Didcot/South Oxford?
Discussion
As someone who lived in Didcot for 10 years,(2000-2010), and now in Abingdon for the last 2 years, but not from anywhere around there..... my opinion is...
Didcot is split in two halves, divided by the railway line.
South Didcot, is the original town, and is made up of much older houses, is cheaper, rougher and generally pretty grim.
North Didcot is a 'new' estate, called 'Ladygrove', and was built in the late 80s onwards.. It looks like any modern housing estate really, and has all the same problems.. ie small houses, limited parking in the roads, not many 'facilites'... eg literally only 1 pub.. and its crap
There is now a large housing development being started on the west side of Didcot, towards the A34, off >600 homes.
I'd guess this will depress house prices somewhat..
In recent years, there's been a lot of money been spent on Didcot 'town centre', which now has its own cinema, arts centre, and a few retail shops.. it could do with some restaurants/cafes really, but that hasnt happened yet. there are also big plans for a phase 2 of the shopping centre in the near future.
The original town centre is made up of a bunch of charity shops and a few banks... it is grim.. looks like a ghost town..
There are a bunch of pubs in Didcot, none of which I'd go in voluntarily, they are all a bit grim..
A couple of chinese/indians, none of any note..
The cinema isnt bad, apart from being infested with the usual idiots on their phone / text etc..
After 10 years, I'd say there are two things going for Didcot...
Firstly it has excellent transport links out !
The train runs out to london almost every 10 minutes, and on the 'fast' one, you can be in central london in ~40 mins... Equally, you can get into Oxford in ~12 mins, or Reading in about the same.
So if you are looking for a night out, I'd always go on the train somewhere else !
Or else head to one of the many good countryside pubs there abouts..
The A34 is also very close, and that gets you onto the M4 or M40 in about 20 mins either direction.
Secondly, and probably most importantly, ( it was for me anyway..), housing is relatively cheap !
So, in summary, Didcot isnt that much different than most 'average' towns, with the advantage of having cheap housing, and good transport links to get to somewhere nicer for a day/night out quickly.
As it happens, I moved to Abingdon about 2 years ago as it suited the OH and my work plans better. The housing is much more expensive, it doesnt have decent transport links, no cinema, and just as many chavs.. It does however have some 'history', and decent local pubs..
Would I live in Dicot again... yeah, for sure... if it werent for the extra 25 mins commute that being further south of Oxford gives you !
Oh, nearly forgot... there's a big power station there too
If you like gliding, ( like me..), then you can see gliders over the top of it almost every day of the summer, as its probably the most used turnpoint in gliding in the UK !
If you want to know more, or have a specific question then do PM me, I'm happy to help..
Didcot is split in two halves, divided by the railway line.
South Didcot, is the original town, and is made up of much older houses, is cheaper, rougher and generally pretty grim.
North Didcot is a 'new' estate, called 'Ladygrove', and was built in the late 80s onwards.. It looks like any modern housing estate really, and has all the same problems.. ie small houses, limited parking in the roads, not many 'facilites'... eg literally only 1 pub.. and its crap
There is now a large housing development being started on the west side of Didcot, towards the A34, off >600 homes.
I'd guess this will depress house prices somewhat..
In recent years, there's been a lot of money been spent on Didcot 'town centre', which now has its own cinema, arts centre, and a few retail shops.. it could do with some restaurants/cafes really, but that hasnt happened yet. there are also big plans for a phase 2 of the shopping centre in the near future.
The original town centre is made up of a bunch of charity shops and a few banks... it is grim.. looks like a ghost town..
There are a bunch of pubs in Didcot, none of which I'd go in voluntarily, they are all a bit grim..
A couple of chinese/indians, none of any note..
The cinema isnt bad, apart from being infested with the usual idiots on their phone / text etc..
After 10 years, I'd say there are two things going for Didcot...
Firstly it has excellent transport links out !
The train runs out to london almost every 10 minutes, and on the 'fast' one, you can be in central london in ~40 mins... Equally, you can get into Oxford in ~12 mins, or Reading in about the same.
So if you are looking for a night out, I'd always go on the train somewhere else !
Or else head to one of the many good countryside pubs there abouts..
The A34 is also very close, and that gets you onto the M4 or M40 in about 20 mins either direction.
Secondly, and probably most importantly, ( it was for me anyway..), housing is relatively cheap !
So, in summary, Didcot isnt that much different than most 'average' towns, with the advantage of having cheap housing, and good transport links to get to somewhere nicer for a day/night out quickly.
As it happens, I moved to Abingdon about 2 years ago as it suited the OH and my work plans better. The housing is much more expensive, it doesnt have decent transport links, no cinema, and just as many chavs.. It does however have some 'history', and decent local pubs..
Would I live in Dicot again... yeah, for sure... if it werent for the extra 25 mins commute that being further south of Oxford gives you !
Oh, nearly forgot... there's a big power station there too

If you like gliding, ( like me..), then you can see gliders over the top of it almost every day of the summer, as its probably the most used turnpoint in gliding in the UK !
If you want to know more, or have a specific question then do PM me, I'm happy to help..
Nimbus said:
As someone who lived in Didcot for 10 years,(2000-2010), and now in Abingdon for the last 2 years, but not from anywhere around there..... my opinion is...
Didcot is split in two halves, divided by the railway line.
South Didcot, is the original town, and is made up of much older houses, is cheaper, rougher and generally pretty grim.
North Didcot is a 'new' estate, called 'Ladygrove', and was built in the late 80s onwards.. It looks like any modern housing estate really, and has all the same problems.. ie small houses, limited parking in the roads, not many 'facilites'... eg literally only 1 pub.. and its crap
There is now a large housing development being started on the west side of Didcot, towards the A34, off >600 homes.
I'd guess this will depress house prices somewhat..
In recent years, there's been a lot of money been spent on Didcot 'town centre', which now has its own cinema, arts centre, and a few retail shops.. it could do with some restaurants/cafes really, but that hasnt happened yet. there are also big plans for a phase 2 of the shopping centre in the near future.
The original town centre is made up of a bunch of charity shops and a few banks... it is grim.. looks like a ghost town..
There are a bunch of pubs in Didcot, none of which I'd go in voluntarily, they are all a bit grim..
A couple of chinese/indians, none of any note..
The cinema isnt bad, apart from being infested with the usual idiots on their phone / text etc..
After 10 years, I'd say there are two things going for Didcot...
Firstly it has excellent transport links out !
The train runs out to london almost every 10 minutes, and on the 'fast' one, you can be in central london in ~40 mins... Equally, you can get into Oxford in ~12 mins, or Reading in about the same.
So if you are looking for a night out, I'd always go on the train somewhere else !
Or else head to one of the many good countryside pubs there abouts..
The A34 is also very close, and that gets you onto the M4 or M40 in about 20 mins either direction.
Secondly, and probably most importantly, ( it was for me anyway..), housing is relatively cheap !
So, in summary, Didcot isnt that much different than most 'average' towns, with the advantage of having cheap housing, and good transport links to get to somewhere nicer for a day/night out quickly.
As it happens, I moved to Abingdon about 2 years ago as it suited the OH and my work plans better. The housing is much more expensive, it doesnt have decent transport links, no cinema, and just as many chavs.. It does however have some 'history', and decent local pubs..
Would I live in Dicot again... yeah, for sure... if it werent for the extra 25 mins commute that being further south of Oxford gives you !
Oh, nearly forgot... there's a big power station there too
If you like gliding, ( like me..), then you can see gliders over the top of it almost every day of the summer, as its probably the most used turnpoint in gliding in the UK !
If you want to know more, or have a specific question then do PM me, I'm happy to help..
+1Didcot is split in two halves, divided by the railway line.
South Didcot, is the original town, and is made up of much older houses, is cheaper, rougher and generally pretty grim.
North Didcot is a 'new' estate, called 'Ladygrove', and was built in the late 80s onwards.. It looks like any modern housing estate really, and has all the same problems.. ie small houses, limited parking in the roads, not many 'facilites'... eg literally only 1 pub.. and its crap
There is now a large housing development being started on the west side of Didcot, towards the A34, off >600 homes.
I'd guess this will depress house prices somewhat..
In recent years, there's been a lot of money been spent on Didcot 'town centre', which now has its own cinema, arts centre, and a few retail shops.. it could do with some restaurants/cafes really, but that hasnt happened yet. there are also big plans for a phase 2 of the shopping centre in the near future.
The original town centre is made up of a bunch of charity shops and a few banks... it is grim.. looks like a ghost town..
There are a bunch of pubs in Didcot, none of which I'd go in voluntarily, they are all a bit grim..
A couple of chinese/indians, none of any note..
The cinema isnt bad, apart from being infested with the usual idiots on their phone / text etc..
After 10 years, I'd say there are two things going for Didcot...
Firstly it has excellent transport links out !
The train runs out to london almost every 10 minutes, and on the 'fast' one, you can be in central london in ~40 mins... Equally, you can get into Oxford in ~12 mins, or Reading in about the same.
So if you are looking for a night out, I'd always go on the train somewhere else !
Or else head to one of the many good countryside pubs there abouts..
The A34 is also very close, and that gets you onto the M4 or M40 in about 20 mins either direction.
Secondly, and probably most importantly, ( it was for me anyway..), housing is relatively cheap !
So, in summary, Didcot isnt that much different than most 'average' towns, with the advantage of having cheap housing, and good transport links to get to somewhere nicer for a day/night out quickly.
As it happens, I moved to Abingdon about 2 years ago as it suited the OH and my work plans better. The housing is much more expensive, it doesnt have decent transport links, no cinema, and just as many chavs.. It does however have some 'history', and decent local pubs..
Would I live in Dicot again... yeah, for sure... if it werent for the extra 25 mins commute that being further south of Oxford gives you !
Oh, nearly forgot... there's a big power station there too

If you like gliding, ( like me..), then you can see gliders over the top of it almost every day of the summer, as its probably the most used turnpoint in gliding in the UK !
If you want to know more, or have a specific question then do PM me, I'm happy to help..
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