Thirsk’y Sessay way?
Discussion
Anyone lived around this area?
Thirsk seems pleasant enough, and lots of sleepy surrounding villages.
Highlights?
Lowlights?
I’m pretty familiar with Boroughbridge and Ripon as decent local towns within 15 mins... but never been to Thirsk properly to know if it’s genuinely nice.
Thanks for any thoughts!
Dave
Thirsk seems pleasant enough, and lots of sleepy surrounding villages.
Highlights?
Lowlights?
I’m pretty familiar with Boroughbridge and Ripon as decent local towns within 15 mins... but never been to Thirsk properly to know if it’s genuinely nice.
Thanks for any thoughts!
Dave
I’ve not heard any negative comments over the years, I used to work there a couple of days a month for ten years from around 1998, it was a nice run from York. There’s obviously lots of country runs on the doorstep and quick access to the A1/A19.
I have a petrolhead friend who’s lived in nearby Sowerby for many years. I’m sure he’s very happy there.
I have a petrolhead friend who’s lived in nearby Sowerby for many years. I’m sure he’s very happy there.
Thirsk has enough to offer for a family home, lots of lovely countryside roundabaout which isn't inundated with tourists like the Dales. Some new estates going up, good train links esp if you nip to Northallerton - which is plenty big enough a centre for me!
Local cottages in villages can be very pretty but are at somewhat of a premium - prewar semis are at a very decent price.
Pop to Bedale & the lower Ure & Swale valleys for a leisurely drive & of course walk up to the White Horse at Kilvington.
Was in Boroughbridge today & it's being swamped by an insane amount of building - I guess being within 4 mins of the A1 is taking it's toll.
We lived for many years a bit south of York & reckon the area you're interested in is better!
Have a look at Thirsk & Northallerton on market days - I recommend the Bedale bakery stall & try the pakora & french cheese chaps!
Local cottages in villages can be very pretty but are at somewhat of a premium - prewar semis are at a very decent price.
Pop to Bedale & the lower Ure & Swale valleys for a leisurely drive & of course walk up to the White Horse at Kilvington.
Was in Boroughbridge today & it's being swamped by an insane amount of building - I guess being within 4 mins of the A1 is taking it's toll.
We lived for many years a bit south of York & reckon the area you're interested in is better!
Have a look at Thirsk & Northallerton on market days - I recommend the Bedale bakery stall & try the pakora & french cheese chaps!
Doesn’t feel like too many problems then.
We currently live in Pateley Bridge and walk everywhere.
Shops for all your usual food needs, community of friends and good acquaintances, school, nursery, a high school, sports centre...
Even during lockdown I just walked to local shops and no issues, maybe a 2 person queue.
We’d stay if we could, but our rental term is coming to an end in 3 months, eldest about to start school (feel terrible about moving as he’s settled there in pre-reception nursery) and there is nothing around to rent or buy.
But it’s getting more and more annoying with tourists in summer.
They swamp everything.
The high street is dangerously busy with cars and stuff. People speeding and cyclists getting run-ups for Greenhow.
All the houses mostly have stupid layouts. Stupid gardens on hills etc.
Also every time we want more than Ripon offers (rarely go to Harrogate, traffic!!!), it’s out to York etc... and the drive to get to a motorway or decent link is about 45mins!
Or Skipton the other way, but that’s even further from all our more distant friends and family.
Just thinking is now the time to get moved.
Houses over Thirsk way are really well connected, but lots of nice quiet villages with decent plots.
OK it’ll be getting in the car a lot more to do stuff but then a lot more nearby to drive to.
Possibly very eerily quiet in the villages like Topcliffe, Dalton, Sessay and Brafferton etc.
My main worry is without anything to do I’ll be bored all day on quiet days (wfh etc), and end up having to drive all the time to do stuff.
Thirsk proper looks nice, I’ve been through it but never stopped.
Lots of new stuff going up, but would prefer an older house and a decent garden, and extension potential, double garage for a toy etc.
If I could find a nice suburb of somewhere like Thirsk or Ripon I’d go for it... but decent properties in urban suburbs are eye wateringly expensive!
Going for a recce today and on Monday to try get a feel for the places!
We currently live in Pateley Bridge and walk everywhere.
Shops for all your usual food needs, community of friends and good acquaintances, school, nursery, a high school, sports centre...
Even during lockdown I just walked to local shops and no issues, maybe a 2 person queue.
We’d stay if we could, but our rental term is coming to an end in 3 months, eldest about to start school (feel terrible about moving as he’s settled there in pre-reception nursery) and there is nothing around to rent or buy.
But it’s getting more and more annoying with tourists in summer.
They swamp everything.
The high street is dangerously busy with cars and stuff. People speeding and cyclists getting run-ups for Greenhow.
All the houses mostly have stupid layouts. Stupid gardens on hills etc.
Also every time we want more than Ripon offers (rarely go to Harrogate, traffic!!!), it’s out to York etc... and the drive to get to a motorway or decent link is about 45mins!
Or Skipton the other way, but that’s even further from all our more distant friends and family.
Just thinking is now the time to get moved.
Houses over Thirsk way are really well connected, but lots of nice quiet villages with decent plots.
OK it’ll be getting in the car a lot more to do stuff but then a lot more nearby to drive to.
Possibly very eerily quiet in the villages like Topcliffe, Dalton, Sessay and Brafferton etc.
My main worry is without anything to do I’ll be bored all day on quiet days (wfh etc), and end up having to drive all the time to do stuff.
Thirsk proper looks nice, I’ve been through it but never stopped.
Lots of new stuff going up, but would prefer an older house and a decent garden, and extension potential, double garage for a toy etc.
If I could find a nice suburb of somewhere like Thirsk or Ripon I’d go for it... but decent properties in urban suburbs are eye wateringly expensive!
Going for a recce today and on Monday to try get a feel for the places!
Hope it goes well for you - if travelling up to Thirsk on the A61 from Ripon watch out for the `safety` vans - they even have little ones like this now: 
& they are deployed on NSL stretches as well as in the villages/approches to Thirsk.
They don't seem to put them on the Ripon bypass where 100mph+ is an evening ritual for some motorcycles.
& they are deployed on NSL stretches as well as in the villages/approches to Thirsk.They don't seem to put them on the Ripon bypass where 100mph+ is an evening ritual for some motorcycles.
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
Nice and handy for the Crown & Anchor! (Who's your petrolhead mate? I'll keep an eye out for him).We recently moved to Sowerby and love it. Easy walk into Thirsk with it's great selection of shops/pubs/cafes/takeaways and it's all very civilized (so far...). Market place has free parking for the first hour, and on the odd occasion that I've taken the car into town, I've never failed to find a space (market days excepted, obvs.)
Easy access to some excellent roads, too - go to town centre & turn left, Yorkshire dales, go to town centre & turn right, N. York moors. Brilliant!
Julianm, for many years we’ve gone out via Sharrow and then pick up the A168.
Our recce went well. We just need to take a look at the school at Sessay and then Brafferton... I’d looked at Brafferton school a bit years ago when looking to move then.
Also spoke to the adjacent neighbour of the house we’re going to see and he seemed like he’d be a good neighbour.
Thirsk traffic seemed much quieter than last time I went through.
I’m figuring the new huge development now having an off-spur from the A168 has made a vast difference as inbound traffic isn’t all pouring in and through Thirsk centre... essentially looping it.
Funnily the new on-ramp to the A168 didn’t seem to have a roundabout sign for the roundabout just before the final slip, a very odd arrangement.
Sowerby seems quite a nice part of Thirsk... tempted to try have a look around there too... if we can find that Pateley Bridge kinda vibe where you can walk a lot to things, but also feel rural, that’d be great.
Our recce went well. We just need to take a look at the school at Sessay and then Brafferton... I’d looked at Brafferton school a bit years ago when looking to move then.
Also spoke to the adjacent neighbour of the house we’re going to see and he seemed like he’d be a good neighbour.
Thirsk traffic seemed much quieter than last time I went through.
I’m figuring the new huge development now having an off-spur from the A168 has made a vast difference as inbound traffic isn’t all pouring in and through Thirsk centre... essentially looping it.
Funnily the new on-ramp to the A168 didn’t seem to have a roundabout sign for the roundabout just before the final slip, a very odd arrangement.
Sowerby seems quite a nice part of Thirsk... tempted to try have a look around there too... if we can find that Pateley Bridge kinda vibe where you can walk a lot to things, but also feel rural, that’d be great.
littleredrooster said:
Nice and handy for the Crown & Anchor! (Who's your petrolhead mate? I'll keep an eye out for him).
I've forgotten in the mists of time, but I think it was 126 paces to the Crown & Anchor...maybe 146 paces back! Not sure which petrolhead mate you are referring to. I lived and worked as a local cop in Thirsk for ten years about twenty years ago.
Like any small market town it has/had it's common issues. Drugs, boy racers, drunken idiots on weekends.
It has expanded a bit in size since then but crime is relatively low. Main high school used to be very good.
It is in a nice spot in the Vale of York between Yorkshire Dales and Moors with good roads and a rail station on the main east coast line.
Trips to idyllic scenery by car or down to London or up to Edinburgh on the train are simple and pretty quick.
It has a horse racecourse, so can be busy on race days. Think Goodwood ladies day but not quite as well heeled or dressed.
Overall as a place to live etc 8/10 from me and a damn sight better than a big city etc..
It does make a big deal out of the James Herriot Vet connection so gets plenty of older tourists.
Sessay way can't remember much about that but probably ok.
Don't remember being up there every week anyway..
Like any small market town it has/had it's common issues. Drugs, boy racers, drunken idiots on weekends.
It has expanded a bit in size since then but crime is relatively low. Main high school used to be very good.
It is in a nice spot in the Vale of York between Yorkshire Dales and Moors with good roads and a rail station on the main east coast line.
Trips to idyllic scenery by car or down to London or up to Edinburgh on the train are simple and pretty quick.
It has a horse racecourse, so can be busy on race days. Think Goodwood ladies day but not quite as well heeled or dressed.
Overall as a place to live etc 8/10 from me and a damn sight better than a big city etc..
It does make a big deal out of the James Herriot Vet connection so gets plenty of older tourists.
Sessay way can't remember much about that but probably ok.
Don't remember being up there every week anyway..
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
littleredrooster said:
Nice and handy for the Crown & Anchor! (Who's your petrolhead mate? I'll keep an eye out for him).
I've forgotten in the mists of time, but I think it was 126 paces to the Crown & Anchor...maybe 146 paces back! Not sure which petrolhead mate you are referring to. littleredrooster said:
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
littleredrooster said:
Nice and handy for the Crown & Anchor! (Who's your petrolhead mate? I'll keep an eye out for him).
I've forgotten in the mists of time, but I think it was 126 paces to the Crown & Anchor...maybe 146 paces back! Not sure which petrolhead mate you are referring to. 
Nyloc20 said:
littleredrooster said:
Apologies - it was Nyloc20 with the mate in Sowerby! Oops!
You'll have to excuse me not giving personal details but I can say he's a Morgan owner.Gassing Station | Yorkshire | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff