Could do with any advice from any locals as the best place to live. Due to a work move in August i’ve got by tomorrow to choose a house in either Hucknall or Arnold or have it chosen for me. We are up here at the moment having a nose around for the first time. At the same time we need to then apply for the Reception year by the deadline Monday, which we need an address for and also consider the eldest moving into year 2 in September. The commute is to just south of Nottingham and both locations look more or less the same timewise for the commute. There also seems to be a bit of riding in country parks from the search on here. So far have not really looked around both places but Hucknall looks `nicer’ and schools look less over subscribed. The better house is in Arnold though. Grrrrrr.

How long will you need to live in this particular house?

Hucknall is rough as arses in parts.
In fact I know a lad born and bred there, who is still in the area so I can ask him what the exact area you are looking at is like if you want.

If you’re working south of the river then live south of the river. The commute from the north will be crap, and generally nice areas to the south…..

Where’s just to the south of Nottingham? Neither Arnold or Hucknall are best placed for south of Nottingham.

Hucknall has the advantage of easy access to the countryside and tram and train access into Nottingham. There’s a lot of new building going on, a newly pedestrianised high street and it’s gradually becoming more like a suburb of Nottingham than an ex-mining town.

Arnold is just fairly nondescript suburb.

In the interests of transparency I live in ‘ucknall

It will be the new housing estate in Hucknall near Beardall Fields school. Workwise its near Loughborough.

Don’t live north Nottingham if you’re work is near Loughborough. The commute would be horrendous.

Definitely live south of the river. Unfortunately villages round there can be pricey.

Avoid Clifton though. Massive horrible council estate.

Hucknall to Loughborough is a hideous commute, especially with the roadworks on the M1 right now. I was doing it for 2 months until I was made redundant yesterday and thought it’d be an easy 40 minutes down the M1….

Arnold won’t be any better

I’d advise to look somewhere south of the river.

Housing estate off Papplewick Lane you mention is ok, but I wouldn’t choose to locate there and work in Loughborough if other options.

Totally the wrong side of the city for your work – who is putting this limitation on you?

Cheaper in Hucknall though!

Took me 45mins to drive from hucknall football club (sons match) to East Leake (sons triathalon) on Sunday morning, its 10mins from Loughborough to east Leake so you’re looking at a pretty long commute…..

As a school teacher who has both lived and worked in Hucknall and Arnold, in terms of schools deffo, deffo Arnold.
In terms of living there really isnt much in it, I never got on with the Pubs in Hucknall (a bit rough for me) but there is the tram into town…. Both are pretty close to decent biking (and i’m happy to show you some really decent bits!)

If connection to Nottingham is essential, have a look at the skylink bus route for ideas. Runs from Nottingham to Loughborough via east mids parkway every 20mins.

I lived in Arnold (OK, Daybrook) for a couple of years. Check if there’s a blue plaque in yr house if you end up near the brewery

i’d choose arnold over hucknall any day

but i wouldn’t want to drive down to loughborough as a commute,

how about somewhere like bingham, it came out top place in the UK to live for cost/schools/ammenites last year i seem to remember, and it on the A46

With the commute it will mean getting down to Loughborough (Stanford Hall) by 7.15 which hopefully will miss the traffic?

With the commute it will mean getting down to Loughborough (Stanford Hall) by 7.15 which hopefully will miss the traffic?

Down the M1? Could still hit traffic that sort of time, you’re probably looking to leave around 6:10 am to guarantee getting there for 7:15.

The return is likely to be more of the issue. It’s taken me an hour to get from Loughborough to the M1 over the past months

Probably a stupid housing question but can’t you just live in Loughborough?

Unfortunately don’t get much of a choice of housing location with the MOD!

Of the two, I’d say Arnold is the better area, but the commute will probably be worse. Hucknall slightly nearer to the motorway and escape to the Peak District etc. At least being on the north side puts you closer to that and the better riding. Sherwood Pines very quick to get to from Arnold.

Neither will be bad, things have improved lots since I lived in the area (early 90s), when Arnold would have been WAY ahead of Hucknall.

In the end taking all things into consideration we have gone for Hucknall. The main deciding issues was making the commute a bit easier and the difficulty of the school run and unknown quantities of the school given, if we could not get our Yr2 son into the same school as our Reception daughter. Which is a shame, as we were shown round a really inspirational Infants school in Arnold. We did the commute at 3pm and it was only 40 minutes – 6am or 7.30pm may be different matter.

At least I spotted some single track on the Annesley Rd and a mountain biker in Linby coming back from a ride which is encouraging.

Hucknall definitely the better option for biking from home options imo.

Can get all the way to Sherwood Pines on National Cycle route 6

As Ebygomm says, cycle route 6 runs all the way to Sherwood pines and you can go up past Newstead abbey and then out to more different woods on the other side of Ravenshead.

Could do with some motivation for getting out in the evening, so give me a shout if you want to be shown around a little when you arrive.
Living at the north end of Hucknall.

Riding from Hucknall will be ok, look towards Annesley plantation then out through Newstead Abbey towards Theives Wood which will link you into patches of Sherwood Forest (what’s left of it). Also look to Bestwood Park. Moorgreen Woods has some decent woodland tracks but is mainly clay, unlike the sand that the other woods are based on. Nothing gnar or techie, go to the Peak for that

Nothing gnar or techie, go to the Peak for that

Unless you ignore the enormous gaps and drops in Bestwood!

I do Loughborough – Hucknall (area) commute every day. Its manageable due to the hours I work – traffic is generally not an issue. But no way id want to do it in reverse – the opposite commute (i.e. the one you’re potentially doing) is often jammed up – morning & evenings.

Out of Hucknall & Arnold id choose Arnold – purely because I’ve worked in “the land that time forgot” (AKA hucknall) and its quite literally that (apologies to any natives).

Does seem odd for the MoD to place you so far away.

Arnold did have a bit more bustle to it, that’s for sure. We are moving from the leafiest parts of Surrey, so its a bit of a culture shock despite me being also from the north mids originally.

Check out the Notts Outlaws on Facebook for local (Mansfield area ish) MTB rides, around three a week and they also do trail centre outings regularly.
Good bunch of MTB riders.