Villages close to York
Discussion
I put up a thread a month or two back about potentially moving to York and loads of people kindly offered suggestions. We went up last weekend for something of a whistle stop tour of the area and had a look at some of the surrounding villages.
I come from a very rural area originally, so I really liked the idea of getting somewhere out in the countryside. Villages like Sutton on The Forest still appeal for that exact reason, but what struck me over the weekend was how much I like York itself and that got me wondering if somewhere closer to the city centre might make more sense?
I realise this is a totally subjective question, but what would you do? We want somewhere green with space to ride bikes, walk dogs etc (and we're on a fairly modest budget) so it couldn't be too central, but would you go for one of the villages around the ring road or look further out?
Unfortunately, we only had a very quick look at each of these places. Most of them we didn't even have time to stop, so I would never claim to have a representative view, but my thoughts were:
Bishopthorpe - Struck me as very well linked to the city - almost part of York itself - and yet impressively green for its location. Told the races can be a pain, though.
Nether Poppleton - Nice villagey centre, but seemed to be quite a lot of modern suburbia on the outskirts. Upper Poppleton looked nice, but we couldn't actually drive in due to a fete or something taking place. Both quite close to the Ouse, so possibly at risk of flooding?
Tadcaster - Speaking of flooding! Had a wander round near the brewery and got the best fish and chips I've had in years. I presume most of the houses are on the other side of the river that we didn't actually get to investigate. Again, looks like it might have been a bit swamped by modern development?
Copmanthorpe - Told there's a lot going on for families, but it seemed quite quiet and residential when we passed through?
So ... any thoughts (aside from 'shut up and buy somewhere')?
Ideally we want to an easy run to family on the western/northern side of York, plus decent transport links would be a bonus for me, hence the reason we've not really looked further round to the east. We've got a toddler, so 'family' type stuff is good, although a bit of life for grownups (a village pub as a minimum) would be good.
I come from a very rural area originally, so I really liked the idea of getting somewhere out in the countryside. Villages like Sutton on The Forest still appeal for that exact reason, but what struck me over the weekend was how much I like York itself and that got me wondering if somewhere closer to the city centre might make more sense?
I realise this is a totally subjective question, but what would you do? We want somewhere green with space to ride bikes, walk dogs etc (and we're on a fairly modest budget) so it couldn't be too central, but would you go for one of the villages around the ring road or look further out?
Unfortunately, we only had a very quick look at each of these places. Most of them we didn't even have time to stop, so I would never claim to have a representative view, but my thoughts were:
Bishopthorpe - Struck me as very well linked to the city - almost part of York itself - and yet impressively green for its location. Told the races can be a pain, though.
Nether Poppleton - Nice villagey centre, but seemed to be quite a lot of modern suburbia on the outskirts. Upper Poppleton looked nice, but we couldn't actually drive in due to a fete or something taking place. Both quite close to the Ouse, so possibly at risk of flooding?
Tadcaster - Speaking of flooding! Had a wander round near the brewery and got the best fish and chips I've had in years. I presume most of the houses are on the other side of the river that we didn't actually get to investigate. Again, looks like it might have been a bit swamped by modern development?
Copmanthorpe - Told there's a lot going on for families, but it seemed quite quiet and residential when we passed through?
So ... any thoughts (aside from 'shut up and buy somewhere')?
Ideally we want to an easy run to family on the western/northern side of York, plus decent transport links would be a bonus for me, hence the reason we've not really looked further round to the east. We've got a toddler, so 'family' type stuff is good, although a bit of life for grownups (a village pub as a minimum) would be good.
DMN said:
Tadcaster, like Sutton on the Forrest suffers from a lack of a decent bus service IMO. However the latter is well placed to for being able to get into town when the main routes are snarled up.
Nether Poppleton suffers for being on the wrong side of the ring-road. Bishopthorpe I can't comment on, but I have friends in Copmanthorpe who love living there.
I'm biased, but the group of villages to the East are worth looking at. Dunnington, Gate Hemlsey, Warthill and Stamford Bridge. Three of them have a direct bus into town that runs regularly. Plus Murton and Holtby. All can use the same cut through as Stockon when required. Plus there is a good back route to Malton that avoids the A64 (which is a no-go area in the summer).
The west or northern sides are preferable for us, I think. Mrs JackRatt wants to be near her relatives in Haxby and Acomb; I'd like easy access to the A1 and the Moors.Nether Poppleton suffers for being on the wrong side of the ring-road. Bishopthorpe I can't comment on, but I have friends in Copmanthorpe who love living there.
I'm biased, but the group of villages to the East are worth looking at. Dunnington, Gate Hemlsey, Warthill and Stamford Bridge. Three of them have a direct bus into town that runs regularly. Plus Murton and Holtby. All can use the same cut through as Stockon when required. Plus there is a good back route to Malton that avoids the A64 (which is a no-go area in the summer).
Our budget could be a bit marginal. We won't be able to get a mortgage until next year, but we're probably looking at around £300k for which we want three bedrooms, a decent size garden and a bit of character. I assumed houses would get prohibitively expensive as they got closer to York, but we drove past what looked like a fairly nice (if rather bland) 3-bed semi in Nether Poppleton for £300k.
The other thing we're keen to watch out for is planned development. I really want somewhere I can get straight onto a footpath to some open countryside, but I'd be gutted if we stretched our budget to make that happen and then someone built 400 houses on it.
Matt Harper said:
My family moved to Green Hammerton (mid way between York and Harrogate on A59) in the days before the village was bypassed. Despite the very busy main road at that time, it was a lovely place to live - very rural, but with good links to York, Harrogate and Leeds. I suspect it's not cheap though.
Also, Whixley, Nun Monkton and Kirk Hammerton were also delightful, peaceful little villages, as I remember them.
That's the sort of area we started off looking at. I grew up in the countryside and that's the sort of environment I'd like to move back to... But I was surprised how much I liked the more central villages/suburbs around York too. I'm not fussed about being able to walk into the city centre, but somewhere you can get a bus or a taxi back from a night out would be a bonus.Also, Whixley, Nun Monkton and Kirk Hammerton were also delightful, peaceful little villages, as I remember them.
On a random note, does anyone know if there are any particular areas scheduled for major development?
Long Drax said:
Does the OP have an amphibious car? 
Was it on here that someone was talking about going to see a house near York and wondering why the seller had a load of sandbags in the garage and all the electrical sockets were at chest height? Haven't actually considered Naburn either way, but keen to avoid anywhere susceptible to flooding. We have family who were caught up in the floods at Christmas.
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