Where's a good place to retire to in North west England or North Wales?

artiebear

Having lived all over the UK and beyond, and now having returned to North Cumbria (on the periphery of the city of Carlisle), apart from hearing people talk about the NW of England being somewhere along way south of here, I could not recommend it enough. I'm 5 mins from the M6, a half hour from the North Lakes fells ( the ones tourists haven't heard of ), a half hour from the North Pennines, three quarters of an hour from the Scottish Southern Uplands and a little further to Dumfries and Galloway's Solway coast and western hills, etc. 

Just 15/20 miles south you have the  Eden Valley, nice villages, not faux rural, but getting more  expensive these days ( As is most of Cumbria )

1 hour 10 mins to Glasgow by train from Carlisle for an afternoon at Guitarguitar, or similar to Newcastle, and motorways with a quarter of the traffic we think is normal once you hit Preston/Lancaster. 

Roman Wall up the road, great countryside ( my fave from home is a walk up to the Solway Firth, especially in winter to watch the Geese ).

The downside is it can be expensive. Stefan Sobell, HJ Williams, Fylde and Overwater are all a very short drive ( or in one case walk away)   

Seriously, don't limit your search to Lancs etc. When I need city I can have it, Carlisle is a very pleasant city centre all in all ( lots of history and culture if you look for it, like anywhere ) just outside you can feel like you have left a lot of the crap behind without having to go totally off grid. 

All the best with a big decision.

Moominpapa

Hey @gubble , as you grew up around Silverdale, this may chime with you. Whenever we drove up from Poulton to Silverdale we always visited this neat little craft centre there. It was in a cluster of old buildings a short walk from the water, . For many years the place used to be graced by this massive old Great Dane with custom leather bootees on its paws - I guess to protect its paws or give it support or something. It was a sweet old dog and I always hoped to see it when we went there. Anybody else remember this?

russpm

Avoid Burnley, it’s a shithole

Ossyrocks

Moominpapa said:

Hey @gubble , as you grew up around Silverdale, this may chime with you. Whenever we drove up from Poulton to Silverdale we always visited this neat little craft centre there. It was in a cluster of old buildings a short walk from the water, . For many years the place used to be graced by this massive old Great Dane with custom leather bootees on its paws - I guess to protect its paws or give it support or something. It was a sweet old dog and I always hoped to see it when we went there. Anybody else remember this?

Must be the Wolf House Gallery. It’s still there (closed at the moment obviously). 

JCA2550

gubble said:

A few people have mentioned Arnside and Silverdale. I grew up in that area and it really is lovely.

There's lots of villages like Milnthorpe, Burton in Kendal, Holme, Kirkby Lonsdale that sit between Kendal and Lancaster that are really nice.

Going across the bay you've got Grange over Sands which is lovely too. A former seaside town which has kept it's quaint charm and hasn't been the victim of social and economic depression. The sea however left and never came back.......

I miss that area a lot.

My folks live in Milnthorpe, lots of lovely walks around the area along the Kent estuary, Silverdale, Arnside, Storth and Sandside, up to the lakes and east towards the Dales. Providing you're okay driving (the bus service is crap) you're really well connected to the A6; Morecambe and Lancaster to the South and Kendal to the north for nightlife, breweries, eateries, pubs, gigs and pretty much any shops you can imagine. Promenade Music on the Morecambe seafront is the only serious music store in the area though?

Moominpapa

Ossyrocks said:

Moominpapa said:

Hey @gubble , as you grew up around Silverdale, this may chime with you. Whenever we drove up from Poulton to Silverdale we always visited this neat little craft centre there. It was in a cluster of old buildings a short walk from the water, . For many years the place used to be graced by this massive old Great Dane with custom leather bootees on its paws - I guess to protect its paws or give it support or something. It was a sweet old dog and I always hoped to see it when we went there. Anybody else remember this?

Must be the Wolf House Gallery. It’s still there (closed at the moment obviously). 

Wolf House Gallery - that's the one. Now I'm wondering whether the dog wasn't maybe an Irish wolfhound. This would have been back in the 70s so the details aren't clear - I just remember it being a very large dog!

bloodandtears

In the Morecambe area, I've always liked the look of Hest Bank, Slyne and Heysham village too

markj

Chester.

Snap

RustySpanner said:

  

Trades Club is excellent. 

Blackburn and Burnley are examples of how different places can evolve. 
Investment brings pride in one's environment. Pride changes the way people behave. 
Burnley has very little litter. It's a clean town. Much less than most areas of Manchester for example. 
Blackburn is filthy. Litter everywhere. Crap dumped all over the place. 
I think it comes down to investment and planning. 
Burnley now has lots of world class tech moving in. 
Huge investment in places like the Victoria Mill UCLAN development, which have completely transformed the areas surrounding them. 
Burnley has an extraordinary amount of  clean, safe green spaces radiating from the centre - Thompson Park, Towneley Park, Rowley Lake etc. 
Blackburn is sadly lacking in these spaces. 
Much less industrial, semi derelict sprawl in Burnley. 


It all adds up and makes a noticeable difference. 

Yeah, but Burnley is full of Dingles.

I'm from Blackburn, went to school there, and naturally am only too well versed in the local rivalry with our hillbilly neighbours. I remember some crackingly daft arguments we'd have as kids as to why one town was better than the other. Like in about 1983, a mate of mine saying Burnley was better cos it had a MacDonald's. Brilliant.

Trying to remember the name of the club in Accy that we used to go to. Pep's in Blackburn, Applejax in Chorley, Cloggers in Harwood (right?), but aaah, the one in Accy?? Oi, DJ, get a bit of Steve Silk Hurley on eh?

Edit - La de Da's. That was it I think! Oh, been sick in there a few times I'm sure. Probably had a few dust ups too. 

Ossyrocks

Snap said:

RustySpanner said:

  

Trades Club is excellent. 

Blackburn and Burnley are examples of how different places can evolve. 
Investment brings pride in one's environment. Pride changes the way people behave. 
Burnley has very little litter. It's a clean town. Much less than most areas of Manchester for example. 
Blackburn is filthy. Litter everywhere. Crap dumped all over the place. 
I think it comes down to investment and planning. 
Burnley now has lots of world class tech moving in. 
Huge investment in places like the Victoria Mill UCLAN development, which have completely transformed the areas surrounding them. 
Burnley has an extraordinary amount of  clean, safe green spaces radiating from the centre - Thompson Park, Towneley Park, Rowley Lake etc. 
Blackburn is sadly lacking in these spaces. 
Much less industrial, semi derelict sprawl in Burnley. 


It all adds up and makes a noticeable difference. 

Yeah, but Burnley is full of Dingles.

I'm from Blackburn, went to school there, and naturally am only too well versed in the local rivalry with our hillbilly neighbours. I remember some crackingly daft arguments we'd have as kids as to why one town was better than the other. Like in about 1983, a mate of mine saying Burnley was better cos it had a MacDonald's. Brilliant.

Trying to remember the name of the club in Accy that we used to go to. Pep's in Blackburn, Applejax in Chorley, Cloggers in Harwood (right?), but aaah, the one in Accy?? Oi, DJ, get a bit of Steve Silk Hurley on eh?

Lar-de-dars ?

russpm

Ossyrocks said:

Snap said:

RustySpanner said:

  

Trades Club is excellent. 

Blackburn and Burnley are examples of how different places can evolve. 
Investment brings pride in one's environment. Pride changes the way people behave. 
Burnley has very little litter. It's a clean town. Much less than most areas of Manchester for example. 
Blackburn is filthy. Litter everywhere. Crap dumped all over the place. 
I think it comes down to investment and planning. 
Burnley now has lots of world class tech moving in. 
Huge investment in places like the Victoria Mill UCLAN development, which have completely transformed the areas surrounding them. 
Burnley has an extraordinary amount of  clean, safe green spaces radiating from the centre - Thompson Park, Towneley Park, Rowley Lake etc. 
Blackburn is sadly lacking in these spaces. 
Much less industrial, semi derelict sprawl in Burnley. 


It all adds up and makes a noticeable difference. 

Yeah, but Burnley is full of Dingles.

I'm from Blackburn, went to school there, and naturally am only too well versed in the local rivalry with our hillbilly neighbours. I remember some crackingly daft arguments we'd have as kids as to why one town was better than the other. Like in about 1983, a mate of mine saying Burnley was better cos it had a MacDonald's. Brilliant.

Trying to remember the name of the club in Accy that we used to go to. Pep's in Blackburn, Applejax in Chorley, Cloggers in Harwood (right?), but aaah, the one in Accy?? Oi, DJ, get a bit of Steve Silk Hurley on eh?

Lar-de-dars ?

Don’t forget Yuticks Nest, Red Parrott, Rovers Return, Sooty’s and Manhattan Heights in Blackburn! So many nightclubs.

sweepy

If the Hospitals were better I’d recommend Pembroke in a heartbeat 

Snap

russpm said:

Don’t forget Yuticks Nest, Red Parrott, Rovers Return, Sooty’s and Manhattan Heights in Blackburn! So many nightclubs.

yes! Red Parrott up Shad. God it was rough there. You'd go there to get weed as well as a kicking. Sooty's! Manhattan Sheights - now you're talking. Bringing a little bit of NYC to the Burn!! PMSL. We used to go to the official Hacienda nights there, they were brilliant. Liberty St, being the attached "cocktail" bar.  Also Sugarhill Cafe

Mr G's. C'est La Vie. Jeez, got in some reet tangles in there. Jazzy Kecks, previously known as Crackers, all great memories. I remember a bloke tripping on acid outside Crackers, tried to stab us all, then after he'd had a go at us with a knife, just calmed down " sorry lads, I was having a bad trip there, thought you were all trying to kill me, soz like". Great times!

WiresDreamDisasters

Maybe consider Devon? It's pretty, and cheap, and isn't full of Northerners

russpm

Snap said:

russpm said:

Don’t forget Yuticks Nest, Red Parrott, Rovers Return, Sooty’s and Manhattan Heights in Blackburn! So many nightclubs.

yes! Red Parrott up Shad. God it was rough there. You'd go there to get weed as well as a kicking. Sooty's! Manhattan Sheights - now you're talking. Bringing a little bit of NYC to the Burn!! PMSL. We used to go to the official Hacienda nights there, they were brilliant. Liberty St, being the attached "cocktail" bar.  Also Sugarhill Cafe

Mr G's. C'est La Vie. Jeez, got in some reet tangles in there. Jazzy Kecks, previously known as Crackers, all great memories. I remember a bloke tripping on acid outside Crackers, tried to stab us all, then after he'd had a go at us with a knife, just calmed down " sorry lads, I was having a bad trip there, thought you were all trying to kill me, soz like". Great times!

Bloody hell, but yes that sounds like a night out in Blackburn.
I went to Shad high school so know all about that side of town. 

I used to like C’est La Vie which was originally DJs if I remember right?
there was also a place called The Club and a rock club called Flames!

ronnyb

This was taken yesterday. You can see why Morecambe gets a bad press.

77ric

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Maybe consider Devon? It's pretty, and cheap, and isn't full of Northerners

aye but they eat their scones wrong

ronnyb said:

This was taken yesterday. You can see why Morecambe gets a bad press.

that's the second best bit of Morcambe.

The best bit is of course as you leave.

ToneControl

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Maybe consider Devon? It's pretty, and cheap, and isn't full of Northerners

Full of Londoners innit? Like Cornwall?

ToneControl

I saw Llandrindod Wells in the top 10 happiest towns again, and houses are very cheap

Can anyone verify this assessment?

phil_b

Pembrokeshire. I know it is South Wales but it is well worth the extra travel time