Not a 'what car?', but 'what town/village?' (Somerset)
Discussion
Ok, so maybe this should be in 'Homes, Gardens & DIY', but I think I'm more likely to find the right audience in SW.
I'm looking to move from Devon to Somerset as the time has come to up-size and to get nearer to work to reduce the commuting time/cost.
Work is in Highbridge and I'd like to be within 15-20 miles, say half an hour. Looking to spend up to £280k for a modernish four bed detached house. Would like good schools nearby, plus easy access to the facilities and employment potential (for the Mrs) of a decent sized town, although not necessarily it said town.
So to all you local PHers who know the area well, recommend me somewhere to live!
I'm looking to move from Devon to Somerset as the time has come to up-size and to get nearer to work to reduce the commuting time/cost.
Work is in Highbridge and I'd like to be within 15-20 miles, say half an hour. Looking to spend up to £280k for a modernish four bed detached house. Would like good schools nearby, plus easy access to the facilities and employment potential (for the Mrs) of a decent sized town, although not necessarily it said town.
So to all you local PHers who know the area well, recommend me somewhere to live!
Taunton is a good call. Weston is grim, its full of knuckle-draggers and its awful in the summer.
There are some really nice villages to the East of the M5 towards Street if thats something you might want to consider. Quality of life in that part of Somerset is quite high. I'd look in the area from Highbridge East towards Wells, north to Cheaddar (again worth a look) and south towards Langport.
There are some really nice villages to the East of the M5 towards Street if thats something you might want to consider. Quality of life in that part of Somerset is quite high. I'd look in the area from Highbridge East towards Wells, north to Cheaddar (again worth a look) and south towards Langport.
I would look at Burnham-on-Sea and surrounding villages. I live in a village close to Burnham and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Very low crime rate, and a good selection of pubs and restaurants given the size of the town. I have many friends in the area and none would be keen to leave.
I lived in Taunton for a few years and it was nice enough, but traffic can be terrible at peak times. A massive amount of new housing has been built around there in recent years.
The problem with some of the villages towards Wells and Cheddar can be accessibility. Country roads roads in and out of some of them and during winter they aren't much fun. Plus they aren't all that close to town facilities. As a petrol head with a wide car I wouldn't really be keen to live around there myself.
Look at places like Brent Knoll, East Brent, Berrow, Lympsham, Bleadon, Mark, and Burnham-on-Sea itself. All offer very easy access to Highbridge. I would personally avoid Brean as it is very, very busy during summer and it can be a nightmare getting in/out of there.
I lived in Taunton for a few years and it was nice enough, but traffic can be terrible at peak times. A massive amount of new housing has been built around there in recent years.
The problem with some of the villages towards Wells and Cheddar can be accessibility. Country roads roads in and out of some of them and during winter they aren't much fun. Plus they aren't all that close to town facilities. As a petrol head with a wide car I wouldn't really be keen to live around there myself.
Look at places like Brent Knoll, East Brent, Berrow, Lympsham, Bleadon, Mark, and Burnham-on-Sea itself. All offer very easy access to Highbridge. I would personally avoid Brean as it is very, very busy during summer and it can be a nightmare getting in/out of there.
Rich G said:
Taunton has good schools, employment potential and is about 30mins from Highbridge via the M5 (so long as you're on the right side of town).
Sorry Rich,I'm born and bred WSM and currently live on the outskirts, but there is no way I could recommend WSM to a PH'er
Looking at it from a cold perspective, it's a hole, pure and simple - if I didnt have so many family and friends in WSM, I'd leave
Quiet night out for meal with the Mrs on a Friday/Saturday - nope, not with all thhe scumbags and alcho's around
Shopping? - Dire, unless you have a particular interest in charity shops (and a high street again populated by the types mentioned above)
A council that has no more clue about town planning and road maintenance (or a sustained plan for tourism) than a 4 year old
Thanks for the comments so far.
Initial thoughts are that something within easy reach of Taunton would suit many of our needs, however, the traffic in Taunton itself (if on the wrong side and needing to travel through) worries me. As does traffic in Bridgwater if travelling through there is required. That will only increase once construction starts at Hinkley Point.
W-s-M for whatever reason doesn't appeal. Nothing against the place, but I'm thinking perhaps somewhere a little smaller, albeit not too far from one of the major towns.
Cheddar and the southern mendip towns/villages are nice, but prices are definately higher. I like the area, so it may be worth a closer look and possibly pushing the budget a little.
I'm not altogether keen on living on the levels. I know this rules out a large chunk of the county, but the 'flat bit' holds less appeal. The thought of living below high tide level (yes, most of it is) doesn't excite me. Most of the levels are well within the Environment Agency's extreme flood risk zone, so this must have an impact on house insurance. Most of Burham-on-Sea for instance is within the tidal flood risk area. I know the risk is very low, but insurance companies do tend to look carefully at flood risk with the apparent recent increase of 'extreme' events. Suffice to say, somewhere a slightly elevated (doesn't need to be much) might suit better.
Initial thoughts are that something within easy reach of Taunton would suit many of our needs, however, the traffic in Taunton itself (if on the wrong side and needing to travel through) worries me. As does traffic in Bridgwater if travelling through there is required. That will only increase once construction starts at Hinkley Point.
W-s-M for whatever reason doesn't appeal. Nothing against the place, but I'm thinking perhaps somewhere a little smaller, albeit not too far from one of the major towns.
Cheddar and the southern mendip towns/villages are nice, but prices are definately higher. I like the area, so it may be worth a closer look and possibly pushing the budget a little.
I'm not altogether keen on living on the levels. I know this rules out a large chunk of the county, but the 'flat bit' holds less appeal. The thought of living below high tide level (yes, most of it is) doesn't excite me. Most of the levels are well within the Environment Agency's extreme flood risk zone, so this must have an impact on house insurance. Most of Burham-on-Sea for instance is within the tidal flood risk area. I know the risk is very low, but insurance companies do tend to look carefully at flood risk with the apparent recent increase of 'extreme' events. Suffice to say, somewhere a slightly elevated (doesn't need to be much) might suit better.
We've just moved to Congresbury, which is the other side of the M5 from Weston. And can't recommend it enough.
It's a lovely village which has everything you could need. With a Tesco Express, butchers, bakers etc etc, a couple of very nice pubs including our favourite, albeit just for a drink with friends as they don't serve food, the Old Inn (postcode if you want to take a look on google street view is: BS49 5DH), for food there's The Plough which is very good, and plenty of others nearby. Indian, fish and chips, and Greek all do take away's. There's also a recreation ground with football, rugby and tennis courts and a bowls green if that's what you like! A very nice gym a couple of mins away (http://www.theclubandspabristol.co.uk/), and there's the strawberry line, which is an old railway, that has been turned into a foot/cycle path, for walks and bike rides, and takes you all the way from Yatton, to Cheddar and hopefully soon, beyond! We ride there from our house as we can join it in 2 mins, but everywhere in the village would be just a few minutes of road cycling to get on to it. We're in the old part of Congresbury in a 350 year old cottage, which is lovely, but if you like modern then there's quite a few modern houses as well! Where we live all our neighbours seem very friendly. When we moved in we had 6 bottles of champagne in our wine rack within 2 days! And whenever they walk past they always say hi and have a chat.
Schools-wise, there's the junior school in Congresbury (http://www.standrewscongresbury.co.uk/) which is a highly rated school (not least because my sister teaches there :P). And then for senior school up to 6th form there's Churchill (http://www.churchill-academy.org/page/default.asp?title=Home&pid=1), which is, as far as I know, also a good school/college, and that's a 5 minute drive away.
Perhaps the most important aspect for PH's though, is that I can be making my way up Burrington Combe for a Mendip blast in about 10 mins. There's also quite a few PH's meets in this area and they're all great people!
If you need a big town for food shopping etc, 10 minutes drive gets you to Tesco in Clevedon, and Morrisons and Sainsburys in Weston, and just add another couple of mins to get to Waitrose and Asda in Weston, as well as lots of other types of shops etc.
Then if Weston isn't big enough for you, then 15-20 mins away is Bristol, which is a great city and has everything that you could ever need!
When the traffic is quiet you can be on the M5 in about 7 minutes to go South from Weston, or around 12 minutes to head North from Clevedon.
I think that just about covers everything! I'm sure you'll find somewhere that suits you perfectly, and that you love, because there really is a huge selection of villages in Somerset to suit every taste!
I hope that helps! Any questions then feel free to ask away
James
It's a lovely village which has everything you could need. With a Tesco Express, butchers, bakers etc etc, a couple of very nice pubs including our favourite, albeit just for a drink with friends as they don't serve food, the Old Inn (postcode if you want to take a look on google street view is: BS49 5DH), for food there's The Plough which is very good, and plenty of others nearby. Indian, fish and chips, and Greek all do take away's. There's also a recreation ground with football, rugby and tennis courts and a bowls green if that's what you like! A very nice gym a couple of mins away (http://www.theclubandspabristol.co.uk/), and there's the strawberry line, which is an old railway, that has been turned into a foot/cycle path, for walks and bike rides, and takes you all the way from Yatton, to Cheddar and hopefully soon, beyond! We ride there from our house as we can join it in 2 mins, but everywhere in the village would be just a few minutes of road cycling to get on to it. We're in the old part of Congresbury in a 350 year old cottage, which is lovely, but if you like modern then there's quite a few modern houses as well! Where we live all our neighbours seem very friendly. When we moved in we had 6 bottles of champagne in our wine rack within 2 days! And whenever they walk past they always say hi and have a chat.
Schools-wise, there's the junior school in Congresbury (http://www.standrewscongresbury.co.uk/) which is a highly rated school (not least because my sister teaches there :P). And then for senior school up to 6th form there's Churchill (http://www.churchill-academy.org/page/default.asp?title=Home&pid=1), which is, as far as I know, also a good school/college, and that's a 5 minute drive away.
Perhaps the most important aspect for PH's though, is that I can be making my way up Burrington Combe for a Mendip blast in about 10 mins. There's also quite a few PH's meets in this area and they're all great people!
If you need a big town for food shopping etc, 10 minutes drive gets you to Tesco in Clevedon, and Morrisons and Sainsburys in Weston, and just add another couple of mins to get to Waitrose and Asda in Weston, as well as lots of other types of shops etc.
Then if Weston isn't big enough for you, then 15-20 mins away is Bristol, which is a great city and has everything that you could ever need!
When the traffic is quiet you can be on the M5 in about 7 minutes to go South from Weston, or around 12 minutes to head North from Clevedon.
I think that just about covers everything! I'm sure you'll find somewhere that suits you perfectly, and that you love, because there really is a huge selection of villages in Somerset to suit every taste!
I hope that helps! Any questions then feel free to ask away
James
Edited by High flier on Thursday 31st October 23:32
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