Villages near Taunton

[Chris71]

After the best part of a year of window shopping on Rightmove we might be close to actually moving back to the Westcountry. The idea is partly to move closer to my parents in East Devon. Mrs Chris71 is a music teacher, so having lots of good schools nearby would suit her and I work from home but travel a lot, so somewhere with half decent links to the M5, A303 and train lines would be handy. Plus, although we're looking for somewhere reasonably quiet, having somewhere a bit more lively within a relatively short drive appeals. All of which has made us wondering if one of the villages near Taunton might be a good idea...

So, where would you recommend? Or perhaps more importantly, where would you avoid?

I'm a bit reluctant to head to the north west of Taunton. I've heard the area around Cotford St Luke is nice, but that puts us further away from friends and family to the south, plus transport links to the east. South of the M5 could work providing it wasn't somewhere too remote - secluded is good, but we'd like a pub and a village shop ideally. East/north east of the town could work, but I don't want to head too far otherwise we'll be out of babysitting range of my parents!

In no particular order, places we've noticed nice houses include:

Trull
Durston (appears to be right on the A361)
East Lyng (ditto)
Milverton (totally the wrong direction, but a couple of nice houses in budget!)
Combe St Nicholas (I realise that's pushing the definition of 'near Taunton' a bit...)
South Petherton (ditto)

ETA I guess the other things I should ask are:

There seems to be a lot of development going on currently. Is there anywhere in particular I should steer clear of if I don't want 500 Bovis homes springing up on the rolling green fields I mortgaged myself to the eyeballs to look at?

I think this is more of an issue further east(?) but do I need to be wary of flooding in these areas?

Edited by Chris71 on Saturday 18th February 18:40

[Chris71]

FrenchSpider said:

I live in Bristol so cannot really comment on specific towns/villages, but I would be ever so slightly cautious about considering purchasing a house in the Somerset Levels. What about a bit further down the M5, say around Wellington?

Yeah, flooding is a concern. There again, I guess if you pick somewhere on high ground (and don't mind canoeing to the shops) then an area that's de-valued due to flood concerns could be good value.

Open to suggestion. I know Wellington has a very posh school, so presumably it also has quite a posh town, but isn't it supposed to have a really rough council estate too?

[Chris71]

standards said:

The school's not that posh, it can't be because I went there. It gets confused with Wellington College in Berkshire, which is posh.

Ah, might be guilty of that to a certain extent, but I grew up relatively nearby and my first contact with the school - the one in Somerset - was playing rugby against it, so I knew it was independent.

My thinking, though, was that being a reasonably well-regarded school it might be a source of students for Mrs Chris71.

[Chris71]

Some useful stuff there, cheers.

[Chris71]

Thanks gents. Budget is subject to what our mortgage adviser comes back with, but it won't be huge. Probably a touch over £300,000, for which we need two good sized bedrooms and a third bedroom or reception room that could serve as a small office. We'd prefer an older house, preferably at least semi-detached, in a reasonably rural location with a decent-sized garden. Access to a nearby nursery and/or primary school would be a major bonus and we'd prefer to have a pub and a village shop within walking distance.

minghis said:

This side of town means your kids won't need a stab vest...

Which side does?

I realise everywhere has its good and bad points, but it'd be good to know where to avoid as well.

ETA I should add, it doesn't have to be Taunton necessarily. That marks the northern end of the area we're looking at, but we're also considering the villages down towards Chard and Ilminster. Taunton just seems to make sense due to the proximity of schools and transport links.

Edited by Chris71 on Monday 20th February 13:50

[Chris71]

bristolracer said:

Just be aware that you can't get around Somerset quickly.

I grew up on the (other) edge of the Blackdown Hills and generally didn't have too much trouble. Think my 205 GTI probably still holds the outright record for Axminster to Crewkerne.

On a more serious note, I work from home most days, so I wouldn't be travelling that often. For my wife it's more likely to be bottlenecks getting into places like Taunton as she's a peripatetic teacher generally doing an hour or two in one school and then moving on.

[Chris71]

This is the sort of area I'm looking at on Rightmove (I realised the southern tip of this is a bit off-topic when it comes to Taunton). Is there anywhere you think I should add (or remove)?



ETA Now added the Curys and Hinton St George.

Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 22 February 15:34

[Chris71]

Dixy said:

It is now almost certain that both the A303 and the A358 will be significantly upgraded. This will cause utter chaos for years and will either increase or decrease the value of properties depending on proximity

That's interesting to know. Can't say I'm especially looking forward to trips along the A303 when they do the Stonehenge tunnel either.

[Chris71]

The best bet looks like the area roughly between Chard and Taunton. Most are within about five miles of the A303 or the A358. Off for our first batch of viewings at Easter.

[Chris71]

So, what would be the preferred route into Taunton?

Having initially dismissed it as being too remote, I think we might re-visit the idea of somewhere to the north west like Milverton or even somewhere further west like Holcum Rogus.

We don't actually have any commitment to be near Taunton (so it's not as if we have to commute to a certain side of the town at rush hour every day). I'm just pre-empting the fact that it could be better for schools and transport links.

[Chris71]

Dixy said:

If part of Taunton will be a regular destination live that side.

The tricky thing is, we don't actually know. The assumption is that Taunton would be a good hub for Mrs Chris71's job, which involves visiting a variety of schools and private students. Taunton is relatively large and relatively affluent (in parts) so it struck me as a good hunting ground for her. I'd like access to the M5 and perhaps the occasional trip to the train station.

On the other hand, we don't actually have to be anywhere near Taunton. Somewhere like Ilminster or the outlying villages around Chard could work.