[Closed] Living in Cheltenham? (the topic formerly known as 'living in Stroud?')

cheltenham cycles is a great shop, and the lunchtime ladies in the town can be spectacular 😉

The in-laws live there, so go quite a lot. The nice bits are very nice and there always seems to be a lot going on. Recommended.... but pricey....

its a town of two halfs

MrNutt - Member

its a town of two halfs

Hehe, care to elaborate?

Dave

Leckhampton is very much the 'professional families' area of 'Nam, and has the deli's, nice pubs, proper butchers, bakers etc, and house prices, to match. I assume that if you've spoken to an estate agent then you're aware of the prices though. Cheaper then Croydon (isn't it Croydon you're moving from?) I'd imagine. Nice though, it's where I'd want to buy if I wasn't about to start a life as a gypsy 🙂

Cheltenham itself is a really nice town. Fair bit going on, right next to beautiful countryside, and only an hour from 'proper' cities (Brizzle/Brum).

And as Rocketdog said, Imperial Gardens on a sunny lunchtime - oh my!

Yeah, we're moving from Croydon. I'm expecting most places to be paradise in comparison, but we're trying not to blindly pick the first place where someone doesn't mug us 😉

We can afford some of Leckhampton, a lot of it is way out of our league, but there are some 3-bed semis with decent gardens in our price range.

The result of our weekend of investigation was that we need to choose between:
1. Stoud - Detached house with character, small town in walking distance, countryside in 10 minutes walk, long commute.
2. Leckhampton - 30s or victorian semi, shops in walking distance or large town (small city?) a bus ride away, countryside 2km away, short commute.

Dave

You can walk from Leckhampton into town you lazy sh1te, it takes about 15 minutes 😉

Charlton Kings is also nice (And I'd let you off getting the bus into town from there).

Or there's Up Hatherley/Warden Hill, which is on the A46 (the Stroud road), past Leckhampton. Basically a conglomeration of more modern estates, but you get a bit more for your money.

We didn't try walking that way, we tested out the walk to the countryside - priorities you see :o)

Dave,

Sounds like a cost v time issue to me.

Commuting into Cheltenham by car is a disaster zone, but it rather depends whether you will be working on the outskirts or in the middle.

Stroud is cheaper and a far more laid back area. Cheltenham has far more facilities but is seriously expensive. Having said that you are more likely to see the value of your property increase in Cheltenham and after Croydon it should be an oasis.

Have you looked at the train option from Stroud to Cheltenham ?
You could take your bike to and from either station and avoid the traffic queues.

I live in Cheltenham and work in Stroud and I have to say I much prefer it that way round.

there are some very nice parts of Stroud, but also a side of it that is not so nice, and in such a small town not my cup of tea.

I came to chelt for uni and have lived here since, about 10 years now. It has the not too big, not too small feel to it. Decent facilities, near the country side (i'm a country boy at heart).

The area you have looked at is very nice. Prices tend to be higher there due to the school. My gf works at Naunton park primary after working near stroud and loves it! Very nice area, would be an area I look to move to once i have the finances (fingers crossed).

You may also want to look at Charlton Kings, Battledown, Oakley, maybe even Prestbury as well. All nice parts of Chelt. Avoid, Whaddon, St Pauls and def hesters way. All have a reputation for being not nice, although I have had friends living in them who say there not so bad.

feel free to message me if you have any questions.

I was originally thinking about riding from Stroud to Cheltenham - it is about the same distance as I ride now (Croydon to Leatherhead), but there are much bigger hills, so it might be a non-starter.

The train from Stroud to Cheltenham takes 40 minutes!

If I'm not going to be riding, I want to get my commute down to half an hour if I can - it takes me an hour now, but that is a bike ride and a shower, rather than a traffic jam, so it is acceptable.

Dave

jakeclyro,

We walked around outside naunton park primary, looks like a really nice school - my missus is a local authority governor for a primary school in croydon, so she got all interested about having a nice school nearby.

We'd quite like a house with a bit of character, so we were a bit put off by some of the newer estates, although the prospect of a drive and garage is quite tempting! We drove through around Prestbury and St. Marks, and didn't really fancy the areas all that much.

Leckhampton had the park and some nice pubs and things. If we can afford to live there, I think it might be ticking all the right boxes.

Dave

Try and get hold of a dvd called "IF", it was filmed in Cheltenham and the final bits at Cheltenham ladies college, shows you some of the locals enjoying themselves.

Dave,

I see you point entirely on the cycle commute.

Best of luck with your house hunting round Cheltenham.

Wherabouts in Cheltenham you going to be working? If it's in town, you'd have a nightmare commuting in from Stroud. If it's on the outskirts, in particular out by the M5, it might take you as long in the morning to get out of Cheltenham to work as it does to come from Stroud! Worth thinking about...

Anyway, Leckhampton is very nice indeed, and it's also right by plenty of MTB trails. If you can afford it, surely that has to be the clincher?

Oh, and second the thoughts above. Stroud does have its not so nice features, and for a smaller town in the middle of the country, it can be pretty rough. At least the rough parts of Cheltenham tend to be away from the centre, and the places you've been looking at. That and now there's been a LOT of redevelopment in many areas, and people buying up ex council houses, the traditionally very rough areas of Cheltenham are getting much better. Though if you can afford Leckhampton, they won't even be a consideration!

Here's my twopenny worth.

Mrs Stratobiker is from Cheltenham. She lived in Charlton Kings, then later in Montpellier.
I noticed that whenever I stayed in Chelt with her the air always seemed dirty, and I used to get mouth ulcers. I think it's something to do with the geography. Mrs Strat says there is a high incidence of Asthma in Chelt.

Of course we could be completely wrong.

SB

** "IF" was at the boys' Cheltenham College, not the Ladies' one.
The chaps' ties are pink on black, echoing Eton's pale blue on black. It's not a bad town, I agree about Stroud being a bit hippy-ish.

You would NOT regret moving to Cheltenham, if you can afford it. Leckhampton is lovely, also Bishops Cleeve/ Woodmancote could be a nice option and potentially a little cheaper?

[i]You would NOT regret moving to Cheltenham[/i]

Oh, you say that now, splitter 😉

Where are you going to be working?

I'll be working out near the motorway, but I'd probably ride to work if I lived in Leckhampton, so not that fussed about traffic.

We're probably looking to move within a year. My company has an office down there, so I can transfer, but Lou will need to find a job. When we go, we'll probably rent somewhere while we sell the house and find somewhere. Hopefully this will give me a chance to test drive regions

Dave

Well if you're having a weekend to look round, feel free to drop me a mail and I can give you a tour round if you like (and bring bikes 🙂
)
And as for the 'If' comments, that's not the only stop on the Hollywood tour of 'Nam 🙂

we had a bit of a look around at the weekend... no doubt we'll do another one in a few months... thanks for the tour guide offer, I'll definitely take you up on that :o)

Lots of people have responded to these threads of mine, so I'm looking forward to having lots of people to show me trails and pubs 🙂 Most surprising though is that no-one has abused me yet 😉

Dave

Give it time son, give it time...

"alfabus - Member
I'll be working out near the motorway"

GCHQ?

unfortunately nothing so interesting... I will be doing IT and driving my Audi as the STW stereotype requires 🙂

Dave

Ah ah-hem yes IHN I know I live in the lakes NOW, but I did love it in Cheltenham, oh yes some very good times there 🙂

Still got family and close friends down there so keep trying to find an excuse to take my bike hen I visit and come out riding with you lot!!!!

i live in Leckhampton, pluses nice area mainly, pilley the council bit isn't as nice, but far better than Arle farm or whaddon. On that point avoid both if you value your possesions, avoid Hestersway as well. Hatherley has gone downhill over the years the new estates are ok in places but there are issues.

Depending on how far you want to commute could look at Noverton/prestbury/cleevemont/pittville (not the st Pauls areas though)

Generally east Cheltenham costs more than West Cheltenham.

On the schools thing, the best schools in Cheltenham are traditionally Pates(selective grammar) Balcarras, and Bournside in that order. You may want to look at the catchment areas as you really don't want to end up at Arle/kingsmean/christ college whatever it is called this week, or Pittville. This single fact has traditionally had a major effect on house prices.

how does Charlton Kings compare to Leckhampton?

The houses look much newer and very samey. Is the feel of the area as nice?

Dave

7 years ago I moved from Peckham to Cheltenham and now live in Leckhampton - best thing I've ever done! Full stop!

There's as much 'character' housing in Charlton Kings as in Leckhampton and they 'feel' pretty similar I think. The prices are on par (mainly due to the Balcarras catchment area)

plenty has been said and not much else i can offer (and no i don't live in whaddon. its outside of whaddon thanks. just.) but my impression is that there is much more riding to be had in the chelt area than stroud?
A guy at work also treats himself to a cycling commute from stroud sometimes on a friday. I can check his car / bike commute time if you want. But i do think cheltenham idea is better.

I think you would be better off in cheltenham. Ive lived here 34 years and i dont intend moving away. Springbank is nice and quiet although its sandwiched in between hestersway and arle farm. Also swindon village hasnt been mentioned. As for the bad areas ive lived in most of them. And i can honestly say hatherley has gone right down hill! Another one i just remembered is the reddings. Thats a nice place.

HI,

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit!
I have a new job starting on Monday in Barnwood, Gloucester. At the moment I live in Clifton, Bristol and was wondering if any of you guys know how long it takes to drive? Google maps reckons 45 mins using the post codes but this does not take into consideration traffic... any help would be great!

Also, thinking of moving to Cheltenham if the commute proves to long- any one know how long it would take to drive from Cheltenham?

Thanks everyone!

Curlylocks 😀

Biggest problem with commuting from Clifton will be getting out of Bristol. The only thing worse than that will be getting back in to Bristol and finding somewhere to park!

I would plan on it taking at least 1 hour but that is very dependant on the time you leave. If you avoid main rush hour times you will have a faster journey.

I used to commute Churchdown (2 mins from Barnwood) - Brizzle Parkway and it's 50 mins. If I've driven back from Clifton after dropping someone off at commute times its minimum an hour, and that's from the very top of Whiteladies Road.

From Cheltenham (depending what side you're on), half an hour I'd have thought, maybe a bit less.

I do Coombe Dingle to Barnwood to see the brother-in-law. Usually allow 45 mins at the w/e, but as others have said, might by 1/1.5 hours each way depending on the time of day/state of the M5 going from Clifton. In-laws allow 35 mins to go from there place in West Chelt to Barnwood. HTH.

Re: Travelling to Barnwood.

When I go into Gloucester in the morning the timing of when you hit Barnwood makes a massive difference, as does which roundabouts you have to navigate. Some of these have traffic light controls which are fine but when there is a backlog it is just a matter of waiting. ( Assuming you are travelling by car. )

The earlier you arrive the better.

Sounds like either end of your journey are the issues rather than the M5 stretch.

Sounds like either end of your journey are the issues rather than the M5 stretch.

That is true - the exception when they dig the M5 up, or there's a crash. I have a friend who commutes from central Bristol to Malvern everyday. On a nominally 90 min journey, even minor road works can add 30 mins each way - minor collision can add an hour+.... Not the way I'd want to spend my time :-/

Thank you everyone for your replies! I think I will be aiming to get into work at Barnwood at 8.30 (so I can leave at 4.30 :))... so I'm guessing I will be leaving my flat in Clifton around 7.30am.
Yes parking is an absolute nightmare where I live- took me 20 mins to find a space today- and that was 10 mins walk away!

alfabus

leckhampton is good for pubs. when you next visit, try get to the jolly brewmaster. such a good pub with great ales if thats you type of thing.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK355&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=jolly+brewmaster+cheltenham&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=jolly+brewmaster&hnear=Cheltenham&cid=7519389873258669197

Alfabus - how about looking a bit out of the 'nam, get alot more for your money just a few miles out. Brockworth, churchdown, shurdington etc. Chelt house prices are a good £20,000 more than a couple of miles out. ( and just as close to plenty of great riding!)

No don't go the JBM, it's really rubbish.
They never have any good beer at all, and the place
is always empty..

+1 Leckhampton

+1 Jolly Brew

+1 town of two halves - lots of chavs!