Thinking of moving to Cheshire? Take a look at the village of Holmes Chapel which is a nice area within easy reach of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.
Holmes Chapel is a village in Cheshire. It’s quite small, the last census put the population at less than 6,000, and it retains an “old-fashioned” feeling (and I mean that in a positive way) compared to my previous experiences of living in cities and other towns.
Geographically it’s less than a mile from the M6 motorway which means you have easy access to the M6 and M56 so it’s easy to get to Manchester, Warrington, Crewe, Stoke, Birmingham and obviously lots of places. intermediates. around. It’s also on the Crewe to Manchester train line, so getting to Manchester is fairly easy, with the journey taking around 40 minutes. Holmes Chapel Station also has a book club and has won many awards. Compared to the gloomy faceless and vandalized train stations you find in most towns and cities, it’s great!
The town has two primary schools, Hermitage and Holmes Chapel Primary, both of which have excellent results from Ofsted and DFES, making it a great place to move to and find a better state education for your children. It also has a secondary school and an attached sixth form center which, again, is highly rated by Ofsted and is particularly strong in Science. In other words, if you are looking to move somewhere outside of the city so that your children can go to good local schools throughout the process, then this is a great option.
Due to good schools and good transportation opportunities, Holmes Chapel is relatively expensive compared to some larger, industrialized cities. The cheapest houses I’ve seen in recent months are around £160,000 for a fairly small 2-bedroom terraced house. For a three-bedroom semi-detached or semi-detached house, you’re probably looking at £170-190k and for a 3-bedroom detached house, upwards of £230k. There are also many large 4 bedroom townhouses in the village which are currently selling for between £270,000 and £370,000 depending on where and what they are. However, it is also possible to rent, and three-bedroom houses seem to be available for around £700 a month or more.
Holmes Chapel has many older residents because many of the houses were built in the 70’s and higher in the mid 80’s and people who moved to the area bought it as new to take advantage of schools, commuting and the general friendliness of the surroundings . . Many of these people are now nearing retirement. This means that there is a nice laid back vibe to the place and a stroll through the shops will usually produce lots of polite smiles, nods and greetings from people you don’t actually know. Once again, a very nice and old-fashioned attitude that has sadly been lost in many places where people run around fearing being attacked or assaulted.
There is a Youth Club and Leisure Center and two private sports and leisure clubs which also offer excellent sporting and social facilities throughout the year. Holmes Chapel also has a library, doctor’s offices, a dentist, and an optician along with a variety of great local shops and businesses.
All in all, if you are looking for a place to commute to Manchester or Warrington from where you can find great local schools, then Holmes Chapel is a good choice and well worth checking out.