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New job in Durham, pondering places to look at housing. I'm from the county originally but been away 20+ years and mostly only went to the city for day trips to do tourist stuff so not up on the residential areas at all.
We are into MTB/road bikes, fell running, climbing, and we have no kids so schools aren't a consideration. Happy living in the city or open to living outside the city but need public transport access to the uni. Ideally we'd like a bit of space to store all our junk so we're thinking 3-4 bed house with garage rather than mid city terrace. Budget will be in the £300,000 region with a bit of flexibility.
Where would singletrackworld live?
No idea, but congrats - nice uni to get a job at.
Sherburn Road.
Not really, but I'm originally from Sherburn Village, which is the posher of the 3 Sherburns.
Almost all the ex pit villages have new estates around them, with decent bus services into Durham. I'd look at somewhere on the West of the city so at least your closer to the Durham Dales & Hamsterley etc.
I’d look at somewhere on the West of the city so at least your closer to the Durham Dales & Hamsterley etc.
Very much this. It's probably a whole lot nicer and easier to ride in (if you wanted) from the East of the city (Peterlee, road-bound PITA to get to Durham by bicycle from here). That said you could probably get a castle for your budget around here but you'd need to spend half of it on garage security...
Worked in Durham for many years and live not far from it. It has the most amazing traffic for a city of its size. It'd often take me longer to get into Durham than into Newcastle.
Got a few friends and family who live along or just off the A167 at Neville's Cross. It's close enough to walk into town for a night out and far enough out for it not to be eye-wateringly expensive.
Like any city it has some "interesting" areas - bits of Framwellgate and Dragonville for example. But generally it's pretty nice with good shops and restaurants, lots of places to walk and ride in the city and great countryside close by. Hamsterley is 30 mins drive.
I tease my Durham-born mates that they live in a pit village with a big church. It's so much more than that.
I lived in Bearpark when I was a post grad. Cheaper than in the city, a 15min ride to the uni, and straight out the door for road rides out towards the Dales. Right side of town for Hamsterley and some nice running on the old railway line or out around Hedley Hill nature reserve. The villages around there (Langley Moor/Ushaw Moor/ Brancepeth/Esh are all nice too)
Prior to that, was in Neville's' cross which was the best of both worlds if a little close to work - 10min walk down observatory hill/potters bank. Lanchester is quite nice too. If I was moving back though, I'd consider the work faff trade off and consider being further out towards Stanhope/Middleton in Teesdale just for being out in the country and less students.
Enjoy wherever you end up. Lovely part of the world.
My Univ town, and still go back every year. I'd like to retire there one day but wife says it's too cold.
Last time I was there I stayed in Croxdale, but then the morning after the reunion session i walked back into town along South Road, past the new colleges but also some nice looking newer houses
Not Sherburn Road Estate by all accounts.
Crook? Rightmove has a 4 bed house for £289k and the bus takes 30 mins into Durham
The public transport access to Durham is the killer I expect. I reckon based on your interests you need to be West of the city. I live out near Barnard Castle so the road and mtb riding is good, but getting to Durham using public transport is nigh on impossible. Lanchester and Crook are good shouts, but as I used to live near Crook I don't like the place.
Durham fell runners are a great friendly club, train at Hamsterley forest every Thursday evening - recommended.
Hamsterley forest is great for mtb if you get to know the off piste stuff.
Road riding round weardale, teesdale, yorks dales is fantastic (if you like hills.....), quietest roads in England, some epic routes.
Lanchester. No idea of house prices
+1 for Lanchester. It still has a bus link to Durham if you don’t need to go or return at night. There’s also the old railway path - about 40 minutes riding into Durham. Good riding in all directions, if you like hills.
Another +1 for Lanchester. We live to the W of the city and it's great for access to the hills/pennines as well as being on bus routes and excellent cycle paths into the city. Lanchester also has decent amenities (butcher, grocer, restaurants etc).
Durham is pretty good generally, has its better and worse spots, but it is comparatively pricey. Actually all the nicest places in Co Durham are pricey relatively speaking, its a problem the NE has generally with the nicest places being disproportionately expensive relative to elsewhere even not that far away. You could buy a whole street for the price of a 4 bed house just a couple of miles away. But... Traffic is generally not too bad overall and therefore transport links work quite well so you can look farther afield. We also have excellent (and very flat) cycle links like the lanchester valley railway, or the C2C which means cycle commuting is very viable if you're near a line.
Lanchester is nice, its where I live (Well almost, I'm in Iveston) but depending which uni buildings your working at you could find that the 1/2 hourly bus, although quick and easy turns into a PITA as you need to change the other end, so research that first I would say. Oh, and Lanchester is really hard to find houses in as everyone wants to live there.
Outside that, for every 4 places you'd probably not pick for whatever reason, there's one good one. There's little rhyme or reason to it, simply some places have done better than others whether thats a popular school, or some other reason, or public transport links taht are inconsistent in their distribution, with some places having none, and others having 3 buses at once. So I really think the only way you can shop for houses round these parts is to come and look around, see where you'd be happy living then wait for something to come up. It's generally the rule that if its in a popular area, and it's a sensible price, it's already sold, you may need to consider renting first. Its what we had to do.
To be honest though, from what you've said about what you're after, the city sounds like its is where its at for you. Its only small so getting out to other places is relatively easy. Some good advice above on areas to look at & avoid.
There's a new estate going in on the western edge near the Sniperley P&R, just behind the fire station. Thats a really great location for both city and access to the dales (£1 return to the city on the bus anyone?). Worth a look and if you like it, then I'd get a deposit down, rent and wait.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/durhams-new-eco-housing-estate-22235684
Bigger than I thought it would be, but still doesn't change the good location. It will be popular.
I live in Newton Hall, a big estate to the North of the centre. Not a bad place to be, walking distance into town but easy to get out into the country by bike. As others have said, West of the city definitely preferable to East for cycling purposes.
Some of the villages are nice enough. This being County Durham there's generally always some scrotey element to be found. Brancepeth a possible exception but there's not much there. If I was moving away from the city, Lanchester would be number 1 choice for the reasons stated above. Like Wolsingham too but it might be a bit far out for you.
Easington Lane. Dive right in and find out why the DLI had such a reputation in WW2.
Lanchester is a good shout, as is Shincliffe - an easy cycle into Durham and lovely walks along the River and close to A1M if you need to get out quick.
A lovely little hidden gem is Shadforth, a small village near Sherburn that feels like your right out in the countryside, its a really friendly community too, like Essel, I’m also from Sherburn, if I was moving back to the area I’d be looking at Shadforth.
The road riding is really good round all of these with some cracking hills to push yourself on.
Yet another Lanchester recommend. The problem with Durham is that there are some absolutely shithole villages that look like they ought to be nice on a map.
As a rule of thumb, assume it's a dump until you actually clap eyes on it. There is no substitute for visiting the area for a few days and getting a feel for the vibe...
I lived in Middleton in Teesdale, which doesn't really fit your brief 🙂
This is all great info, thanks everyone! I'm planning to work up there for a week soon and have a look round places in the evenings so this has given me a hit list of places to check out.
I live in Belmont, it was only meant to be a stop gap but it’s so convenient for Durham and the A1 that we have found it hard to move. An easy 10mins 2 mile potter into the city centre by bike. Durham has the highest number of disused rail tracks turned into cycleways in the UK. You can virtually get to anywhere in the county by cycleway and bridleway. Shincliffe is megabucks but High Shincliffe might be okay. Hett village is quirky, Lanchester is nice but try and stay as far from Burnhope as you can. The dogs go round in pairs up there for protection. Claypath and The Sands may be a good shout. Tudhoe village is a little gem. You’re never far from some really pitmatic villages where ever you end up. It is County Durham after all. For riding Houghhall and Croxdale have some good little trails and Esh woods for more spicy stuff, then there is Hamsterley and the surrounding countryside. North York Moors just down the road.
I live in Belmont,
So that’s 2 people from Sherburn & 1 from Belmont on here, which is nice. 🙂
I remember when I was a kid living in Sherburn & the scrambling was often on over at Belmont ( before it was called MX) it was even on Grandstand!
stay as far from Burnhope as you can
Didn’t think it was that bad but recently saw a really nice house for sale there, it was newish, loads of space & big, up for something like 350K which is half the price of anything similar where we are. Now I know why.
Burnhope is the culinary capital of the area:
Garage Bar and Grille
Most of the villages around Durham are ok as long as your head isn't up your bottom and you give people the time of day. There are also some rogues about. No different from anywhere else really. Overall though, most people are really friendly.
The garage is a gem. Often our go-to place for Sunday lunch. The garage in the garage is small but superb (ok so it has a fiat 131 Abarth in it, I could just sit and drool over it for hours).
But yeah the rest of burhope is properly odd. Massive, beautiful houses on the edge of the countryside, really quite nice retired miners cottages and not bad at all social housing and yet the undercurrent of substance abuse, family/gang warfare and cage fighting. It’s a good shortcut route to hamsterley for me though.
hot_fiat
Full Member
The garage in the garage is small but superb (ok so it has a fiat 131 Abarth in it, I could just sit and drool over it for hours).
Username checks out
Shincliffe is megabucks but High Shincliffe might be okay.
We used to live in High Shincliffe, which was affordable on a meagre salary, but our daughter went to nursery in Shincliffe. Nativity play was interesting, surrounded by WAGs of local footballers with Manchester accents,
hot_fiat
Full Member
The garage in the garage is small but superb (ok so it has a fiat 131 Abarth in it, I could just sit and drool over it for hours).
Username checks out
Like you wouldn’t believe; that boy has a serious problem with small, fast italian cars 😂
But yeah the rest of burhope is properly odd. Massive, beautiful houses on the edge of the countryside, really quite nice retired miners cottages and not bad at all social housing and yet the undercurrent of substance abuse, family/gang warfare and cage fighting. It’s a good shortcut route to hamsterley for me though.
Its got it all! Its good enough for Terry Deary of Horrible histories fame though and he could definitely afford to move away. It also has the excellent Broom Hall Farm with fantastic breakfasts, and a whole host of tasty animals that you can buy in the farm shop later. Burnhope also has (had - been recently logged, sure it will resurface) half decent MTB trails below the mast as well as Peth Bank to challenge yourself on the road bike, and views into Durham, to the coast and as far south as N York moors. Just a shame the Charlaw trails are no longer there.
We used to live in High Shincliffe, which was affordable on a meagre salary, but our daughter went to nursery in Shincliffe. Nativity play was interesting, surrounded by WAGs of local footballers with Manchester accents,
Hollywood in Wolsingham. Thats where its at if you want Wags pretending to be country folk. Like this little beauty - https://finestproperties.co.uk/properties/portland-house/
Really though OP what you should do is save yourself the messing about, move straight to Weardale and worry about how to get to work once you've moved in.
Burnhope also has (had – been recently logged, sure it will resurface) half decent MTB trails below the mas
I cycle up that one, through Burnhope and across on the b’way near the church as a route to Broom House Farm. Deffo a good place to stop mid-ride, for the food views. It’s a mess post-logging, but still rideable.
Hollywood in Wolsingham.
Reminds me of when we took MissJ to birthday parties at other kids houses - we felt like the gardener, showing up in a rusty Clio among the Mercs and Beemers 🙂
Hollywood in Wolsingham.
George Reynolds had a house there, can't remember if he had it before or after he bought Witton Hall. Very rich man at one point, till he got caught with a dodgy 250K in the boot of his car that is.
EDIT, sorry 500K.