Nice areas around Colchester?

yanda

Hi all,

i've been looking further into Essex on my house hunting trips and started to look around the colchester area for suitable properties - after a day trip around the area there seems to be a number of smaller outlying areas which seem nice (not too keen on Colchester itself) and was wondering if anyone had any opinions on them?

The areas we looked at were Kelvedon, Coggeshall and Wivenhoe (we also looked at manningtree but this seems too far a commute when I need to go to London for work). Is there a anywhere else we should be looking at or areas we should avoid? Ideally an hour by train into Liv St

Southend1

Coggeshall is nice. Not sure about the commute from there though.

Do you need to be walking distance to a station or would you be happy to drive to one and park?

Dave_6

Grew up in Wivenhoe in a small cul de sac and enjoyed it, as far as I know there aren't any bad bad areas in Wivenhoe.


Currently live in Colchester, I'd say the areas to be avoided in Colchester are Greenstead, White City, Monkwick.


Don't really know much about Kelvedon other than playing football there a couple of times.

yanda

Southend1 wrote: »

Coggeshall is nice. Not sure about the commute from there though.

Do you need to be walking distance to a station or would you be happy to drive to one and park?

As i'd only be commuting in on occassions (once or twice a fortnight perhaps) I can deal with a small drive. I noticed that Coggeshall has a community bus to Kelvedon station so would be happy to use this or just drive myself there

Flibsey

I'd check the timetables on the bus though
my parents live in Lexden.

BornAtTheRightTime

Trains from Witham and Hatfield Peverel are good. Witham's not so nice but is surrounded by lovely villages - Langford, Ulting, Wickham Bishops, Terling. All are within easy reach of Colchester, Chelmsford and Maldon.

pippa80

I'd definitely say Wivenhoe - train to Liverpool St is slow but you'll usually get a seat.

In colch itself - depends what you're looking for but have you looked at the Dutch quarter and Castle/Roman Roads? Lovely bits of the town and walking distance to north station.

yanda

Flibsey wrote: »

I'd check the timetables on the bus though
my parents live in Lexden.

Yeah, guessing its not going to be a 24 hr service

Whats Lexden like? I had a look on street view and the houses seem nice enough but can't see any amenities or 'centre' as such - do you still have to go into Colchester itself for shopping etc?

pippa80

Lexden is nice and in some places very nice!

Depending on where in Lexden, it's not a far walk into Crouch St, which is lovely.

For your supermarket shop etc you'd drive to Stanway I'd think.

yanda

Thanks pippa80, we have had a look round colchester itself on a sunday and it seemed a bit rough round the edges (i'm the first to admit to being a snob sometimes, so apologies in advance!) - there was litter everywhere, lots of places seemed to of closed down or turned into charity shops, and saw a guy screaming at the top of his lungs outside a pub when an MP vehicle pulled up and dragged him in - later on saw some homeless guy relieving himself in a park with kids playing nearby - maybe we got an off day!

hazyjo

Why around Colchester? Cos it's cheaper? Just thinking out loud... the fares will be pricier the further out you go. Can you afford Chelmsford? Such a good option for commuting, and a nice enough place to live for most age groups. Are you in town on a regular basis, or an occasional one? Couldn't really tell from your post.

Jx