The Wallops are nice, C_G...... 8)
Yeah, Wallops (or Quarley/Grately area) would be alright. Cheaper side of Andover, reasonable riding (see Mulletus for routes), hour and a bit to West London if it takes your fancy, hour to Purbecks, Salisbury and surrounding riding very close.
rusty/Cap'n - I've fallen on hard times and no longer enjoy a middle-class existence. 🙄 Perhaps I could claim housing benefit and live in the Wallops?
Blimey, I'm shocked at some prices in Wiltshire/Dorset. In fact I am seriously thinking of a 'park home'. But that would mean one bike. 😯 And less clothes, shoes, CDs, books etc. 😯
Dunno where I'm going to end up but it's probably a good thing I have an estate car. 😉
Some of the park homes down here are actually pretty decent if you can get past the idea of living in one in the first place.
Yeah, some of them look quite posh and they're not exactly cheap either!
luke - Member
Tree-magnet where in Dorset do you live?
A little village just outside Sturminster Newton.
Had the local paper yesterday, and some of the house prices in Bovington are cheap for the area, right on the edge of the Purbecks, 10 minutes to the coast (Lulworth Cove).
Got relatives in Sturminster Newton, we even looked at moving out that way earlier in the as I had a job offer out that way.
C_g, I've just found a three bed semi with large garden, driveway and garage in Malmesbury for £129,995, and a terraced house with two double bedrooms in West Chippenham for £122,950. If you go up to £160k there are a few more around the Chippenham area.
Count - I had assumed that North Wiltshire, ie closer to the M4, was dearer than the Southern part of the county. The Wylye valley certainly appeals - have done a couple of nice rides around there.
I will do some more Googling. Thanks. 🙂
Old Town Swindon FTW
Frome - does anyone know this town? Any comments please?
Thank you so much. 🙂
it's a nice place is frome. close to longleat if lions are your thing.
how important is it not to be in a town? as you could get something within your budget with a garage on the outskirts (not that Frome is big). further into the countryside would be harder.
if you travel much i'd suggest looking closer to the motorway (chippenham perhaps) as it's a bit of a mission from Frome. if you generally stay local then great.
Thanks for the reply phil 🙂
I suppose I just want to get away from towns and idiots driving at motorway speeds in residential areas. There does seem to be a fair selection in Frome but it's just that little bit further out than I would like.
I will however go and have a recce, not ruling anywhere out apart from the towns that everyone seems to have agreed on should be avoided!
Nice town Frome, used to have a decent bike shop but haven't been back for a few years. Some distance to main roads / motorways if you need to travel a lot, although the A303 isn't too far to the south.
I like Frome a lot. It has character, as well 2 fine examples of the holy trinity of shopping (records, wine and cheese) 🙂
Aye, I like Frome as a town. Close enough to Bath (Great beer, pubs and bike shop) and some lovely natural trails all around.
Thank you, that sounds encouraging!
Rich - would that happen to be the record shop you told me about? If so, it might not be a good idea. 🙄
If you live in Frome I think you qualify for local residents tickets for Glasto festival too. Which is nice, if that's your thing.
Oh and Jenson Button came from there.
Just thought I would post a little update ...
Have been to Frome and what a delightful little town it was. The intention was to visit estate agents but somehow ended up in a wonderful bakery and was tempted by so many delicious looking cakes. 😀
Many interesting shops, just that bit different, and a fair bit of culture there too. Had a look at some houses too but, in the end, felt it was just too far out.
So ... next question ... what is Trowbridge/Chippenham/Melksham/Calne like please?
Thank you so much. 🙂
C_G what abput a bit further east; Devizes, Marlborough or Pewsey?
(Always thought Ch'nam & Melksham a bit of a dump really)
CG me and everyone i know must be missing something .We all rate Frome on par with ShittonSmellit (sorry i meant Shepton Mallet !)
Andy - I would love to live in Marlborough ... but not in a shed! Too bloomin' expensive. Important consideration is being close to a few towns for any work opportunities. Thanks for suggestions though. 🙂
oldfart - no no! Such character in Frome and it was amazing to see a little stream running through the middle of a narrow lane off the High Street. Anywhere else it would be fenced off with 'Danger' notices all around. 🙄
Didn't really have time to shop, although that little precinct just looked an eyesore!
Frome is a really great place to live. I know most of the surrounding towns well enough, (and lived in a few of them) Frome is defintley where i want to stay
local bike club (BCC) is great, as is the bike shop in town (live 2 ride). you can find live music every night of the week, has a cinema, two theatres, several art galleries, and plenty of other stuff going on. lot's of people moving there from the wider world (ie: londoners) so prices are on the rise.
captain_b - I did spot the bike shop!! Funny, having spoken to people in the shops and various estate agents, they were all keen to point out that it's an 'up and coming' place. Was given an interesting little mag promoting Frome, was almost making it out to be rather 'boho'.
Would like to visit again and spend some time mooching around.
I have to say that on the map there didn't appear to be many trails.
Captain Bastard.
How on Earth did you get past the mods with that login application?
I'm very jealous... 🙂
Elf - he's a really nice bloke too and definitely doesn't live up to his name. There was a Forum Ride from a Wiltshire White Horse.
Buy a narrow boat and live on the Kennet and Avon canal ? Abit far north but affordable
http://www.abcboatsales.com/boatsales.aspx
Ask Elf what I'm like in a boat. 😳 Had to cross Southampton Ocean a couple of years ago with some STW'ers and our bikes!
CG Calne is a bit of a strange place soory but I cannot put my finger on the reason why
I used to live in Wroughton which was quite plesant and the Downs were just a couple of miles away as is Swindon. Wooten Basset could be another option .
I have worked quite a bit in Frome of late and yes there is a bit of charm to the place ( in a posative way)it just seems miles away from anywhere
Captain B'stard I thought Frome Wheelers were the local club who are BCC
You don't get festival tickets here in Shepton free so you have no chance in Frome
Shepton is a shithole Frome is bigger and I think a nicer town ,both are cheap
Warminster and especially Westbury are affordable but dull.but they are nearer the plain
saladdodger - that's interesting about Calne, on the map it looks fairly small so perhaps it's been overlooked by bigger towns?
Yes, Frome just seems almost isolated although there are A roads and only around 6 miles from Warminster which seems more accessible.
Calne seems a bit weird and Chippenham isn't that great either 😐
OK OK it [b]has[/b] to be Swindon. 😆
While Chippenham has some faults, like no record shop, it has quite a lot of advantages, chiefly that it's so easy to get to lots of places. It's on most of the main trunk roads, it has the main London-Bristol railway line running through it, and the M4 is three miles north. I've done home to Kings Mall carpark in Hammersmith in exactly an hour and a half, leaving at four in the afternoon. Bath can be done in half an hour, sometimes less depending on time of day, Bristol in about an hour, via the A420 straight into the city. Cirencester about forty five minutes, Avebury and the Marlborough Downs about twenty minutes. We actually have a pretty decent bike shop in town that deals mainly with Treks, and a fair bit of roady stuff. We also have a cinema. And a bunch of coffee shops, and loads of decent pubs and restaurants in the area. It's the ease of access to everywhere else I like about the town; just look on a road atlas to see the transport network. There's the riding over the Downs that you already know and have ridden. There's lots around Bath as well, and my mate Sean in John's Bikes in Bath will be happy to show you LOTS of riding in the Forest Of Dean and Wales and around Bath.
Count - are there work opportunities in Chippenham? Same question for Calne/Trowbridge/Melksham. Who are the major employers?
This has to be my main consideration so all thoughts of lovely riding areas needs to take a back seat!
All information gratefully received!
Thank you so much. 🙂
Employment opportunities depend what your line of work is, Chippers isn't far from Swindon so more chance there.
Melksham & Trowbridge always strike me as being a bit small, probably larger than Frome though.
There's lots of smaller companies scattered around the various trading estates in Chippenham, the one really big employer, Westinghouse, has been split into smaller companies, and there's currently talk of redundancies in some areas due to lack of railway investment. It really depends so much on what it is you do and/or want to do. There's a very successful company behind where I work that develops special techniques for inhaling various drugs. The company I work for, Woods Response, has been incredibly busy because we deal entirely with national charities doing their lotteries and raffles, RNLI, RNIB, RNID, Motability, Guide Dogs, are some of the people we work for. We have people who travel in from Swindon, Stroud, Tetbury, Cirencester, Bristol and Frome. It's a five minute ride/fifteen minute walk for me. Waitrose are opening a store soon as well. Calne actually isn't a bad little town, it's much nicer in the centre since Harris's Bacon factory went, and the Quemerford side of the town is really nice. Bremhill is a lovely little village between Calne and Chippenham.
Fascinating thread - I had no idea so many STWers lived in the area. SW Wilts is great and Frome has more Listed buildings than any other comparable size town in UK. Apparently. Personally i hope to live around Hindon - Tisbury - Donhead - Mere as and when i can finally escape the smoke and get back home to where all my family live.
Edric,
[i]Captain B'stard I thought Frome Wheelers were the local club who are BCC[/i]
no idea who the frome wheelers are? BCC are the Black Cannon Collective (google it) amongst many other things, organisers of the cobble wobble
[i]You don't get festival tickets here in Shepton free so you have no chance in Frome[/i]
bummer - you definetley get free tickets in frome, they even lay on free buses to get you there, don't how that one works out, Shepton is after all closer???
free tickets in frome
Maybe something to do with Cheese & Grain social/musical networking between organisers? I understood that the C & G were well respected in the music scene - JAI.
Funny, I went to Frome for an overnight escape this year, and it was a massive disappointment. Yes the little stream is nice though. I did like the hill of shops, and I met Oldfart and his lovely Mrs for lunch, which made up for everything 🙂
CG CountZero's most important point is about the transport links, the further south you move the more limited the commute/job opportunities.
Chippenham / Swindon (clearly Bath is great but £££££) give you access to a wide range of work locations whilst if you choose somewhere like Frome which has many merits comuting to somewhere like Bristol would be ill advised.
C&G is a fairly big player in these parts. I didn't think the GLasto tickets were free, I thought it was just the Sunday ones where you have to live within a certain distance.
Thank you everyone for so much local info, it's been incredibly helpful. 🙂
Count - I absolutely take your valid point concerning equidistant of through roads and Chippenham sounds promising. However, it's looking too expensive but Calne is a lot cheaper. Why? Is it grim? Near to Cherhill white Horse. 8)
Anna - am amazed you didn't like Frome! Thought it would have been your kind of place. Did you not see the bakery?
Keep all the info coming. 😀
Thought it would have been your kind of place. Did you not see the bakery?
Ouch! 😉
Oh gosh. 😳 You know I didn't mean it like that! Such interesting little shops, all very individual.
