bandrui

Yes, there certainly is that element there, as there is in many British towns/cities/villages but there is also another side to the area that the article only briefly alludes to. The availability of reasonably priced properties shows that this is also a place for the less than affluent and/or famous.

I grew up horse-riding and it was my major love in life until I hit my late teens, but that doesn't make me a snob. I still like to ride and would like to live in a place where that is an option. I confess that I am a little put off by Chipping Norton's annual hunt where they still kill the foxes. When I went out on hunts in Bedfordshire, they were "mock' hunts where we did not chase or kill foxes, though there were 'real' hunts where the riders would come back with blood-smeared faces as was the tradition. I always found that quite bloodthirsty. I wonder, are there enough foxes left that still cause real damage to farmers as they did in the past?

cheers

From what I have read many foxes have become quite tame and numerous. In one case a fox entered an open door of a home and went after a baby.

Pistolpete2

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/ma...es-on-beeching

windsong

Is Beeching still alive, I wonder? I hope he at least lived long enough to realize the error of his ways in closing so many wonderful railway lines. I watched a program about it all last night.

Pistolpete2

One in the comments section - supposedly in the know - mentions that it was not actually Lord Beeching who killed this particular piece of track but the then Minister of Transport Barbara Castle, a few years after Beeching used his ax, when she or her advisors established that it was no longer viable.

windsong

Thanks, Pete. I didn't know. It's nice to see that some of the axed lines are being brought back by volunteers.

Pistolpete2

I was thinking that there are several spots in the West Country that ultimately would have been well able to sustain the continuation of rail service, such as Padstow, which had express service from Waterloo when I was a kid in the late 50s, just prior to closure, and was used for the logistics of moving fresh fish to market.

However, my research has led me to a regional bus service which will come in very handy if we settle in the area around Exeter:

http://www.westerngreyhound.com/index.php

Also this for points south-east:

X53 and X54

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/dors...em=5011&conf=0

(service updates need to be updated, methinks)

bandrui

What timing. I know we can rely on you to keep us up-to-date with the latest news.

bandrui

Yes. Sometimes I actually found buses easier for middle distance trips in the UK. None of the changing platforms, carrying bags, etc. that sometimes hamper rail trips.

Pistolpete2

Westerngreyhound routes into Cornwall ex Exeter follow the fast dual carriageways via Oakhampton and round Launceston so it is fairly quick to get from A to B and for us over the (female) pension age they are free, off-peak.

This will make it unnecessary to have a car if arriving at Newquay Airport and when travelling along the North Cornwall Coast to Port Gaverne/Port Isaac and Polzeath/Rock area plus from Wadebridge to Padstow and then down the coast from there via Constantine and St Mawgan, which is a fairly big deal.

Of course, if one could afford property in that area - Wadebridge seems possible, Camelford definitely is - there would not necessarily be the need to have a car.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012...operty-roundup

Bring your Wellies! Cardinham just outside Bodmin got the heaviest rainfall in the entire region in the Autumn flood season.

mickok

We both teach online, at a community college in North Carolina, and we've been told we can continue to do that from the UK (moving in May).

A good approach might be to check your local colleges to see if they are looking for adjunct instructors and see if they offer online course sections. Get started while in the US, then see if they have any concerns when you move. I wouldn't bring up moving up front though, build your reputation first..

feelbritish

Well here is a bit of a change. Anyone know anything about West Sussex, particularly around coastline from West Wittering, Selsey to Bognor Regis. All areas seem to be within easy reach of Chichester. I had a chat with OH last night about settling in IOW and he mentioned that he will settle there and not be happy to leave everytime I want to go to visit friends or meet someone in London. It got me thinking that perhaps being on another island we may be somewhat cut off and at the mercy of the ferries again like we are here! I googled this area above as I had a guest once from Chichester and looked into that area but we want the seaside, not necessary right on the coast but at least a 10/15 min drive away. The only thing I know about Bognor Regis is that I had a terrible holiday weekend there in 2000 at Butlins Resort but the small town centre was nice and my wedding ring was bought at a jeweller shop there!

bandrui

Hi feelbritish, I don't know anything about that area but have been going through the "coast or not" dilemma. Today I went down South of the island to a little cove and sat on a log watching the sea and asked myself this question. The great thing about the sea, at least for me, is that it is like an old friend. I get great comfort from watching the sea and never feel isolated or hemmed in. My grandmother used to love to tell the story of when she took me to the seaside when I was 3 or 4 y.o., time to go home, Grandma was talking to the coach driver, turned around and I was gone. She found me sitting on the steps watching the sea.

Today I had this idea that I would like to buy a campervan, and follow the coastline around from North Somerset, North Devon, Cornwall, South Devon, Dorset, Hants, West Sussex, with some inland trips to places that are on my shortlist (which is very long!). For some reason, I like the West (of London that is). But would also like to see friends in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, and detour to Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. I think it would be a lot of fun to do before I am too old and settle in to one place. I do like the feeling of freedom.

On the island question, though I am sure that IOW would be a great place to live, I also feel that after 11 years on this island, I don't want to be ferry-bound again. BTW, I am sure that I have asked you this before but where on Vancouver Island are you, since we're practically neighbours?

cheers

I don't know why but I know the answer. They are north of Victoria and south of Campbell. Half way in between?

feelbritish

We are in the Comox Valley and have had enough of it! For us it has changed beyond recognition. If only my OH was as adventurous as me or you! I would love to spend a summer, in a campervan touring the coasts of the UK. He wants roots and to know that where he will be in the future will be his final resting place with no more moving! I cannot guarantee that, I have always been a free spirit and a wonderer who tries to put down roots but struggles. I love the sea, having had it around me all my life except for 2 years in Buckinghamshire and I know I missed it then, so much so that I painted a mural on my bathroom walls of waves and sand! However as long as I am a short drive or bus route away from the sea I will be happy because like you, I can stare out at the ocean and at waves forever! There is a spirit inside of me that likes to feel the calmness of the sea and also I love the angry stormy waves as well. We both love the IOW and always have and I feel a great surge of love welling up in me when I see pictures of it! However I am worried that I will feel trapped! My OH says I am spending too much time thinking about all of this instead of enjoying the moment here and I know he is right. I just feel the need to search for that elusive place where I may be happy, and then again maybe it will be nowhere! Following other threads and forums on BE there are people who would love to be in my situation, only stressing about where to go in UK!