Moving to North Lancs/South Lakes - advice

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Moving to North Lancs/South Lakes - advice

37 posts & 19 voices | Started 2 years ago by 99percentchimp | Latest reply from trailofdestruction

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99percentchimp - Member

Might be in a position to move to the South Lakes/North Lancs.

Any advice on nice places to live around Carnforth/Milnthorpe area or maybe a bit furhter north in South Cumbria... anywhere that is a bit of a hidden gem that i might not have thought of?

Have young kids too so thinking of what schools are like in the area etc.

Obviously riding, fell running and climbing in the area are not too shabby so not too worried about that aspect from my point of view, more issues with family life etc.

Cheers for any pointers!

Posted 2 years ago #
tragically1969 - Member

Man, you have heaps to go at, towns i would suggest Kendal but its a bit further north, Milnthorpe isn't that great TBH.

There are loads of little villages around that area, all depends how much money you have, Arnside, Yealand, Silverdale, Burton, Holme all spring to mind as being nice areas to live in

Posted 2 years ago #
99percentchimp - Member

Cheers, I was also thinking along the lines of as far north as Kendal/South Lakes and maybe as far south as Lancaster - a friend used to work at Heysham and lived in the Lune valley which I must admit did seem very nice, but that was before I had kids/family and my awareness of schools etc. was pretty limited. Silverdale seemed nice when I've been round that area too.

Posted 2 years ago #
tragically1969 - Member

Kendal is good, expensive though, in fact any village within a 10 mile radius will be pricey.

The Lune valley is nice too Caton and Hornby are the bigger villages in the valley, Lancaster is a bit big for my liking, its a university town too.

Like i say you have heaps to go at, where you based now ?

Posted 2 years ago #
StuF - Member

You might want to consider that the popular areas (kendal etc) get absolutely heaving in the summer when the tourists descend. So you might want to look somewhere abit less touristy.

I'm not sure what it would be like living there but I know we always avoided there during the summer when I lived up there on the west coast.

Posted 2 years ago #
Eddie Fiola - Member

Milnthorpe!!! Dont do it, ive taught there for years A crossroads to nowhere. Loads of nice places nearby though. Arnside silverdale etc, but are expensive. Avoid Carnforth aswell. That doesnt help at all sorry!

Posted 2 years ago #
trailofdestruction - Member

Grew up in South Lakes so know the area well. As tragically1969 pointed out, Kendal is expensive, but it has the best amenities in the area. All the other villages you're looking at are very nice as well. How about Kirkby Lonsdale, a bit further out but worth considering. As far as I know most of the schools in the area are pretty good, but I'll ask the wife as she's a teacher and knows about these things. Great place to bring up kids though, lots of space and very safe (in the grand scheme of things). Lancaster is a good town, but it has good areas and bad areas (like everywhere), but others on here might offer more in depth advice as I don't go there that often.

Where are you going to be working, as travelling can sometimes be an issue, especially in tourist season. Any other questions, just ask. HTH.

Posted 2 years ago #
ridethelakes - Member

Steer clear of Heysham, it looks nice on the outside but its near Morecambe and Morecambe is a complete dump.

Carnforth, Milnthorpe as someone mentioned above is just a crossroads, very dull!

I would suggest renting somewhere for 6 momths and doing a bit of exploring until you find your favourite place.

Having lived in lots of places including London and Brighton (Hove actually...) I can safely say Windermere where I am now is the best place to live on the planet!

Posted 2 years ago #
tragically1969 - Member

I can safely say Windermere where I am now is the best place to live on the planet!

Apart from July and August when the population is overtaken by visiting Japanese....

Posted 2 years ago #
hora - Member

Moving to North Lancs/South Lakes - advice

Lucky bugger

Posted 2 years ago #
grumm - Member

Kirkby Lonsdale and surrounding villages are definitely worth looking at. I grew up round there and it's beautiful. Good schools too - expensive though.

You can do fairly decent riding from your door up around Barbon etc. and hutton roof and farleton knott are very near for good climbing and some nice biking.

Morecambe is a complete dump.

Do not agree - bits of Morecambe are lovely and the view across the bay is stunning. It's pretty cheap too. Morecambe is a lot nicer than it was a few years ago.

Posted 2 years ago #
davidtaylforth - Member

Kendal is a nice spot. Your only a stones throw from the lake district aswell

Posted 2 years ago #
ridethelakes - Member

Morecambe is a complete dump.

Do not agree - bits of Morecambe are lovely and the view across the bay is stunning. It's pretty cheap too. Morecambe is a lot nicer than it was a few years ago.

Obviously these things are subjective but having lived there for 10 years during my childhood, working there for the last 6 years and my parents still live there I think I can say with absolute certainty that it is indeed a dump.

Take a look around, the town centre is littered with poundshops, no reputable shops to speak of, restaurant choice is dire. There's an Aldi on the seafront FFS which shows how desparate the planners are to attract business. Because of the very cheap housing much of the local population is on the disadvantaged side or very old or just those that have got stuck there like my parents. It has improved in the last few years but still has a long way to go.

Posted 2 years ago #
grumm - Member

I agree about the town centre and restaurants etc, but my colleague lives in a huge beautiful house down at the north end of the prom, with absolutely stunning views across the bay - which he got for a really good price. The Midland Hotel restaurant is apparently now pretty good - Artisan cafe is very nice too. I agree Morecambe has a long way to go still but I think people are too negative.

The prom has been really nicely done up imo and on a clear day there aren't many nicer places around. I work in Morecambe and on the days of some of the events we put on like the Kite Festival, Morecambe is packed with people having a great time.

Posted 2 years ago #
chakaping - Member

Funny, I was thinking about posting almost the exact same thread. This has been useful anyway.

We are looking at Kendal. Is it a bit less twee than some of the towns in the Lakes?

Will check out Kirkby Lonsdale too. Are schools good there?

There's an Aldi on the seafront

That's a plus surely? Aldi is wikid awsum.

Posted 2 years ago #
grumm - Member

Kendal is less twee than Lakes towns, but also not as nice imo - has a surprising lack of any decent pubs.

I quite fancy Staveley myself - probably slightly less expensive than central Lakes and amazing riding from the door. Quite a bit going on there too with some interesting gigs at the beer hall etc, and the Eagle and Child is a nice local.

KL only has one secondary school which is where I went - slightly up it's own arse with pretensions of still being a grammar school but had fairly high standards would be my summary of it.

Posted 2 years ago #
shoei - Member

ridethelakes - Member

Steer clear of Heysham, it looks nice on the outside but its near Morecambe and Morecambe is a complete dump.

Hmm, seems ok to me, only been living in heysham for 20 years now. Lots of nice new houses being built.

Prior to Heysham, lived in Morecambe for 10 years. Granted some parts of Morecambe are a disaster zone, but they are gradually getting round to sorting it out.
Big draw back to Heysham/Morecambe is getting to/through Lancaster in a morning. The traffic is dire.

As mentioned, Carnforth is just a set of traffic lights on the A6, the epicenter of dullness.

Posted 2 years ago #
chakaping - Member

Just checked out house prices in Kirkby Lonsdale on Rightmove.

No four beds under £350k, so I think that rules that one out!

Sorry for partially hijacking yr thread chimp, but what's the word on Clitheroe? Wife has relatives there and seems quite pleasant. Riding up to much?

Posted 2 years ago #
Teetosugars - Member

Clitheroe is nice, and yes there is some good riding in the area, plus Gisburn and Lee Quarry are on your doorstep.

Again, Its quite an expensive place to be, but its a nice little town, that has everyting you would need.

There are nice little Villages near by worth looking at: Simonstone, Sabden, Whalley..

Oh and the Calfs head at Worston is a spot on pub...

Posted 2 years ago #
trailofdestruction - Member

Clitheroe is ok. Again not that local, but from what I've seen it's pretty nice. No idea about houses, schools, pubs etc, but lots of good riding to be had. Gisburn is just down the road, which can't be that bad.

Posted 2 years ago #
grumm - Member

I know someone from Clitheroe and he says it's genuinely very inbred and people there are pretty racist - make of that what you will. Probably similar to other small towns but he reckoned it was worse.

I did the sound for a crazy under 18s gig at a youth centre in Clitheroe a few years ago - loads of nutty punk kids getting hammered and wrecking the place. It was interesting!

Posted 2 years ago #
crazy-legs - Member

I really like Kendal, it seems to escape the worst of the summer tourist traffic (has a bypass unlike Windermere and Ambleside), it's not on the "really popular" tourist list but it has a decent range of shops, pubs etc, it's close to the motorway, it's got some great road and MTB riding pretty much from the doorstep.

Lancaster is nice, I lived there for 5 years (and still regret moving!) but traffic round the one-way system can be dire and it suffers from a distinct lack of good restaurants. Close to the motorway though and you can be in the Lakes in <30 mins, nice road riding from the door as well and not very touristy.

Posted 2 years ago #
trailofdestruction - Member

he says it's genuinely very inbred and people there are pretty racist

Sound like most parts of North Lancs to me then. It can get a bit like that round my way (Fylde coast) but I just avoid/ignore most of it. Like grum says, no worse than anywhere else really. I'm just trolling as I'm Cumbrian and it's much nicer up there.

Posted 2 years ago #
99percentchimp - Member

Cheers for the input - I'd spent sometime in Fleetwood over the years at the nautical college and I've never been too taken by the Fylde Coast etc. but the South Lakes I do like. Depends on if it all fits for the rest of the tribe.
Thanks for the input on Kendal - it does seem to be a bit off the usual "tourist" trail of the Lakes (wordsworth/potter/etc). I will need to travel to work if we make the move but I can travel late at night on the M6 and miss all the traffic etc. for just a few days a week.
I'd be interested in any follow up from trailofdestruction's wife on schooling in the area... thanks for any input.
This is all a bit theoretical at present but we might have the choice to do this with some home working and some commuting.
Ta!

Posted 2 years ago #
mrh86 - Member

Morecambe is a bit of a dump!:CLICK - Morecambe Neighbourhood Stats Thats for the west-end of morecambe.

Posted 2 years ago #
trailofdestruction - Member

LOL, if you've spent time in Fleetwood, you already know about the Fylde coast. I'll say no more. TBH, you can't go wrong with most places in the South Lakes. 95% of the South Lakes in really lovely. The other 5% is Barrow in Furness. Again, I'll say no more. I will ask the wife, about schools, but she's out working (parents evening), so it may not be until tomorrow night. I'll try not to forget.

Posted 2 years ago #
radoggair - Member

there's a little town just north of kendal called Scotland, its a fantastic place to live, with great schooling and great riding

Posted 2 years ago #
samcamsdad - Member

try the smaller vilages on the south side of kendal like levens, sedgwick, or natland. handy for the m6, and cheaper than places like staveley,, (where i lived all my life tiil 4 years ago). these little places dont get the tourists like all the others mentioned.

Posted 2 years ago #
bjj.andy.w - Member

Having lived for the past 18years in north lancs i can recomend garstang(inbetween lancaster and preston).It's a friendly small market town.A five minute walk and your in the countryside.Best of all is that within 1/2 an hour drive your in the south lakes.

Posted 2 years ago #
ridethelakes - Member

mrh86 - Member

Morecambe is a bit of a dump!:CLICK - Morecambe Neighbourhood Stats Thats for the west-end of morecambe.

Wow that is genuinely shocking! I just did the same for Moss side, gun capital of the North, and guess what, it has a lower crime rate than Morecambe

Moss Side Neighbourhood stats

Posted 2 years ago #
NickyB is going downhill - Member

grum - Member
I know someone from Clitheroe and he says it's genuinely very inbred and people there are pretty racist - make of that what you will. Probably similar to other small towns but he reckoned it was worse.

I did the sound for a crazy under 18s gig at a youth centre in Clitheroe a few years ago - loads of nutty punk kids getting hammered and wrecking the place. It was interesting!

Im from clitheroe, bollocks i bet your black, or sumtin!

seriously though clit hero is ok, the riding is pretty boggy i would head further north for rockier terrain. its also quite expensivebut having said that its quite contemporary and has decent amenities possibly more so than other villages discuss (ie kirby lonsdale) but it can be full of xenohobic arseholes with small minds. that doesnt really help does it.

Posted 2 years ago #
mrh86 - Member

ridethelakes: not sure if i'm surprised to be honest, maybe a little acutally. I'm a student in lancaster and have to go on some GP placements in morecambe, and one can definitely see the health deprivation that is there.

Posted 2 years ago #
hicksville - Member

Clitheroe is fine, for young kids
tennis coaching brilliant
football wolves team has every age group from u6 to u18 anf used to have 3 girls teams *progression to burnley or blackburn acedemies)
small swimming pool
great library
Schools fab catholic st mikes and johns and secondary augustines, others include grammer and 6th form
3 small health and fitness centres
fell running well quite a lot really pendle hill from sabden, trough of bowland grindleton fell and then travelling wise yorks dales.
mtn biking gisburn a 10 mile ride away but limited bridleways, dunsop fell is good but not when it has been raining.Whalley nab, longridge fell
Villages well lots and the feel varies.
Town centre recession has hit home loads of charity shops and closures but there are 3 supermarkets including Booths tremendous range of bottle beers, homebase, the emporium (middle class wine bar but nice), bookshop.
There is a growth of BNP supporters but also counter balanced by other non facist groups. No more inbred than Todmorden and others, but you will need to live in the area for 10 yrs to be local but that is changing slightly mainly friendly and welcoming.
Train to Manchester 1hr ish Preston 20 mins by car Lancaster by car 40 mins
Friday and Sat night can be intresting but no worse/better than elsewhere, oh beer festival.

all in all good quality of life crime low and asb not all.

Posted 2 years ago #
davidtaylforth - Member

There is a growth of BNP supporters but also counter balanced by other non facist groups.

Genius!

Posted 2 years ago #
trailofdestruction - Member

[hijack] 'Waves' to bjj.andy.w. Just down the road from you. Are there any good off road routes out from Garstang, there's nothing over here. [/hijack]

Garstang's nice btw. Expensive though.

Posted 2 years ago #

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