bandrui

Hi PP2 et al,

Hell didn't freeze over but we did just get our first rain in four months. Hallelujah! Gardens were parched and we were under "Extreme Fire Risk". I know it has been a very wet summer in England but water is the stuff of life and much better to have the occasional rain than drought, as we usually have here in the summer. I now also appreciate that this is why England is so beautifully green and the gardens do so well.

It's funny... I was just going through the "Let's Move to..." files last week myself, but there wasn't one for where I am likely to move to.

Tenbury Wells. My cousin has found me a piece of land (1/3 acre) with dwelling, greenhouse, outbuildings, fruit trees, etc., in fact right up my proverbial alley.

The night that I really investigated the town, I could really see myself living there. It's relatively unspoilt, has wonderful little shops, regular pubs, gastro pubs, a market, a farm shop, a butchers. There's the Apple Festival and the renowned Mistletoe Fair at Christmastime. True, it is getting a Tesco but the population of Tenbury had them design a small, one-of, that apparently won't be repeated anywhere else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk4lnnehDHc



My cousin knows all the local farmers from the time when he worked in the agricultural business so knows the area well and thought this property, owned by a good friend of his, would be ideal for me.

Tenbury, in the Marches, is almost equidistant from Ludlow, Hereford and Worcester so there are some nice options for the town experience. You may remember that I wanted to be near to Worcester for family research. There's a photo of my Great Grandfather in the Almonry in Evesham - no, not in the stocks.

Yes, Tenbury did flood last month. Wonder if my little piece of land flooded .

Here's a list of the other towns I made note of as I went through the entire "Let's Move to..." inventory:

Hastings Old Town
Frinton
Arlington
Swanage (always )
Holt
Stroud
St. Leonards
Burnham-on-Crouch
Cromer
Boscombe
Lewes

Pistolpete2

Hi bandrui,

Was wondering whether a post on your thread would bring you to the surface.

Was also thinking that you would continue to be interested in the Herefordshire/Worcestershire area and for good reason.

Others on here have moved to Herefordshire in recent months and have waxed lyrical about life being good, without necessarily going so far as real specifics, other than locale and locals - Pembridge, for instance.

Posted ref Let's Move to because I also know that Dorset has a solid following and my interest in food has had me more focused on Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall country around Uplyme/Axminster/Beominster (I believe he has now moved on from River Cottage to a farm near Colyton) in recent months.

For personal reasons, I am taking a look at aries country around Torquay/Paignton/Brixham plus Exeter/Bath these days but am not sure where that will lead. Have found it can be hellish expensive to train it to London from those (Paignton) parts unless you plan well ahead and there is no viable alternative as Plymouth Airport is now closed.

chris955

I will be honest and still have to pinch myself to make myself believe we live where we do. Herefordshire has been called the forgotten county and I can understand why. I am watching Escape to the Country literally now and it is all about Herefordshire. Such a beautiful area and I never knew it existed.

feelbritish

Thank you for resurrecting this thread! It is also in my interest to search out retirement places over the next couple of years and is interesting what people think, especially those who live close to some of these areas. I also watch Escape to the Country but apart from 1 or 2 episodes, unfortunately most of those homes are over 500 000 way over our little budget! I still enjoy them for a snippet of what the areas look like.

dunroving

Oh yes, tonight's couple were looking for a property with a runway for their two-seater plane. Really relevant to the needs of the 1% of the population who have that kind of money.

I wish some of these property shows would have more people with a realistic budget for most of us - I think that would be more interesting than listed buildings, thatched cottages and mansions every week. It would at least give hope (and be interesting) to the average person looking for a home with that special character, within their financial means.

feelbritish

perhaps we should contact the BBC to let them know? I agree totally, at least keep the prices in the range of the average home prices! Maybe they do not have enough average Joe people to film? I know they were looking for people to get in touch who were looking at moving to sea-side for that other series because they were hoping to do an episode on Isle of Wight and I was hoping they would also not be millionaires!

bandrui

Cheeky Monkey. Just interested in "place" talk.

Think of Herefordshire/Worcestershire as potential Hugh-land.

There are so many fabulous places in the UK that the penny finally dropped for me when I realised that what I really want to do is to put far less money into property, buy a campervan and go exploring around these great isles, as well as driving down through France and Italy- sort of modern day gypsy style. I recognise that I have always been an explorer by nature.

I highly recommend Nicholas Crane's book "Two Degrees West" in which he travels on foot along the two-degree meridian from Berwick-on-Tweed to the coast of Dorset, detailing the countryside, history and local people as he travels. It's a really informative jaunt through England.

I don't know if it's an option for you Peter, but for me National Express is a viable alternative to rail travel. On my last trip to England I caught the National Express coach from Devizes (which has no railway station) to London. It was fast, easy and inexpensive.

... and there is Robinson's Cider! Organic and free delivery to your door anywhere in the UK!
You know how I love my cider .

http://www.robinsonscider.com/

Pistolpete2

National Express might work, I'll have to look at the connections from Gatwick and then back to London - Victoria.

Thanks!

NE offers service to Paignton with a change at Heathrow then onwards to Bridgwater, Taunton, Exeter, Newton Abbot and Torquay for Paignton at around 45 quid single for Nov travel for three with me over 60.

feelbritish

Rodney once mentioned a "national" bus that was cheap on a Wednesday and I know he goes all over the show with busses

Chortlepuss

I was going to mention Hastings! seaside and pretty arty


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-35362240.html

bandrui

That's a lovely cottage, and seems to be very near to the "front". They have installed some good lighting.

I couldn't find it on Street View (though I saw a sign for "Take Away Fish n'Chips" ) but I see from the map view that it's tucked away between the two streets. Could be a problem if you have a car but definitely very central.

It was Tom Dyckhoff's write-up that attracted me:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012...gs-east-sussex

PP2, the latest one seems to be made for you :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012...minster-dorset

chris955

He was actually joking about the runway, it was very tongue in cheek. I have a friend near Bath that has a small plane, you have to remember they can be bought for less than a car.
They started with a budget of 300k and found another 50k, I wish we could find 50k, the best we can do is a £1 coin down the side of the sofa

sallysimmons

I always wonder about these people who 'find' an extra £50K just like that. Doesn't that really just mean that they borrowed more than they could afford?

Silly people.

I must admit though, I don't really like the shows where people have an average budget. I like watching property programmes to get ideas for home decor and to ooh and aah about the lovely homes. If it's a two-bedroom terrace in Luton, it's not really the same experience.

chris955

I think sometimes initially they set themselves a certain limit and then find that if they added to it they could get closer to the house they really want, not necessarily borrow more than they can afford but they put themselves closer to the limit.
When we recently sold our house in Australia a young(ish) professional couple bought it, both had good jobs but still needed parents to chip in with the deposit. This was a very ordinary timber and tin suburban house. They were pushed right to the limit buying it, actually to the limit and just beyond.
I must admit I prefer to see the slightly 'upmarket' places in those shows.

dunroving

No, but how about a 2-bed in Skipton?

I saw some old miner's 3-BR "cottages" in S. Wales when I lived there, that are going for less than £100k to about £140k (and not in a rough area, either). Just as much character (and more character per £) than some of these plush places - 2-ft thick stone walls, slate roofs, views over the valley, right next to country walks, the lot.

Maybe not so much "ooh-ahh", but more "ooh, I could afford that, and it's lovely"