!

Highly recommended! Great weather, far less traffic (except friday which is crash day), lots to see and do, work, schools, all the stuff you need.

Things to watch - medical care being destroyed, expect to be an hour from a and e soon, very hard to get a dentist, gps overloaded. Also nearest real railway station is shrewsbury where there is traffic .

Admiring my blue sky today , but no south east heatwave. Love it.

Singbluesilver - did you end up moving to Church Stretton?

My husband and I are thinking of moving from Teddington in SW London with our one year old and escaping to the country. It would be a complete lifestyle change after spending two decades in London and working long hours for a large corporate and an ad agency. We want more time as a family and a mortgage-free life so that we can choose a different type and pace of work.

Would love to hear more about Church Stretton and whether it's a good place to raise a family. We have close friends there who own a B&B and they're very happy. Please share experiences, watts and all.

And can anyone recommend Shrewsbury and if so, which parts of town? We like Edwardian and Victorian properties and would need to be close to decent schools. Transport links seen a bit better in Shrewsbury and it's a bit livelier.

Church Stretton is indeed lovely but I wouldn't want to live there with young kids. There just isn't enough for them to do and I'd worry for when they were teens. There can be drug problems among teens in some of the rural towns in Shropshire, I don't know about Stretton specifically but Craven Arms has and that's just down the road.

Shrewsbury is just perfect, I'm a Shrewsbury lass born and bred not at all biased and it's the ideal place to live.

Are you looking at private schooling?

I think we'd prefer state schools but would consider private schools if they were rated highly.

The best state schools would be Priory, Belvidere or Meole Brace.

Shrewsbury School and Shrewsbury High are the private schools.

Areas worth looking at would be Belle Vue, Portland, The Mount and Copthorne. I love Meole Village which is very close to Meole school and Priory.

I've been there and apart from suffering 'death by ye olde tea shoppe', there's not much to do.

There's scenery, hills, closed down shops and obvious signs of rural recession.

The train station consists of two platforms and a ticket machine and it looks like the sort of place where old farmers go to die in between the tourist seasons.

Even if you've got an extremely safe job, even if you do find a place to live, life is so slow there it would take an age for your house to sell again if you had to move.