Our landlord has put the house up for sale so we have to move and this seems like the time to get on the ladder of ownership. As we cannot afford where we are west of Reading we are looking out towards Wiltshire so what are Calne and Devizes like to live in and bike around, we would like to know?

Calne is cheaper, I’m personally not a great fan of the town, it has quite a drug problem.

Devizes is a strange place, but I’d recommend buying there out of the two, home of one of the finest butchers in the country too.

Devizes – Good brewery, terrible nightlife, good riding if you like longer treks, exploring with the OS map.

What is strange about Devizes?

A drug problem in Calne? It certainly was looking a bit down at heel when we went for a look round at the weekend.

Your topic has forced me to sign up to this forum to let you know my feeling on this.

I lived in Devizes until the age of 20 and then escaped. Don’t go near calne (sorry don’t won’t to offend anyone) but its the end of ambition. I think its pretty well looked down on by everyone near it.

Now Devizes is an odd place, a little too much in breeding but many people like it (the town not inbreeding). My parents still live there and seem very happy. If you have young kids its good but there is nothing for teenagers to do except get involved with drugs and fight. Its probably much like any town it has its good and bad points. It has been growing rapidly over the years so lots of new lego land estates. Don’t want to put you off, I know lots of people who went anyway and then moved back in later life, I had my reasons for leaving and had none to return.

Areas to avoid: Mayenne Place, Waiblingen way, Eastliegh Road and longcroft

Surprised your choosing Devizes area – seems a bit far from Reading.

Riding is more cross country than anything else, don’t know any local technical trails, Though having been riding in the aread for 15 years.

Hope that helps – feel free to ask questions, I still visit the town a lot.

it also used to be called “The Devises” and it has a castle/prison in the town center, that said despite living around the area some time I don’t recall ever seeing it.

Spideymouse, the choice of area is informed by a desire for a smallish market town with affordable housing stock (c. 200k.) within 90mins of her work in Theale. Anything east of and including Marlborough is just too expensive for our pockets as things stand as we are one income right now. It is not a forever move so issues of teen boredom are not on the radar yet. Our one year old is easy enough to amuse and has shown little interest in drugs and booze fueled scrapping 😉

how about Pewsey or somewhere around that neck of the woods?

Awesome, a thread mentioning Mayenne place,wobbly way and eastleigh!

I’m originally from outside Devizes, Lavington way, Calne isn’t that nice,lived there until i was 14, Devizes is much better The Lamb is great proper pub. Riding a bit limited but pleasant enough, (I’m spoilt living Wales now!)

You could consider Wootton Bassett which is probably better for transport if you’re working near Reading now.

Devises and Calne are nowhere near as bad as being made out here. I’ve lived round the area for most of my life. Both towns have their dodgy parts, but Devises has some real nice pubs as mentioned and is spitting distance from decent walks. Theres’ good riding anywhere, you’ve just got to hunt for it 😉

I know several people who live in Calne and are very happy as well. The reputation of Calne is more than often based on hearsay, biggest risk is being hit on my a fat minger tbfh.

Fair enough, Calne’s ok just not as nice as Devizes, the outlying villages around both are nice, but will be a bit more pricey.

LoCo, we did consider hopping over the river for a bit more house and better riding but herself does not want to move quite that far. Monmouthshire appeals but is such an unknown quantity.

How about Old Town, Swindon? Handy for transport, decent riding on your doorstep. If you’re happy living next to Reading then Swindon shouldn’t be a problem.

There are some nicer areas of Calne, and Quemerford on the A4 London Road going towards Avebury and Marlborough is very nice. Compton Bassett, just on the Eastern edge of Calne isn’t bad, either; Robbie Williams thought so, anyway. Swindon’s Old Town is lovely, and Wroughton might be worth looking at too; you have easy access up onto the chalk downland from all of the above, and there are decent pubs close by. While I don’t live in Calne or thereabouts, I’m in Chippenham, and know the area very well. The riding isn’t that technical, but there’s miles of downland trails that can be linked up and give you day long rides that can really wear you out. Great views, too.

My grand-parents used to live on Eastleigh road in Devises. My only contact was with it as a kid. Didn’t realise it was such a dive

And Old Town has some techy stuff now with the Croft Trail which gets better by the week, oh and Ladder Lane and the cheeky stuff at Hodgson and don’t forget West Woods.

I was probably a bit harsh in little old Devizes, it is in general a lovely little market town, just not good in the teenage years. Also has some nice surronding villages, Urchfont, Easterton. Pewsey is also worth checking out as it has a train station.

Like I said Devizes is growing fast and my understanding is all the new houses are selling pretty fast, so thats got to say something about the town.

Pubs are never hard to find in Devizes as it use to be dominated by Wadworths brewey. A nice little touch is they still deliver the Beer by Shires Horses, it brings the traffic to a stand still but I always liked it.

Have actually been looking in the vicinity myself. Drove around Calne and there was a house for sale on this estate that resembled a model village! Some houses did not have any front gardens therefore seemed to be a complete absence of greenery, apart from a small green with railings around it.

Only been to Devizes a few times as my wifes aunty/uncle live over there. The part I saw was old buildings, thatched roofs and the like. It was very quiet but a maze of little lanes that I guess woudl be fun on the bike.