Living the Village Life – buying a home in Crowthorne
Why do people relocate out of larger cities? Usually it’s because they are tired of the hustle and bustle of city life; the sheer number of people around them when they walk down the street, the amount of traffic clogging up the roads, the lack of green space and simply put they want a greener, more relaxed lifestyle. Often this decision is triggered by a growing family; new parents wanting to bring up their children in a more rural setting with great schools.
With its lovely countryside and outstanding schools, Crowthorne fits the bill for many looking to relocate out of the city. Still within easy commute of London, Crowthorne and its village life make a very attractive prospect for people looking for that change of pace. While Crowthorne station doesn’t offer any direct trains to London, you can still get to Paddington via Reading in less than an hour or Waterloo via Guildford in about 80 minutes. In fact in 2013 Crowthorne was voted the 2nd best place to live in England and Wales for families in a report by Family Investments.
Crowthorne, a Village Community in a Beautiful Rural Setting
The historical village of Crowthorne was only a small hamlet in the early 1800s until Wellington College was opened in 1859 but it grew quickly thereafter. The village is nestled amongst the nature reserves and sites of special scientific interest at Heath Lake, Wildmoor Heath, Swinley Forest and Edgbarrow Woods. If you are a keen explorer, having such a wealth and choice of parkland with amazing walks, cycle routes and adventure play areas for children on your doorstep means you’ll never be bored!
The village encourages a great sense of community by hosting various regular events, which as well as providing great entertainment and fun for the village, also supports the local tradesmen, retailers, community groups and churches. The annual May Fair being one such event, offers lots of stalls and activities for all the family and is where local organisations and groups come together to support and keep alive that village ethos. I hear it also has a very busy beer tent!
Every other year the Crowthorne Carnival brings the whole village together in celebration as all the pre-schools, schools, youth groups and local businesses show off their creativity with a themed procession of floats through the village; arriving for a huge fair at the Morgan Recreation Ground. With a carnival princess competition, dancing, music displays, stalls and fun fair it is always great fun and a huge success.
For the festive period, the village hosts a special Christmas shopping night when the shops stay open late and offer food and drinks to the locals who turn out in their hundreds. There are lots of activities with face-painting and hair-braiding in some of the local shops, food stalls and market traders. The local fire crew also display one of their fire engines for children to explore and of course Father Christmas sets up his grotto in the local library!
Local Shopping in and around Crowthorne
The bustling High Street offers a great selection of coffee shops, pubs and restaurants mixed in with independent shops as well as some retail chains. However, if you are looking for more serious retail therapy you are never too far from the shopping centres in the surrounding towns of Bracknell and Reading. Less than 5 miles away, Bracknell opened its fabulous new shopping centre The Lexicon in 2017. Boasting a new cinema, a great selection of restaurants and high street stores from Next to Superdry, The Lexicon has breathed new life into the town centre. Fenwicks department store is a firm favourite with its popular roof top wine bar and Mediterranean restaurant Fuego. Just half an hour away you also have The Oracle along the riverside in Reading, again offering a large selection of bars, restaurants, high street shops and department stores. If you are looking for something in between, Wokingham is only about 4 miles down the road and is currently in the middle of a major regeneration which will see the opening of a new modern, pedestrianised shopping area, cinema, bowling alley and upgraded leisure centre.
Outstanding schools at all levels
As estate agents we often get people calling from out of the area that are looking to relocate to Crowthorne purely because of the amazing selection of schools in the area. Part of the early growth of Crowthorne village was down to opening of Wellington College in the mid 1800s; a large co-educational boarding and day independent school, Wellington College was opened as a national monument in honour of the Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), who led British, Spanish and Portuguese forces in a succession of military victories.
The village also boasts one of the highest performing state secondary schools in the country, the Ofsted rated Outstanding, Edgbarrow. While there is a selection of local primary schools rated as Ofsted Good, of note is the Church of England Primary School which is also rated as Outstanding. Let’s not forget the little ones, there are plenty of pre-schools to choose from and Acorn Under Fives pre-school, The Ark Preschool and Kids Inc Day Nursery are all also Ofsted rated Outstanding! At Michael Hardy we have made it easy for you to find out more about the local schools when you select a property to view from our property search function on our website. It allows you to not only check the Ofsted ratings of the nearest schools to that property but also the school admission areas!
Buying or Renting in Crowthorne
Throughout Crowthorne there is a mixture of beautiful, Victorian period houses and modern, newer homes being built to accommodate this popular village so there should be something to suit every housing requirement. Have we convinced you yet that Crowthorne is the place to live? Well, if you are looking for a village lifestyle, in beautiful countryside still within easy commute of London and with great schools for your growing family, then it’s worth giving us a call. Our team at the Crowthorne office have lived and worked in the area for many years and if there does happen to be something they don’t know about the village they will be sure to find out for you!! Call us on 01344 779 999 and see what properties we have for sale in the area or if you are looking to rent a property, call our Lettings Team on 0118 977 6776!