[Closed] Where to live in Northumberland?

Next door but one to Drac 👍🧟‍♂️

House opposite is for sale, it's a fun house.

What are the after? Country retreat, small town, urban or rural and how for are you prepared to travel for work?

I now live in northumberland with my wife having previously grown up in Surrey. We currently live in Rothbury and love it. My wife is Northumbrian born and bred and grew up in Seahouses but could not wait to move away once we got married. Northumberland is a big place however I would highly recommend Rothbury for the following reasons...

1)its stunning

2)I can mountain bike from my front door

3)Newcastle airport is within 40 minutes ( I work away so have to fly down to London/southampton/bristol a lot)

4)anywhere near the sea is taken over by tourists all summer

5)my wife saves 40 minutes every day driving down to newcastle

We also looked a lot at Wooler and very nearly bought a house in the middle of nowhere however the sale fell through. If you have any questions just ask!

Alnwick and Rothbury are a good shout. I like Hexham and the Tyne valley. If you go North of Newcastle make sure you go at least as far as Morpeth.

As with any move to the country have a good think, probably rent first for at least 6 months to make sure you have the right idea.

Check for fibre roll out plans too.

If you have kids consider schools as there can be limited choice due to distance.

Born and raised 7 miles out of Alnwick, went to school in Wooler and Alnwick  folks are still there.

I love it to visit but I'd not be moving back myself but that is probably to do with being close to it.

All good questions :-). The easiest one is about travelling for work - the idea is to give up work completely - yayyy!! But that does impose some need to be financially prudent!

I guess my idea is to be on the edge of a small town / market town or whatever. Somewhere that we won't have to put up with neighbours making noise but not so far out that we can't get a pint of milk if we run out

I am guessing that there is an area round Newcastle that is expensive cos it's commutable. Probably the best for us would be just outside that circle.

What are Morpeth and Alnwick like?

I was born and grew up in Morpeth nice place but it's way bigger, expensive probably some what overcrowded not really a great rural retreat any more. I've lived in Alnwick for 23 year now, it's also much bigger but still very rural, gets bust during the holiday season but now rammed. I'd not move back to Morpeth mainly as it's way more expensive than Alnwick.

Rothbury is nice yes little country town but it is a little country town so not much there and it gets packed with tourists, Scrabble you need to find different spots for the beaches theses still areas you can go peak season and see no one, Seahouses and Amble certainly get packed.

Alnwick, Rothbury are serious contenders or little hamlets on the outskirts if you want the peace and quite. Rennington near Alnwick would fit the bill.

Thanks all - good advice - renting for a while definitely seems a good plan.

We moved up there last year. We couldn't be happier.I work away so I don't have a "commute" as such.

We went to Seahouses, (North Sunderland to be precise) but that was due to a business opportunity in the village. It's rammed in the summer (but not where we are).Although any of the touristy coastal villages are relatively expensive.

You only have to move a few miles inland and it's a lot cheaper. Have a look at the places either side of the A1 and you can get some good value.

As Drac said, Rennington might be worth a look or try Christon Bank, there has been a few builds in those villages recently. Belford a bit further North but still well placed for Newcastle.

There is a very good train service from Alnmouth, which has free car parking, which is a good way at getting into Newcastle. The traffic on the A1 just N&S of Newcastle is terrible.

Alnwick or Rothbury would be my shout ..

I live in Bellingham ..my Dad has lived & worked here since the early sixties and my missus was born & bred in Falstone ..

I'm still regarded as an incomer even though I've lived here for nearly 20 years .

Bellingham gets a lot of tourism being close to Kielder Water & Forest ..and it's a great venue for mountain biking, golf ? & water sports ..it's not exactly close to other amenities in terms of shops ..20 miles from our nearest large grocery store at Hexham .

Rothbury & especially Alnwick have a lot more going for them being closer to the coast too..

Good luck ..

...I’m about to put my parents’ house on the market, 3-bed detached, set  in 1/3acre garden down a quiet lane just on the outskirts of Bamburgh if interested? Emptied and ready for refurb project!

Agree with all of the statements above. Also worth checking out Chillingham, Chatton, Belford, Eglingham, Powburn etc

Giving access to the Cheviots, Thrunton Woods, Kidland Forest and then a bit more of a journey for Kielder

I would love to return home but family commitments in Lincoln rule it out.

You can be remote, very remote or totally isolated. Do you have children and is schooling a consideration?

The A1 is the only 'proper road' and can become congested in various places north of newcastle - morpeth and alnwick in particular.

It's a fabulous place - but keep that to yourself.

I would go for Warkworth - but that's purely personal.

I slightly disagree with Frank in terms of the A1 being the only proper road ..

I can make Newcastle in 40mins easily on the A68 / A69 from Bellingham and never fail to enjoy the scenery ..the only delay being where the A69 joins the A1 at the West End of Newcastle ..and its only the lack of ameneties that scores my village down ( personally I wouldnt move anywhere else ) .

If money was no object I would look at Corbridge ..just off the A69 ..close to Hexham with good road & rail links for Newcastle ..but you will need lots of £££££££.😁

Two sections of the A1 north of Newcastle are due to be dualled.  This will improve journey times but will impose construction effects for a period of time. Check out the Highways England website if you need to find out more.

Thanks once again for the suggestions - will definitely need research.

Schools - long past needing them 🙂

Ok a few more suggestions

Longhoughton but has an odd feel to it being an ex RAF town, Lesbury, Hipsburn or yeah Warkworth.

Warkworth is lovely but expensive.

A lot will depend on the OP's budget. As he has said he's stopping work and needs to be "financially prudent", then the likes of Bamburgh, Warkworth and some of the other more "desirable" areas are out of budget.

Amble is considered "up and coming", it's a lot cheaper than some of the other places mentioned but personally I wouldn't live there. There are a lot of expensive places on the marina now, not sure who is buying them?

Yeah Amble is an odd phenomenon.

4 bed house for less than 200k.

My shed would cost more than that if it was a flat!

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66913375.html

Yeah those new builds are quite reasonable.

Where as these ones are a little more.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73550381.html

Point is Warkworth is an expensive part of Northumberland he’s not moving into your shed.

Moving to the countryside may seem like a good idea but many “city” people soon find out that their noises neighbours become the cows, sheep, hens, geese, crows, tractors and other fam machinery. Current noise being silage cutting miles away, the noise carrying in the wind. A few years ago a community policeman friend of mine was off to a community council meeting. On the agenda was a complaint from an “incomer” regarding the local farmer who was hearding his cattle to and from a field along the country road past his house, something the farmer and his family have been doing for generations. The complainant wanted it stopped!!!

Is Northallerton in Northumberland?

Northallerton is Yorkshire that's nearly London.

I guess I am thinking along these lines in terms of budget and style:

https://www.primelocation.com/for-sale/details/45924336?search_identifier=b749494121ea1c68b98106f3f4b26b82#xfQydcfAssAfIQMi.97
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With that budget you have quite a large selection to choose from, like anywhere else you’ll get more or less depending on the area.

Perfectly demonstrated by Zippykona posting a 4 bedroom in Amble which is about 1.5 miles from Warkworth but a £300k+ price difference.

4 bed house for less than 200k.

My shed would cost more than that if it was a flat!

That's because it's in Amble.

DrJ - £300k can get you some really interesting property up in some of the "decent" places.

Move to Shilbottle it's a treat.

Your money goes along way in Shilbottle.

The first l should be a t

Move to Shilbottle it’s a treat.

Now that's what we all thought when we grew up, local farmer had a good line on bootleg booze and fags, rumour is there is still a good few grand buried out there from when they got raided. But lots of new houses and people moving in has changed it from what I hear.

For me the bigger problem is not enough proper mountains.