Moving to King's Lynn - Any suggestions on areas and schools to aim for or avoid

rosyw

The area to the east is where my daughter lives, and probably is a bit nicer as it's all much newer, however having stayed there over Christmas I found it very claustrophobic, the houses being very tightly packed!
I understand your concerns over distances to secondary schools, but travelling by bus from the villages is considered the norm in that area, I've never known it cause problems for any of the children my children both had to travel by bus to the nearest primary school a couple of miles from where we lived, it certainly didn't bother them, they looked on it as extra time with their friends! Don't write off the villages, Watlington in particular, due to concerns over school transport.

FallenArcher

I find Downham really depressing. I would personally look again at the villages near Kings Lynn - I love Gayton which is a good size village, and would definitely consider South/North Wooton, Wooton Road, Reffley etc. As for high schools, think Springwood is still up there with KES, would avoid The Park/Academy/Gaywood. I also think Great Massingham is a nice village, although less good for getting to the train station, although if only once a week may not be a big bother.
Echo the areas to avoid posted earlier: Fairstead, North Lynn, South Lynn, Gaywood (parts of). Know lots of people who have had problems in Downham. Terrington St Clement area was always quite nice, but don't know it so well now.

Where are you moving from? This may help to inform those making suggestions?

JimmyTheWig

FallenArcher wrote: »

Where are you moving from? This may help to inform those making suggestions?

Currently live in Chessington - SW London / Sueey border.

vic_sf49

I live close to, but not actually in Downham itself, so I'm not too hot on which areas of the town may be better than others.

You've said you need access to the train station on a weekly basis, and that you don't mind cycling, so have you also looked at Denver or Wimbotsham?

And unlike Barnaby, I don't find Downham a bit depressed, but each to their own opinions I suppose.

Happy house hunting!

JimmyTheWig

Yay, glad to have found someone who likes the place! We're going up in a few weeks, so will be able to report back then as to who we agree with!

We like the look of Wimbotsham (particularly love the idea of the tiny primary school, but presume they have a comparatively huge waiting list) though not many 4-bed houses for sale. Didn't like the look of the houses in Denver, from memory.

For now we're restricting ourselves to Downham Market and surrounding area. We're defining that as where the Downham Market secondary school is the closest secondary school. Not that we're particular fans of that school, but we've got to restrict our search somehow.
Saw a lovely place to the west of DM, with plenty of land, which fits our criteria. Though probably too far out in the middle of nowhere for us...

nicter

We moved to a village 5 miles from Downham from Sussex 5 years ago.
We love it up here but the "slower" pace of life does take some getting used to. I too like Downham and do not find it depressing. Can get pretty much all you need in the shops, has a morrisons and Tesco and Kings Lynn is only 14 miles from us if we want the bigger shops. Not sure what Methwold secondary school is like , may be worth a look
You,re welcome to pm me if you want any furhter info
Happy hunting

JimmyTheWig

Methwold looks a little too far, but thanks for the suggestion.

Yes, I'd noticed that there was a Morrisons in DM. I love Morrisons. Have never lived near one before - is usually a holiday treat for me.
Will probably see my waistline go up and bank balance go down for the first few months as I hit the bakery section at every opportunity.

JimmyTheWig

As an aside, do you know if the Morrisons has a cafe? We're going up in a few weeks time and looking for suggestions for breakfast on the Sunday morning.
There's a Little Chef next to the Travelodge we're staying in (Ely), but I think they are terrible in terms of food _and_ value.

blueybug

I moved out to Methwold a month ago, I love it out this way :beer:

Kings Lynn is a great place to shop as well as the town, the outer shops and supermarkets with a brand new Sainsburys.

Good luck and you'll love it this way

nicter

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

As an aside, do you know if the Morrisons has a cafe? We're going up in a few weeks time and looking for suggestions for breakfast on the Sunday morning.
There's a Little Chef next to the Travelodge we're staying in (Ely), but I think they are terrible in terms of food _and_ value.

No there is no cafe in either Morrisons or Tesco. quite small stores
Downham cafe is very good but not sure if its open on Sundays or Arbuckles is definately open and highly rated
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g670201-Downham_Market_Norfolk_East_Anglia_England.html