Great Western Coffee Shop

James and Angela are moving from the North West to Wessex on their retirement.  They're looking for a small town with character, and they've chosen to come and stay with us as a base from which to take a look at various towns around. It's all very personal, of course ... but they took a look yesterday at Pewsey and Marlborough, Devizes, Chippenham and Corsham, and of course they're based in Melksham for this exploration. They're heading further south in the county today - to(wards) Salisbury, and that's out via Westbury / Warminster and back via Amesbury and the Lavingtons.   They're not looking any further west - ruling out Bradford-on-Avon and Bath, and in any case they're looking for something that's not packed with steep hills to walk back up from the town.  In the end, it may come down to individual properties and what's on offer, rather than "must be in X" decisions.

Devizes and Corsham attract them as places.   Marlborough came across as too busy and perhaps expensive.  And they like the look of Pewsey.  However, they're travelling around by car this week but use public transport quite a bit, and anticipate looking to shift much more to public transport over the years. They felt that Pewsey would be a bit isolated - apart from the train service to London, it's "a long way to anywhere";  they came to the conclusion that they should really be skewing towards Chippenham (thus far) because of its excellent transport links.

We talk about the effects of public transport infrastructure in terms of flows of people, but we often overlook the fact that the overall picture is made up of hundreds and thousands of individual decisions.  And it's very interesting to see how the various metrics are taken into account. 

It was exactly that which drew me to Swindon.  Having to give up driving due to my eyesight I needed good access to publuic transport and indeed wanted to be close to a decent shopping area.

I am now within walking distance of the railway station and the shops, paying less for a place to live and not having the cost of a car to run.  In the main I don't miss it.

For a small town with character I'd suggest looking at Purton, Cricklade and Cirencester (although that's in Gloucestershire).  None have a train station so it would be a bus to Swindon station.

As you get older many people think about downsizing their home and in the process look forward to the time when they may not be able to drive a car and thus lose their independence. The adequacy of local public transport then can become a signficant factor ion their choice. Unfortunately in recent years the relocation policy fails when local bus services are cut back because local authorities have to balance the books on lower income. All very unfortunate. Here in WEst Oxon we are preparing for the next public transport review and have been warned of problems of a financial nature ahead.

Transport is one of the reasons for still being in Taplow.

Done some theorectical exercises of where we might move. Flat good transport links reasonable NHS etc.   Have come to the conclusion that apart from the appaling air quality Taplow has a lot going for it! So as long as BAA subsidise the 75 bus and the station has a 30 minute service (Sunday servcie would be nice), I can't think of anywhere else to go!

Also bearing in mind all my outside activities are close by plus I'd have to rebuild my garden railway, which I've only got fully operation after X years, in the new place.

But

I have some personal experience of this myself, having relocated with my family over the last year. Although personal and other factors related to my transport activities (both now largely resolved) did have a big impact on our choice of destinations, public transport availability and infrastructure did also play a part.

Originally, we were set on moving to Melksham, and may well have done so had my wife been able to work in the town. However, in the current climate, the security of being able to transfer within her existing company to Bath was too important to turn down. Also, my son had been accepted onto a college course that was perfect for him in Bath.

This meant we had a number of factors to consider public transport-wise (none of us drives) if a move to Melksham was still to be a runner, as opposed to the other option of moving to the Bath area itself.

Both my wife and son would have needed the flexibility to get into and out of Bath at differing times due to them having varying shifts, course times and other commitments. This effectively ruled out the train as an option, with its very limited service and journey opportunities.

In order to carry out my transport-related activities, I also would have needed a fair degree of flexibility to get in and out of Melksham to and from various destinations. Crucially, train-wise I need the ability to use a rail rover such as Freedom of Severn & Solent or South West, for which the current service does not allow me to use Melksham station as a start point during the week.

This leaves the bus service, which would be just about ok for my son's college and social activities, the only real issue being the early (compared to the rest of the week) last bus back from Bath on Sundays.

As far as I go, the bus service used to be just about practical to use to get back to Melksham after a day travelling around the network.  However, the cutbacks to the 234 evening service have made travelling back from Chippenham railway station less easy, and the withdrawal of late evening buses on the 272 Bath-Melksham-Devizes Sunday service haven't exactly been helpful either. I did discuss this issue with Wiltshire Council, whose funding decisions influenced the cuts, but their view was that they prioritise keeping daytime services running over keeping evening/Sunday journeys, and they felt it was the right balance to strike. Obviously though, it didn^t help tip the balance in Melksham^s favour regarding my decision.

Finally, my wife would sometimes need the ability to get into Bath before 7am on weekdays, and (using 28 July timetables) the first bus to arrive into Bath from Melksham does so at 0740. Comparing this with other selected nearby Wiltshire towns, a bus from Trowbridge & Bradford-on-Avon will get you in at 0655, whilst one from Corsham & Box will get you in at 0649.

As it was, we decided to move to a place within the Bath bus zones, with pretty good services into the city, and thus beyond through connections, throughout the day and evening during the week and at weekends. I am also within relatively easy reach of the TransWilts corridor as well.

I'd endorse the suggestion of Cirencester, or even Cricklade, as they are both within a reasonably short distance of Kemble railway station, which offers train options to Swindon or northwards.

Royal Wootton Bassett might be worth a look.  Town Centre fairly flat.  Buses between Chippenham and Swindon call every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday and half hourly on Sundays. 

Who knows, it might even have a railway station one day.   ;D