Beccarose

I know it has come up a few times before but I am wondering if anyone has any specific information on Nantwich?
I came across a few listings on Rightmove there and did a little bit of snooping around and see that it looks like that schools are really good- is this the case? What else do you happen to know about the area?

holly_1948

In general it is a fine area to live. Just as long as it is compatible with any need you may have to earn living.

Fast trains to London from Crewe are a great asset. Even the sleeper to the Scottish Highlands stops in Crewe.

brits1

Hi Nantwich is a nice area surrounded by lovely countryside, you are fairly near to Cities if you need them ie Chester, Liverpool, Manchester and nice towns/villages such as Tarporley, Alsager, Macc's not bad with a lot of money being spent on regeneration, your near to North Wales and handy for the M6 if wanting to head North or South. You are also near some good Uni's if needed for children ie Chester, MMU, Keele.

Beccarose

Thank you for the replies!

Does anyone here live there, or has lived there? Or near there?

TiddlyPom

Nantwich is nice... I grew up near there. Lots of nice properties to be had, very historic, lovely Cheshire countryside, schools decent, lots of families. Willaston, Alvaston, Wistason in the surrounds all nice too. Good transport, well connected roads.

Avoid Crewe. It's horrible. Rolls Royce factory there, what I would consider to be a struggling place, regardless of how it's grown over the years, every time I returned to it, the vibe was just still negative...

CEM

My parents live very close to Nantwich. They moved 25 years ago from north Cheshire and have made some lovely friends there. I've never lived there, but I've met many of their friends and find them very down to earth and friendly. Most of them are retired now, but the working population seem to commute as far as Birmingham, Manchester and Chester.
Nantwich itself is a reasonable size with a Morrison's and Aldi supermarkets and lots of independent shops (plenty of 'high end' shops - butchers, wine merchant, clothes, AGA, kitchen...). There's also a market and the usual high street names. There's a fabulous farm shop (Cheerbrook's) on the outskirts of the town which has a new cafe/restaurant and a great range of meats and deli stuff.
My sister's kids went to Brine Leas school which seems very good and now has a sixth form centre attached. It seems to cater for all abilities and interests. My sister works in a school in Crewe and I think she rates most of the Nantwich schools quite highly. I could ask her if you'd like - if you decide to move there?
The countryside is very green and rolling, mostly dairy farming and it's a 'horsey' area. My mum and my niece both have their own horses and there seem to be lots of competitions. There are lots of traditional pubs offering good food - my parents seem to be at one or another most weekends !

I agree with Tiddlypom re Crewe. It was built around the railway industry and it always looks so run down. It has an M&S and there's a shopping park on the outskirts, but I try to avoid going if possible!

Beccarose

Thanks so much for the replies. It's sounding more and more nice to me! Just doing a google maps search of the town and surrounding areas makes it seem great.

CEM, does your sister also live in the area? Brine Leas looks really good- do you know how new the sixth form centre is? The school still being listed as just to the age of 16.... so I'm curious if it had another name or is just too new to have been updated on the internet yet.

I'd be more grateful if you could ask your sister about Nantwich schools! Thank you so much!

CEM

She lives between Nantwich and Crewe. I'll text her today and ask her opinion re the other schools. I think the sixth form centre may have another name although it is on the same site - looks quite impressive from outside! Children seemed to get bused in from the surrounding areas - the bus stops outside my parents house to pick up their neighbours' son.

CEM

She just got back. Both of the Nantwich schools are good apparently - there's Malbank as well as Brine Leas. The 6th form centre is just called 'BL6'. http://www.bl6.org.uk/


She said you could consider the Sandbach schools as well, if you're interested in single sex and they both have sixth forms.

Beccarose

Thank you (and your sister)!
Do you (or her) happen to know anything about the primary schools in Nantwich?
Are single sex schools pretty common in the UK?

CEM

Single sex state schools aren't very common ( more in the independent sector), but the two in Sandbach are state schools. They used to be selective (my grandad went to the boys school a million years ago!), but I've just googled the girls' school and that's no longer the case. It seems to have academy status and has a comprehensive admission policy.
I'll text my sister tomorrow re primary schools. She won't have first hand knowledge, but can ask teachers at her school on Monday where they would recommend.
Have you had a look at any OFSTED reports? They don't give a full story, but read enough of them and you learn to read between the lines! It could give you a shortlist to work from.

cheers

Nantwich. Beware of unstable earth. We stayed there one night and the floor in the hotel sloped because of the mining underground.