UKH

Morning all,

We're looking at buying a property and ideally would like to live in the Yorkshire Dales, but honestly couldn't even afford a gate hinge up here.

Realistically, viable options are generally Western Lakes (Egremont, Whitehaven etc), maybe even Southern Lakes, such as Barrow, or possibly Mid Wales near Blaenau Ffestiniog or such.

We've been to these areas but not spent any serious amount of time there, and it's hard to get a feel of what it would be like to live somewhere just based on short experiences.

My question is, does or has anyone lived in these areas and what's their thoughts?
Cheers

Frank

Can't really help but

Do you mean western Lakes ?

Yes, sorry, Western Lakes, I've re-edited it.

Are you planning to live permanently wherever you buy this house? What about other practical aspects, like work etc.?

Whitehaven and Barrow are not great, further North - Maryport, Silloth, Cockermouth, Wigton etc and points north much better.

I lived in Wales, albeit South, for 20 years ... I don't miss it...

Houses in Blaenau are cheap because it's an absolute shit tip.

We sold up in the Peak and moved to Cumbria about 6 months ago. We’re both still working, which pretty well rules out the western and southern lakes, as it takes so long to get anywhere. This is compounded by how long it takes to get to Kendall/Lancaster/Carlisle climbing walls.

If this isn’t an issue, then we did look at properties in the South Lakes, which were significantly cheaper. Kirkby in Furness was one of the areas, heading up towards Duddon Valley. I do some work in Barrow, but it’s a pain  travelling the A590 on a regular basis.

In the end we bought a house near Milnthorpe, 20 mins to Kendal, 30 mins to Lancaster walls. Loads of local limestone, easy access to the Dales, and as long as you stay away from Kirkby Lonsdale, the property prices are ok.

Planning to live permanently, although we do spend a fair amount of time way on trips. That said, I realise that Western Lakes is not the most convenient spot for getting away.

We've looked round the Milnthorpe area, as honestly, that would be my perfect spot, but we just can't afford it there currently.

Work is not so much of an issue for us but the basis behind us buying is that we are aiming to buy mortgage free, and thus help keep the cost of living down, and the need for a "decent paying" job is then low.

Or, maybe I should rephrase the title to "Where can I live that's cheap, not overcrowded (easy access to the hills), and near climbing?

As someone from Barrow I concur that it's not excellent but property is very cheap and it has a certain charm, somewhere. Whitehaven (and no offence to anyone on here that does live there) is pretty dire.

Perhaps look at Lancaster? Seems to fly under the radar but has excellent access to M6 so Lakes, Noth Wales and Western Peak all day tripable. Milnthorpe is a nice town for sure and you can sometimes find affordable bits in Ingleton!

I grew up (aged 8 to 18) in west Cumbria (Frizington) and it was monumentally crap. Insular, depressing, terrible infrastructure and a proper trek from everywhere. I moved away for uni at 18 and never regretted it. I still go back to visit my family and I hate it slightly less now that I have a car, I value the outdoorsy stuff more and I'm not being bullied for being a posh outsider kid but tbh it's still depressing. If my family moved away I'd never go back.

That reminded me of having to break up a fight, teachers not kids!, 20 years ago. Although the argument was specific to Greenacres and Mirehouse. 

 To the OP. 

There are some great families that live in those areas who can be amazingly friendly, but there is are reasons you can get a 3 bed semi for 50k, beyond the fact they are a long way from anywhere. 

I was kind of expecting some less than spectacular reviews on these areas but not having spent much time around them,  i didn't want to just make assumptions.

To put things into perspective, currently we live on a boat near Gargrave. Great for the outdoors and cheap (ish) living, but the time has come to get off the canals. In essence we're just trying to find a house in an area and price bracket that allows us to live a similar lifestyle.

Barrow is an abject dump.  Ulverston however is quite nice and reasonably affordable, my sister lived there for a bit (now moved closer to my parents as free childcare is more useful than a nice view ) and they loved it.  It's not quite the same but my view was that it was very similar in feel to Kendal (where they lived before that) but cheaper and fewer tourists.

Lancaster is a fairly nice small city, sort of a poor man's Oxford, Cambridge or Durham, though most affordable housing is terraced with no off street parking if that'd impact you.  I'd consider it myself though, I quite like it.  It's not however a rural idyll like I seem to read between the lines that you might want.  For Lancaster don't be swayed by cheap prices in places like Skerton, they aren't wonderful areas, south of the river is much nicer generally.

Much as I'd like a rural idyll, I'm also realistic that the budget we have won't stretch to that. 

If we find something near enough that we can get into the hills pretty easily then that would do for me. 

Lancaster might well offer you that, then.

I would seriously look at Ulverston.  Not as ridiculously cheap as west Cumbria (probably similarly priced to Lancaster) but really quite nice.

Trying to bit more useful, it is very different from Levenshulme in Manchester, which was where I moved up from. At the time (90's) there I didn't bother locking the front door so whoever wanted to have a look round to see there wasn't anything worth stealing, didn't have to do any damage. There I didn't really know anyone else living nearby. It would be very different in West Cumbria. Not sure it helps knowing who has nicked your bike out of the garage, but they would be unlikely to enter the house to do the same. The insular nature of the area seems to mean some people fit in and are accepted, others aren't and I'm not sure what the common denominator is. 

I've a friend who rents out a couple of properties in Egremont, normally to people on housing benefit, he's having a little trouble finding tenants for the second one, the fact he's needed put a  strengthen front door on the shared access, due to her abusive ex partner kicking the old one in, is putting people of a nice, clean and dry property. On the flip side, when I was living in my 3 bed ex council semi and left my washing out to dry, I came back after a wet day at work to find next door had collected it in, tumble dryer it and ironed things even my mum didn't bother to iron. She did however decide the bloke who  bought the house off me was a wrong un and he was treated very differently and not just by her. 

Kendal? 30 mins to the Dales, 30 mins to Langdale (on a very good day). Pretty hard to beat access-wise, and depending on what you're after from a town, has quite a lot going for it – while somehow managing to stay fairly immune from silly season in the Lakes. We've been here about a year and a half and love it. 

That’s a good call, we missed out on a great barn conversion just outside Ingleton which would have been perfect. 

I get on the train at Arnside, for Siemens (Ulverston) and BAe (Barrow). When I’ve had a wander around Ulverston, I didn’t think it was too bad, Barrow however…

Thanks for the update. This is the sort of information it's impossible to know by just driving round and area and viewing a house.

Although, I've oddly even seen the "you fit in our you don't" mentality in the odd rather well to do area. Hard thing to figure out. 

Ulverston I'd say is nice (though like anywhere it has slightly rough bits, though it was one of these my sister lived in and they never had any trouble).  I don't think I'd just say "not too bad".

(One thing to be aware of with the very cheap ex Council properties there, as they lived in, is that they're made of concrete and poorly insulated so are very cold and damp, though - I wouldn't recommend buying one on those grounds alone).

Penrith might also be worth looking at, it's a very similar place.

We are keeping an eye out there, and i would be happy buying there, just haven't seen much in our price range there lately

I wonder if Kirby Stephen, Tebay or Shap are worth considering?

Well, yes, Blaenau is poor and like most poor towns its a bit down at heel with charity shops instead of expensive gift shops selling wooden toys that no one buys and betting shops rather than overpriced wholefood shops. That said you can still get a decent cup of coffee but there's no Starbucks so probably not worth bothering with. It also has an arts centre which shows recently released films (not bad for a town of 4,000 people) but it's no multiplex so easily dismissed.

It also bears the scars of it's industrial past, these have now been repurposed and have visitors flocking to them as well as UNESCO Heritage Site status so has value to some but its no Bluewater shopping mall or Trafford Centre so just another shit tip really.

In common with other poor towns it has plenty of detractors but unlike other poor towns the air is clean and crime rate low. You can look up from the high street and see beautiful countryside, you can walk to some decent climbing of all styles, it's 4 minutes drive to the best rock in Wales, a short drive to Tremadog and 30 minutes drive sees you sat on some of the best beaches in the country. If all that isn't enough you can get a train to the fleshpots of Llandudno, a bit of trek but an enjoyable journey

It does rain a lot.

Am similarly watching a property at Tebay that's currently at auction but I'm expecting it to end up going for more than we have, but yes would like to live there.

Tebay is quite high up and I've always thought it can be quite bleak in the 'off season' months. There are lovely places to walk around nearby which are off the radar compared to the Lakes. It's a bit like Shap in this respect. Good for access to the M6 obviously.

I lived in Kendal, Warton and Carnforth (not simultaneously!) for about 7 years. Towards to end of that period I bought a house and that's when I moved to Carnforth. Frankly, I couldn't afford Kendal etc. But also wasn't really sure the more expensive places round there are really worth the extra. Other factors for me were working in Preston and not wanting to live in a place with no decent public transport. Carnforth  was a good choice at the time and I liked it there. Access to Lakes took almost the same amount of time as when I lived in North Kendal. Nearer to the motorway and a train station (although not main line) that you can easily walk to. Lots of quick access climbing, running and biking. Amenities in walking distance and good value houses. Like anywhere, it has some rough bits but I liked it there.

Before I moved to Kendal I looked at buying a house in Lancaster and for anything that wasn't scary rough it was eye-wateringly expensive. And the traffic was terrible then (maybe a bit better now with the new bypass).

Starbucks makes crap coffee too. I've yet to find somewhere that does good coffee in Blaenau - got any tips? It's less the shops and more the general poor state of the town, large unemployment, and general vibes about the place. The arts centre is great, as is the Welsh language culture (i.e. using it).

If you're referring to the quarries they're tourist hell holes. I don't know why you have decided that shopping centres are the hallmark of a nice place to live, but they are also horrible.

The air is pretty horrible there IMO, worse than most of the rest of Eryri (not that Blaenau is actually in Eryri because it's so ugly, but there we are). The walking there is great for sure, but the climbing isn't "the best rock in Wales" by a longshot. For the good stuff you're still looking at a 30 min plus drive. 

Obviously, it's in North Wales. But if you want to live in North Wales, there are much, much nicer places to live.

I think you missed the irony, Ian.

As a genuine question, are these much nicer places at the same price point? And where are they? If so I'll have a look at them. 

The demographic for the south east lakes is ‘retired’, s we are literally the only people I can think of round here who have got jobs. They mostly seem surprised if it comes up in conversation

Those poor vibes give me the ick as well.

No one is saying it’s the nicest place in the world to live just that it’s not an “absolute shit tip” and depending on your outlook it is a nicer place to live than many towns that it’s detractors might highlight as being great places to live (I’d would rather live there than Kensington and would probably find the ‘general vibe’ of Kensington nauseating) and symptomatic of an attitude that we don’t value things unless they come with a higher price tag attached. 

Not sure if I'm misunderstanding that, but are you seriously suggesting Maryport and Wigton would be preferable to Barrow or Whitehaven?

Just to echo what others have said, the cheap places are cheap for a reason. I grew up in Whitehaven, currently live in Ulverston but have previously lived in Barrow and Lancaster as well as further afield. There are nice aspects to Cumbria but you have to bear in mind that it's a large county with a small (permanent) population and poor transport links. The unfortunate result of this and various socioeconomic factors is that on the more affordable price ranges, you basically get the choice between living in a dump but having local amenities close by or living somewhere nice but having to take a substantial trip to get to shops etc.

For me Ulverston is a pretty good compromise. I can get into the lakes pretty quickly, e.g. in summer an evening out cragging or mountain biking etc after work is pretty regular. It's not too bad getting out to the motorway to get elsewhere, though the main road (A590) can get pretty choked up at times. E.g. on bank holiday weekends I often just stay at home, as it's far enough out the way not to get overwhelmed with tourists but if you venture elsewhere there's a good chance of spending the day in a procession of caravans and gargantuan motor homes. There are reasonable local amenities plus the town generally has a lot more going on than comparable places in Cumbria, e.g. it's not full of crumbling empty shops, plus a there's all kinds of random festivals of varying sizes throughout the year which I think helps to stop the town dying a slow death. There has been talk of extending the national park boundary right up to the edge of Ulverston, there's concern locally that this would slowly fill the town with holiday lets and push out locals as is the case for anywhere inside the NP, but I haven't heard much about it recently so perhaps the idea has been abandoned. Like anywhere the nice bits are pricey and the cheaper bits are not so nice, but even the bad bits aren't that bad (though there are places to definitely avoid). Parts of the cheaper end of town flooded recently so that's something to bear in mind.

If you want to go more affordable, in this area it generally gets cheaper the further down the Furness peninsula you go. You end up further from the lakes or anywhere else though. People slate Barrow a lot and for good reason, but there are parts that are better than others and if you avoid the worst areas it's not that bad (well, not that bad by Cumbrian standards). Dalton is fairly affordable but is pretty small with not a huge amount going on.

I saw this video recently which is pretty accurate:

https://youtu.be/rajy__3UwNk?si=DO1C22LPM4tXo8FP

Kind of depends what you mean by SE Lakes though? Many would mean Kendal (although technically not in the Lakes AFAIK). But that's not really full of retired people, I don't think. If you mean Grange over Sands I suspect nobody would argue with you but I think in the South Cumbria/North Lancs area it varies quite a lot - deffo not the case in Carnforth I'd say but maybe more so in Arnside area.

I've not been to Carnforth a lot but when I have I have noticed it being predominantly older people walking around.

Lancaster is by contrast very young, being a university city.

Have you looked around Cockemouth? A friend of ours lived there, I always thought it was a decent spot (with a range of non-outdoorsy shops, unlike Keswick)

From your OP, got the impression you wanted the amenities of a large town. It might be worth considering some of the old mining/railway villages in West Cumbria. Rowrah for example often has houses on the main road (but no busier than Shap, and I've often thought this would put off the local lowlifes from stealing/antisocial behaviour ) has views Ennerdale for 20k auction guide price or about 50/60k when they have been done up. The is also the strong effect of Sellafield there, so a few hundred yards away there will be houses in Asby  valued at 10x that. If Ridge reads this thread they might have different/more accurate views on this suggestion.

I see Cockermouth has been suggested, not sure if anything in your price range is likely, even if you'd consider something with a high flood risk. Being on the, excellent as far as Keswick x4/x5 bus route might be important, but Broughton Cross is the only village on it that I can think of that might have, what I think, you are looking for. 

Love Blaenau. Went to school there for 7 years. Wonderful people, great sense of community, 'IF' you're willing to integrate - same anywhere I suppose. Oh, and Blaenau is definitely North Wales.

Reading your posts, I have a left-field suggestion. What about a holiday park / static caravan?

I used to live near a Surrey one of those, and seemingly there were quite a few residents who either ignored the no full time stay rules or went on trips for long enogh to get round them.

They were basically living in a dead posh area for a fraction of the capital cost.

Good luck with your search! I’ve always fancied a canal boat …

My thoughts exactly.  Tebay and Shap are in a little strip of land that neither national park wanted in their recent expansions so house prices are relatively sensible.  Add to that their proximity to the Motorway and you are onto a winner.  Kendal and Penrith accessible in 15 minutes or so, Keswick, Ambleside more like 45 minutes.

I'm not too fussed on being near towns to be honest.  If anything,  it's prefer to be in the country,  but they seem to greenbelt cost more. 

I thought about a static very briefly, but if I'm being brutally honest, i have no desire to be at the peril of exorbitant site fees and restrictions on usage etc. And they can be looming expensive too for what they are. 

We've lived on a boat for about 12 years now and do love it,  but sadly,  with the way the canals are going, along with Canal and River Trust, it is time to get off.

And in Ulverston you might meet Jess Gillam.

Also worth remembering Shap is named so because they couldn’t decide between ‘Sh!t’ or ‘Crap’…

Cockermouth is pretty expensive compared to the rest of West Cumbria. When we bought in 2008 we worked out prices dropped by about £10k per mile the further west you went from Cockermouth. It's a nice place, but probably out of the OPs price range.

TBH West Cumbria is nowhere near as bad as some people make out. Crime is pretty low compared to major cities, there is a bit of a drugs issue but nothing compared to say Leeds or Bradford. (Cocaine is very high quality in Whitehaven due to Sellafield workers demanding value for money, allegedly).

The centre of Whitehaven is dire, Workington less so. Maryport a bit rough, likewise Aspatria, and Wigton stinks due to the chemical works. The suburbs and outlying areas are quite pleasant, and the people by and large are extremely friendly and helpful. We've lived here (between Maryport and Silloth) for 15 years and it's great, friendly local community, no issues at all with crime/ASB, big beach on the doorstep.

However, it is the back of beyond. Poor to non-existent public transport, miles from the nearest motorway, poor rail links, almost no taxi service outside the main towns. It's a good 20 mins drive to the outskirts of the LDNP. If you have kids you'll be ferrying them miles for sports and other hobbies. Oh, and if you're seriously ill, Hexham and Newcastle are your nearest decent hospitals.

We love it here, but once I retire we'll probably stay a couple more years and head back to West Yorkshire. It's more crowded, the crime rate's higher, but there's functioning public transport, taxis aplenty and lots of decent pubs within walking distance or a short bus ride away.

Rowrah's not a bad shout. Has the Ennerdale Brewery tap, handy for Ennerdale itself, on a bus route. In the same area Arlecdon and Cleator (but possibly not Cleator Moor) are worth a look.

Heading out from Cockermouth to Workington/Maryport: Broughton, Seaton, High Harrington, Dearham are reasonably priced, decent areas.

Basically 100% car dependent though.  That'd put me off (it may not you of course).

If you are thinking of mid wales … do you speak Welsh or seriously willing to learn? My mum’s family are all in Machynlleth. When my wife (who’s English) and I first went there many, many years ago to meet our extended family they said “do you speak Welsh?” 
“No” we said. 
“Oh dear, that’s a pity” was the only reply. 
That exchange just about sums it up.

Ok, next stupid suggestion. Take the canal boat to France. Read Narrow Dog to Carcassonne.

Otherwise, it seems to me that you’re looking at buying a ruin and a mega-project to get anything reasonable in budget. Do you have any construction skills?

Anybody can learn - or, at least, try! If you're living there, it would make perfect sense.

Mach has changed a lot (I've lived here for 23 years, so still an incomer ). It has become the place that the hippies/hipsters from Bristol move to when Stroud becomes too mainstream. You could probably live your life oblivious to the Welsh language culture around you, but in fairness to a lot of the younger "incomers", they seem to be willing to adapt and respect/appreciate the difference in culture far better than the arrogance of a lot of my generation. There's all the usual issues of people buying places as holiday homes or AirBNB places pricing locals out of the market and creating resentment, but I'd guess it is better than a lot of places for employment - a lot of green tech spin off from the Centre for Alternative Technology up the road, 45min to Aber with the University, Hospital and other big government agencies. Lots of mountain biking (Athertons are based here) and an hour or so up to the main North Wales climbing centres, with all sorts of rock in between (Cader, Aran, Rhinogau, Moelwynion etc). Transport links are about as good as you get in rural Wales - a natural hub for buses north/south and rail links out to Birmingham and 2 hours to the M6 at Warrington or the Severn bridge by road (very little of which is affected by the new 20mph zones!).

I've read the book,  but not really interested in going to France in the boat. 

I also don't mind buying a near wreck and doing it up. 

Have you said anywhere what your budget roughly is?  (I can't see it upthread but I might be missing it).  That might help us with suggestions.

Location, location, location

I reckon Kirstie and Phil and the production team would love your story. Or Escape to the Country (but less so).

ff

West Cumbria is more Homes under the Hammer, TBH.

More replying to those suggesting Kirkby Stephen/Eden Valley area than your OP- Mum and Dad moved to the area (from North Yorkshire) in 2015 to cut down on driving for dad's job. It's effing awesome. 

The cycling is absolutely top quality, you're pretty much in the middle of the Dales, Lakes and North Pennines. Despite living in Scotland if I'm training for a sportive or whatever I tend to head home for a few days and torture myself cycling around Tan Hill etc. Easy access to the Lakes and the M6 for the rest of the country. It's also reasonably quiet once you get out of Kirkby itself as most tourists drive past it. 

However it's not cheap these days as it was just a few years ago as it's become rather popular with the wealthy retired brigade. Also gets a wee bit dicey around Appleby fair......

Theres a vital element missing in this thread….

Budget. 

I am also looking for a similar type of house for similar reasons. 
My budget is around 150k and I very quickly realised that I can’t afford exactly where I’d like it be.

So now it’s all about best compromise. What I can put up with to be close to climbing and motorway access, choice of airports and bus routes etc etc. I’ve been focused on southern Scotland and Northern England, the Borders and Northumberland across to Carlisle and down to Kirby Stephen, then the odd look at south Lakes and Lancaster but thats a bit south for me as family are in Aberdeenshire. 

Check out ‘Turdtowns’ on YouTube for some insight into west Lakes. Good luck. 

This. It's all guesswork without some actual numbers. eg the average terraced house price in Ulverston is the same as Bentham at £209k but no idea if this is relevant information https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/bentham.html 

Carlisle is remarkably cheap and I quite like it.  In your position I think I'd go with that.

The North Wales coast is perfect. Good access and public transport. Weather good and nearly always somewhere to climb and walk. Anywhere from Colwyn Bay to Bangor. All places have their sh***y bits as well as nice bits

Budget would be up to about 90k.

A very basic property, even that needs a lot of work is fine by us.  Obviously area choices are very limited but budget, but the area and outdoors surrounding it is much more important to us than the actual building to some extent.

Have you considered the Corwen / Bala area?  less choice in your budget range than Blaenau or Penmancho , but property does come up in that price range.

Great running, biking and Clwyd limestone….Berwyn mountains are very special and snowdonia very close, but not too far from Chester down the A5 so not as isolated as Blaenau or Mach

Beautiful area, we live a little further North near Ruthin but daughter goes to school with lots of kids from Corwen and it’s a friendly community…don’t regret moving here for a minute

I have very little experience of West Cumbria, but I did spend 18 hours in Workington once. I’m surprised you say that the centre of Whitehaven is worse. I thought it was the second most depressing place I had ever visited, after Rio Gallagos in Argentina.

Ah, that's fairly low.  You might get a terrace in Skerton in Lancaster but it can be a bit rough, doubt you'd get anything in Ulverston for that but possibly one of the ex Council places.

Mates have recently bought a habitable small flat in Gatehouse of Fleet for 90k. They adore it. May not be the right location for your outdoor needs tho, but the budget is not impossible.

Did you speak to many people? It certainty looks depressed but many of the locals seem to love it  Even though we had some success with the brighter students going away to university, the proportion that returned after only a few weeks was far, far higher than anywhere else I taught, usually with them claiming they didn't like where they had gone and Workington was great. 

Same stands for Maryport….

Yes, locals where friendly and generally seemed happy, whilst acknowledging the grimness of the place.

Fair enough, probably me taking your initial post over literally. No doubt it's a deprived or depressed area, but to some degree, due to budget, the OP's choices are  limited to those type of areas. I'd image what they want to avoid are depressing areas, it certainly makes a difference when teaching there.

I don't want to get into the argument but I found  it reassuring when a poster born in Whitehaven was mildly outraged at the suggestion towns further north were "better" I'm pretty sure that feeling would be reciprocated. This local  pride hasn't been true of everywhere I've taught. It is depressing to be confronted by kids who think their town/area of city is sh*t

I think you need to get out more Nick. I've visited, and lived in, far worse places than Workington. It's a post industrial Northern town, there are far worse places in the north west and north east, and in most major cities.

I don't think it matters to the OP, or mean much to me, but in a top ten list of outstanding schools with a catchment area having the lowest average house price, West Cumbria is the only area that gives Bradford any competition. 

That’s the thing. I see a lot of places in post industrial decline, areas of major cities and small towns, particularly in the north-west and Yorkshire. I was genuinely surprised how much Workington depressed me.

There are a few areas in Scotland that have come up in searches and some of which i could be interested in. Some were in not very nice looking areas,  but a lot up on the North East corner. Again, i really don't know much about those places (Wick / Thurso etc) other than it gets battered by the NC500ers.

Dumfries and Galloway comes up a bit too. 

I'll have a  look at Gatehouse of Fleet.

The Solway coast is beautiful. Lots of rocky sections with good beaches and views across to the Lakes fells. I had a short break in Castle Douglas back in July and bumped into someone I know who used to live in Silverdale (itself a lovely area). He really liked it in Gatehouse. You've got the forests and hills of Galloway close by and the road back to the M6/M74 is pretty quick as it's the trunk road for the Irish ferries.

It's a Local Shap for Local peaple

I'm from West Cumbria (Whitehaven), born and raised there, but have since lived all over the country and am now in the Highlands. Still have family in Whitehaven, so usually go back a few times a year (just not in the last few months due to being on crutches). Even the roughest parts of Whitehaven are still pretty safe compared to many towns and cities. The harbour is nice, but it's sad seeing the town centre so run down now with most of the major employers from the 70s, 80s and 90s now gone or with reduced workforces. (However, as I'm from Whitehaven, I'm duty bound to tell you it's still better than Workington !!)

I enjoy going back as it's so handy to get into the western valleys like Ennerdale, Buttermere and Wasdale, and even in the peak of summer you can always find quiet routes and hills away from the well known honeypot locations. Nice coastal walks too. I'm a hill walker rather than a climber, but I've seen a few climbers at St Bees when I've been walking there. When I was thinking about moving back to the area due to family reasons, I quite fancied St Bees as a possibility - it's got a train station and nice beach. Viewed as one of the pricier villages in West Cumbria certainly, but the older style terraced houses on the High St sometimes come up for sale at a good price. I like the practicality of having supermarkets etc within a couple of miles walk though rather than having to drive, so personally would go for a town rather than a more remote village.

Without knowing your budget or priorities, it's hard to give recommendations. I lived in Suffolk for 3 years and I'm sure I'd be in the minority saying I preferred West Cumbria! (It's a long, long way to any hills when you live in East Suffolk, and I like hills and mountains more than a desirable postcode). It is a hassle to get to or from anywhere else of course, but hence house prices being as they are.

And if you're now pondering Wick and Thurso, then West Cumbria maybe isn't so remote in comparison ... though if you're into surfing or considering taking it up, then Thurso is definitely worth a look.

That area is a long way from anywhere - and a long way from any hills. As has been mentioned, Thurso could be good if you're into surfing (or into nuclear power station demolition ...) - but otherwise I suggest you go for an exploratory look before you consider the possibility of living there.

That pretty much confirms my opinions of West Cumbria. It's had a rough deal economically, it's a bit tatty, but I've never been anywhere, including the 'rough' eststes of Mirehouse, or Cleator Moor or Egremont or Frizington, that's actually felt threatening or unsafe.

Mrs Ridge worked at the hospital in Carlisle and West Cumberland hospital in Whitehaven for a few years when we first moved up, and thought it was incredible how little trouble there was from drunks and addicts in the hospital, nothing like the regular violence she encountered in Leeds, Wakefield and Barnsley.

I like Dumfries and Galloway, some great walking and nowhere near as congested as the lakes.

However, depending on where the OPs family is, it's a surprisingly long way (or so it feels) from Penrith to Carlise, and then on to the M74.

Agreed. When we first moved to Kendal, hearing the locals talk about how bad the local council estates were was hilarious.

Wherever you are in Cumbria, it’s a pretty safe and chilled out place to be.

You're probably right, Wick and Thurso is a long way up, but to be honest it only came into our search engines because of the price of houses. After looking into it more, I think I'd be more inclined to pay the extra and go somewhere more suitable for our wants.