Cambridgeshire area advice.

[Keith Scarfe]

Hello everyone.

I am going to be relocating to the Cambridgeshire area soon (currently in Lancashire). I was after any helpful comments from anyone in the area as to good places to consider and also hints of places to avoid, schools important now (pre, primary and later secondary). I have a new job in a village just outside Cambridge to the south west called Newton, so anywhere really within a 30-45 max minute commute. Not really interested in being in the city (expensive anyway) and would prefer a new build 4 bed with double garage (obviously for all the cars) to the north of Cambridge. So far have looked at the following:

Longstanton, Cambourne, Papworth, Red lodge, and some of the smaller villages.

Not looked at, but considering: St Neots area and Huntingdon, St Ives area.

Just wondered if anyone could add any comments. The local area wscc looks good and very active, will be good to get to know you. My Westfield is really just a pile of bits but will hopefully be put back together one day and make it back out racing, or maybe back as a road car, so will be good to keep in touch with the club. I was made very welcome at the Lancashire meets, it will be a shame to leave, but am sure this area will be just as good.

Thanks for any help.

Keith.

[carpetstu]

There are some great and very helpful members in that area. Chaz power slide and Langy to mention just two of them. I am sure they will be along very soon to give sound advice.

As for the pile of bits that will make a Westfield you are also moving to an area where the WSCC members are likly to be more than  willing to lend a hand.  

Good luck with the move.  

[markcoopers]

Hi Keith,

I'm not specifically cambridge, Northampton just over the boarder. However i do know that using the A14 as a commute in the morning between Huntingdon and cambridge is a pain. I would look west of cambridge and south of the a14. If you cross the A1m then things get cheaper.

Huntingdon and peterborough are the big towns, lots of new build 4 bet detached. Huntington is Ok, but can not say i know anything about their schools. Orford and Godmanchester are the expensive bits in this corner....

Oh and the B660 is not too far away, so get the car built

[KerryS]

My daugher works in Cambridge and lives in Whitchford near Ely but the A10 down to Cambridge in the morning is pants, she goes in by train or her scooter.

My first job after uni was in Abington and we lived in Shelford which we liked but no idea about schools etc as we left befor ethat need arose though my wife did her teaching practice in a village called Sawston and the school had a good rep at the time...err...35 years ago....

Hope new job goes OK

Edit: you mention Red Lodge - wierd place. It arose around a transport cafe on the A11, now by-passed. Lots of new building going on there. We know it because my daughter's ex-husband came from there and his parents are still there.

[markcoopers]

Thinking about it, give Sam Cook a pm. He was in the property game in this region so will know more about it than most. If you struggle let me know and i'll give him a nudge

[SparkyB]

I used to work in Papworth and lived in Huntingdon... Liked Huntingdon, but it's a bit of a mixed bag and a commute to Cambridge would be a lot of hassle.

St Ives is very nice, but very pricey.

Cambourne is a new town, some good facilities and with the A428 all dual carriageway the commute towards Cambridge shouldn't be too bad.  The A14 and A10 are routes to avoid for commuting, given your working SW of Cambridge I would look at villages/towns along the A428.

Sam is going to be the best info though!

[chazpowerslide]

Hi Keith.

I have lived on the outskirts of the city for the last 10 years in a village called Milton.

Easy to get into the city and well connected to the A10 and A14 and there are no "bad" areas.

Personally I'd avoid Chesterton, Kings Hedges, Arbury and Orchard Park and give Cambourne a wide bearth.

Fison Rd and the Whitehill estate are not to clever either (along with a lot of people who live there)

Bits of Cherry Hinton are OK but there are parts that look ok but are rough as are the Warpole/Birdwood road aera.

As I drive busses around the city for a living you get a good feel for what the areas are like by the people who get on.

Trumpington, the Shelfords, Staplaford most of Sawston Wittlesford, Pampisford and Duxford are good (and expensive) are most of the outlying villages.

Where will you be working?

I'll PM you my number and you can ring me for a chat, as has been suggested give Sam Cooke a PM as he used to be an estate agent so he'll be able to help out on specifice like schools ect.

Chaz.

[housebeautician]

hi keith

welcome to the area (When you get here)

Get the car built and give us a shout, we are always blatting about.

be nice to see another face.

I live near sandy in beds lots of nice places about, st neots and st ives also pleasant but its all down to personal taste, but worth a look.

You can pm flash 1 as he lives that way and ask him.

My son works in centre of cambridge and it takes about 3/4 hr to get there from my village.

Happy moving

[moomin]

Personally I'd avoid Chesterton, Kings Hedges, Arbury and Orchard Park and give Cambourne a wide bearth.

The first word in this sentence being the key one.

Everywhere is a compromise, some places are a better compromise than others.  Ultimately, it comes down to what you need, what you want, and unfortunatelymore significantly, what your budget is.

From this, you can probably safely assume that I live in one of the aforementioned places.  Obviously we are all scum... or perhaps that is just some reputation perpetuated by that bastian of local news, the Cambridge Evening News.

I'm sure Sam will be along to berate me soon!

moomin

[bhouse]

If you're working in Newton I suggest you avoid anywhere that would involve commuting along the A14 or (to a slightly lesser extent) the M11. The A14 in particular is horrendous in the rush hour.

There are quite a few nice villages just north of the A10 (Haslingfield etc) that would be within 10 mins drive of Newton. One thing to bear in mind is that there are a lot of London commuters in the area so the closer the property is to a railway station, the higher the price.

Good luck with the house search,

Brian

[samcooke]

I'm sure Sam will be along to berate me soon!

As if.

Cambourne isn't so bad, the only reason it has comfortably the highest crime rate in the area is cos of Moomin's drunken antics.

If you're working office hours in Newton (what is there in Newton?!) I'd say you really need to be that side of the city rather than to the north otherwise you'll have pretty godawful traffic to deal with on the A14.

30-45 mins brings in all sorts of possibilities.

As moomin says, an idea of budget should help narrow down your choices.

ETA : Brian was faster.

[Keith Scarfe]

Thanks for the replies everyone, thats great information.

Red Lodge, yes I have looked round a couple of times and it does seem a strange place, millions of houses and absolutely nothing else, and nothing within miles either. No shops no pub etc. Houses are nice tho.

Any idea SparkyB what Papworth is like to live. Again there is not much there apart from loads of houses. I have had a good look round there and there only seems to be one little shop in the middle. Does seem a favorite at the moment. Anyone know about Longstanton, there is a new development starting there which looks possible.

I have heard good and bad about Cambourne, mostly bad I have to admit, but I haven't ruled it out. Every time I have been there it seems ok.

Yes everyone says the commute on the A14 is a pain but I may have to accept this. The reason for looking to the north is that hopefully my wife will get a job in the Spire hospital in Impington so would need a shorter commute. Would like to find something in Milton / Cottenham areas but not much about at the moment. I am not in any hurry as I have to sell our house in Lancashire yet and could rent somewhere if necessary.

My budget is upto £300k but would prefer near 250 with a bit to spare for improvements. If 300, it needs to be spot on as thats me maxed out.

I am working at a place called SG Controls which is a small outfit operating out of Newton hall to the west of Newton village down church street. Anyone know them? Theres a great old pub in Newton called the Queens head but not much else. As you can probably tell I am still learning about the area.

Cheers.

Keith.

[carpetstu]

"Cottenham."

Keith Langy is your man for this one.

[moomin]

I have heard good and bad about Cambourne, mostly bad I have to admit, but I haven't ruled it out. Every time I have been there it seems ok.

I live there (here), feel free to PM or ask any questions if you like.  I used to commute to Melbourn from here, it's not too bad, as commuting goes.

Edit to add: TBH, I think you might only just about hit a 4 bed detached with double garage for 300k, even in Cambourne.  Reckon you might struggle in other South Cambs villages, mainly due to, as Sam said, the London commuting effect in this area.

moomin

[MK11]

I live in Huntingdon and it's not a bad town.  Of the two secondary schools Hinchingbrooke seems the better of the two to me but others may think differently.

Villages near Cambridge all seem expensive to me as all the London commuters want a slice of village life.  However, I too have heard bad things about Cambourne (from someone who lives there and wishes that they didn't), a pity as it does actually look quite nice.

I have done the commute down the A14 to Foxton for several years and it took approximately 45 minutes to get there and slightly longer if I went down the quieter but slower A1198.  Naturally there were days that took longer but you would soon learn all the little detours that may (or may not) avoid the problem.