Perhaps the answer is to rent there during a less attractive time of year and see how you like it? I'm sure that there would be holiday lets available during the less popular winter months.
We have a holiday home in Dorset and had considered moving there when we retired but have realised that we are not country dwellers.
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Moving to Winchcombe?
(59 Posts)We have come into sufficient money to consider moving from our long-term home in the West Midlands. Winchcombe in Gloucestershire has sprung to mind - it is a town we often start walks from, and seems to us to have a lot to recommend it. My mother hailed from the Cotswolds so I have some emotional attachment to the area.
We are early 70s and so far in reasonably good health, active walkers (both) and cyclist (Mr G).
Anybody know the town/area and can comment on its merits/fault as somewhere to live, as opposed to its touristy attractiveness?
We know it is always a risk moving late in life, but we feel it is now or never.
Dickens
spabbygirl
I live in Cirencester in the cotswolds & have done for 17yrs, its fantastic, the countryside is gorgeous there are loads of places to go if you want to go to a big city Oxford, Bristol, Bath or Birmingham are within an hours drive. I love it, my husband moved here too when I met him 16yrs ago & he loves it too. We have a tiny hospital here but there is a big one in Cheltenham & another in Glos if you need it, or Swindon has a good hospital but that not near winchcombe. You could rent your house out & rent in winchcombe just to be sure you like it, but I highly recommend the cotswolds
The hospitals.
Friday 20 October as at 1210pm TODAY!
CHELTENHAM GENERAL
A&E department
LIVE waiting times are as follows
Number of people waiting in the department = 50
Average wait time to be seen by a clinician = 37 minutes
Average time spend in the department = 3 hours
A&E is 'clinician led' between 0830 and 2000 hours, and 'nurse-led' between 2000 and 0830 (minor injuries) - if you call an ambulance in the evening you will automatically be whisked to the GLOUCESTERSHIRE ROYAL
GLOUCESTERSHIRE ROYAL HOSPITAL
A&E department
LIVE waiting times are as follows
Number of people waiting in the department = 87
Average wait time to be seen by a clinician = 4 hours
Average time spend in the department = 8 hours
There are frequently ambulances queued up outside waiting for admission of patients - anything from 3 to 6/7 ambulances. The South Western Ambulance service is in pretty dire straits.
Getting an ambulance is pot-luck. My OH waited over 6 hours after a fall where he lay in pain stuck over the rim of the shower tray (which broke his ribs), face down near the plug hole, unable to move. The fire brigade tried to raise him but couldn't and they were too afraid to move him too much for fear of inflicting serious injury.
On the other hand, I waited only 37 minutes for an ambulance for a suspected bowel obstruction.
The GLOUCESTERSHIRE ROYAL simply has too many people attending and not enough clinicians, doctors, nurses, etc, etc.
... and - this is a purely personal POV... it's an ugly and depressing building. Whenever I've had the misfortune to end up there, the Tower Block fills me with unease and melancholy:
www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/media/images/IMG-20220405-WA0003.original.jpg
And the building work appears to be a permanent feature.
The Cotswolds is a lovely area - but it's as well to understand that it suffers from the same malady regarding hospitals / health care, as the rest of the country.
We recently attended the funeral of a friend (he was in his 90s when he died) and, living on the borders, he had spent time in a Welsh hospital and some time in the Gloucester Royal. His son said the care at the Gloucester Royal was far superior to that in the Welsh hospital (I won't name it).
Of course, it is all probably dependent on which department you are in.
Frizzywizzy
Hi Granva,
I know Winchcombe pretty well and we tried very hard to buy a house there. Sadly, we couldn’t sell our house in time so lost the house we were after. Anyway, I think Winchcombe is a super town, with beautiful walks, homes and friendly people. If you are looking in this area, I’d also recommend that you consider Prestbury. Look along the Burgage area, Lake Street and Shaw Green Lane. Lovely walks from there too, around the Racecourse or up Cleeve Hill. There are very friendly locals in Prestbury and it’s only a short walk, bike ride or bus journey to the centre of Cheltenham and all the facilities that has to offer.
Best wishes on your move.
... I'd recommend Prestbury too!
Hi Granva,
I know Winchcombe pretty well and we tried very hard to buy a house there. Sadly, we couldn’t sell our house in time so lost the house we were after. Anyway, I think Winchcombe is a super town, with beautiful walks, homes and friendly people. If you are looking in this area, I’d also recommend that you consider Prestbury. Look along the Burgage area, Lake Street and Shaw Green Lane. Lovely walks from there too, around the Racecourse or up Cleeve Hill. There are very friendly locals in Prestbury and it’s only a short walk, bike ride or bus journey to the centre of Cheltenham and all the facilities that has to offer.
Best wishes on your move.
spabbygirl
I live in Cirencester in the cotswolds & have done for 17yrs, its fantastic, the countryside is gorgeous there are loads of places to go if you want to go to a big city Oxford, Bristol, Bath or Birmingham are within an hours drive. I love it, my husband moved here too when I met him 16yrs ago & he loves it too. We have a tiny hospital here but there is a big one in Cheltenham & another in Glos if you need it, or Swindon has a good hospital but that not near winchcombe. You could rent your house out & rent in winchcombe just to be sure you like it, but I highly recommend the cotswolds
The hospitals.
Friday 20 October as at 1210pm TODAY!
CHELTENHAM GENERAL
A&E department
LIVE waiting times are as follows
Number of people waiting in the department = 50
Average wait time to be seen by a clinician = 37 minutes
Average time spend in the department = 3 hours
A&E is 'clinician led' between 0830 and 2000 hours, and 'nurse-led' between 2000 and 0830 (minor injuries) - if you call an ambulance in the evening you will automatically be whisked to the GLOUCESTERSHIRE ROYAL
GLOUCESTERSHIRE ROYAL HOSPITAL
A&E department
LIVE waiting times are as follows
Number of people waiting in the department = 87
Average wait time to be seen by a clinician = 4 hours
Average time spend in the department = 8 hours
There are frequently ambulances queued up outside waiting for admission of patients - anything from 3 to 6/7 ambulances. The South Western Ambulance service is in pretty dire straits.
Getting an ambulance is pot-luck. My OH waited over 6 hours after a fall where he lay in pain stuck over the rim of the shower tray (which broke his ribs), face down near the plug hole, unable to move. The fire brigade tried to raise him but couldn't and they were too afraid to move him too much for fear of inflicting serious injury.
On the other hand, I waited only 37 minutes for an ambulance for a suspected bowel obstruction.
The GLOUCESTERSHIRE ROYAL simply has too many people attending and not enough clinicians, doctors, nurses, etc, etc.
... and - this is a purely personal POV... it's an ugly and depressing building. Whenever I've had the misfortune to end up there, the Tower Block fills me with unease and melancholy:
www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/media/images/IMG-20220405-WA0003.original.jpg
And the building work appears to be a permanent feature.
The Cotswolds is a lovely area - but it's as well to understand that it suffers from the same malady regarding hospitals / health care, as the rest of the country.
I am living not too far from Winchcombe. You might like to look at Bishops Cleeve. Lots of activities going on including Probus, WI, U3A and a Bishops Cleeve Senior Citizens Club. regular bus service to Cheltenham. It even has it's own bookshop.
Go for it! We moved to a market town in a new area when we were 70 and it was an excellent decision. We did lots of research on the area and had a list of must haves. Must be within walking distance of shops, must have good bus services (e.g. to nearest city and nearest station), must have access to open green areas for walking, must have active U3A... Be aware that you may have to give up driving at some stage. Ten years on, I am at that stage now and so grateful for good bus services and a bus stop just round the corner. I wish you well with your decision.
Steam train? We've missed that one, must add it to the bucket list.
Oreo
Sounds nice there, but I have a neighbour who comes from Gloucestershire and she says it’t the wettest place on God’s green earth.😂
Something to think about?
I think that's E Scotland at the moment! Hope any Gransnetters who live there are ok.
I thought most of the rain got dumped on us before the clouds travelled on to Winchcombe!! Certainly this morning is very wet indeed. 🌧
Yes, great views. We covered a good 6 or 7 miles each day.
Joseann
Your OH made a very good choice Dickens.
We didn't get to sample the Indian take away (opposite the museum) as we had planned, because we found so many nice things in the deli. We always like to cook for ourselves when we go self catering because we can then "pretend" we are actually living there!! The pub next door was very accommodating and allowed us to bring pints of beer back to the cottage.
The only annoying thing was that Sudeley Castle doesn't allow dogs, so we didn't get to visit it. But we enjoyed the steam train trip to Broadway.
Oh, that deli is lovely isn't it!
Yes, only guide-dogs are allowed at Sudeley. Did you go for walks along the surrounding footpaths though?
Glad you did the steam-train trip - it's a delight.
Sounds nice there, but I have a neighbour who comes from Gloucestershire and she says it’t the wettest place on God’s green earth.😂
Something to think about?
Your OH made a very good choice Dickens.
We didn't get to sample the Indian take away (opposite the museum) as we had planned, because we found so many nice things in the deli. We always like to cook for ourselves when we go self catering because we can then "pretend" we are actually living there!! The pub next door was very accommodating and allowed us to bring pints of beer back to the cottage.
The only annoying thing was that Sudeley Castle doesn't allow dogs, so we didn't get to visit it. But we enjoyed the steam train trip to Broadway.
Joseann
^If Winchcombe is to retain its character then a Take-Away has to be opposed. There is the Fish and Chip shop and I think that's enough.^
Lucky, lucky you Dickens! I'm envious.
Unless I'm going completely bonkers, (quite possible), there was a Chinese and an Indian in Winchcombe too! (This summer). ??
I didn't know about the Indian take-away, but yes - there is a Chinese. I'd forgotten about that!
I do consider myself lucky. My OH found Winchcombe one day when we were visiting family in the UK - planning our return from Norway on retirement.
I was shopping in another town where we were staying at the time and he drove around looking for somewhere to live.
He's Swedish but is a complete Anglophile and absolutely loves "ye olde England". He came back and told me that he'd found the place we were going to live - Winchcombe, so he drove me here, we had a look round, saw a house for sale, made an offer which was accepted immediately and the deal was done. All within one week.
We are both fairly disabled now and don't really get out much. Shops sometimes open and close and re-open as something else in between our visits to the town!
Take-aways I mean.
If Winchcombe is to retain its character then a Take-Away has to be opposed. There is the Fish and Chip shop and I think that's enough.
Lucky, lucky you Dickens! I'm envious.
Unless I'm going completely bonkers, (quite possible), there was a Chinese and an Indian in Winchcombe too! (This summer). ??
Granva
Morning, Dickens!
Thank you so much. You describe very much what we like about Winchcombe: a real place, with a life of its own, not just a pretty-pretty tourist trap. Broadway is lovely, but choked with cars and people; I couldn’t live there, for example. Painswick (where my aunt lived) is also lovely, in a different way, but seems to have lost its life. And Shipton under Wychwood, where my grandparents and uncle farmed, is lost forever.
Anyway, rant over. We often walk through or from/to Winchcombe, so we have been to the Co op, but I didn’t know there was a Morrisons. Is there a GP practice?
I once thought I'd like to live in Broadway when I first scoured The Cotswolds - but that really is a tourist town isn't it and, as you say, choked with cars and people.
However, you've probably noticed that parking is also a problem along the main thoroughfare - Gloucester Street - in Winchcombe. Further parking restrictions are being considered by the Council and residents are now banding together to have their say. There's basically two camps - one consists mostly of the older generation, those that don't drive, who want to ban cars from parking two wheels on the narrow pavement, and the other, a mixed age group that do drive and know that if the cars are prevented from parking partially on the pavement - the traffic quite simply will not be able to pass side by side on the equally narrow road! So that is a matter to be considered - parking really is at a premium.
Interesting to read your comments on Painswick and Shipton under Wychwood. There's a subtle but definite 'shift' taking place in these Cotswolds towns and villages - inevitable I suppose.
For example - the charity shop which has stood for years on the High Street is now folding, not sure why, maybe the rent is too high. A number of the younger residents who live in the relatively new housing are hoping to see it replaced by a 'burger' Take-Away. It might sound snobbish and elitist, but I believe that's the last thing Winchcombe needs. Having experienced a similar 'replacement' when I lived in Richmond in Surrey - the area will be littered with polystyrene containers, discarded bits of food, and there would most likely be a clamour of cars, motor bikes, and people late at night after the pubs close. If Winchcombe is to retain its character then a Take-Away has to be opposed. There is the Fish and Chip shop and I think that's enough.
There used to be a Post Office - but that too has closed and has been incorporated, not very successfully, in with Morrisons. Currently, there's no service available but no-ne quite knows why.
Another thing to consider is that there has been an increase in low-level crime - also, a spate of break-ins in the shops in the main shopping area. It has to be said that some of the younger generation in the relatively new, new-builds, are troublesome; racing around late at night on bikes and motor bikes. And litle, to nothing, is done about it in spite of the many complaints from residents. I suspect this is not peculiar to Winchcombe though, it's happening everywhere. I have not seen a police presence in the town for years, apart from the odd patrol car whizzing along Gloucester Street on its way to or from somewhere.
I still like living here, but the place is not the attractive town it was when I arrived in 2007. I suspect more shops will close and then re-open with another enterprise which will also be short-lived - that is happening a lot.
And, yes, there is a GP surgery - the Winchcombe Medical Centre (they offer a range of services including minor injuries treatment) but like all surgeries now is over-subscribed and struggling, though it is still possible to get a face to face appointment. The local pharmacy also deliver your medication free of charge.
So - more for you to consider!
Morning, Dickens!
Thank you so much. You describe very much what we like about Winchcombe: a real place, with a life of its own, not just a pretty-pretty tourist trap. Broadway is lovely, but choked with cars and people; I couldn’t live there, for example. Painswick (where my aunt lived) is also lovely, in a different way, but seems to have lost its life. And Shipton under Wychwood, where my grandparents and uncle farmed, is lost forever.
Anyway, rant over. We often walk through or from/to Winchcombe, so we have been to the Co op, but I didn’t know there was a Morrisons. Is there a GP practice?
... and one of these!
www.winchcombewelcomeswalkers.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/winchcombe-station.jpg
Granva
We have come into sufficient money to consider moving from our long-term home in the West Midlands. Winchcombe in Gloucestershire has sprung to mind - it is a town we often start walks from, and seems to us to have a lot to recommend it. My mother hailed from the Cotswolds so I have some emotional attachment to the area.
We are early 70s and so far in reasonably good health, active walkers (both) and cyclist (Mr G).
Anybody know the town/area and can comment on its merits/fault as somewhere to live, as opposed to its touristy attractiveness?
We know it is always a risk moving late in life, but we feel it is now or never.
Yes, I know the town well - I live in Winchcombe (given the game away now!)
It's a town that attracts tourists - but it's not "touristy", it is very much a 'lived-in' town.
There's a range of properties, small - reasonably priced, and much larger, and then some in the middle. Mine is Grade II Listed, and a bit of a pain to maintain for that reason.
The town centre has a range of shops - including a small CO-OP and a MORISSONS. There are two dental practices, an optician, two hair salons, hardware store, flower shop, baker, butcher, fish and chip shop, pharmacy, medical centre (minor injuries clinic included), clothes shop, newsagent, building society (no bank - that's gone), 3/4 pubs, tea shop, antique shop. Primary and Secondary School.
There's a bus service to Cheltenham from the main street, Gloucester Street. The nearest hospital is The Cheltenham General with an A&E department which, I believe, is nurse-led.
There's quite a bit of new-build going on in and around the area.
When I moved here in 2007 the town was thriving but it has, like many other towns, lost some of its gloss. Spending cuts have taken their toll and the council have made cut backs, inevitably. It might not be noticeable to an outsider, but residents have noticed it.
It used to boast its own mini police station, but that's closed down too.
www.ilivehere.co.uk/is-winchcombe-gloucestershire-a-nice-place-to-live.html#Crime%20in%20Winchcombe?utm_content=cmp-true
Thank you everybody, keep it coming! If we don’t wake up tomorrow and think “what a daft idea!” we do plan to go and stay there for a while to see what it’s like on e.g. a wet November day.
We would also plan to catch a bus to Cheltenham to see how that feels. We normally use public transport (where there is some) when we can. Hospitals - yes, that was my first thought!
Interestingly, there seem to be very few houses for sale there, unless you have a million or two to spend. But I guess it’s not a good time to put your house on the market.
Granva 👏👏👏
welbeck
what about a general hosp, with A&E ?
and imagine not being able to drive, how to get there ?
Cheltenham, Gloucester.
Cheltenham A&E is open 24 hours but for minor injuries only overnight.
Tewkesbury has a Minor Injuries Unit, I think.
The area is well served with hospitals within 20 miles.
I live in Cirencester in the cotswolds & have done for 17yrs, its fantastic, the countryside is gorgeous there are loads of places to go if you want to go to a big city Oxford, Bristol, Bath or Birmingham are within an hours drive. I love it, my husband moved here too when I met him 16yrs ago & he loves it too. We have a tiny hospital here but there is a big one in Cheltenham & another in Glos if you need it, or Swindon has a good hospital but that not near winchcombe. You could rent your house out & rent in winchcombe just to be sure you like it, but I highly recommend the cotswolds
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