Herefordshire

It all depends whether you want rural - and there are some very rural bits! - or urban. Or outskirts.

There are some lovely villages around with great communities.

Where exactly do family live?

I have lived in this county since 1973, so might be able to help.

Thanks for your reply Luckygirl she Lives in Hampton Bishop and has advised me not to go to HR1 due to the volume of traffic going through the town, I would like semi rural and would love to live somewhere with a nice community feel, I don’t want to be to far away from where she lives so that I can pick up the grandkids from school, although I drive so maybe up to 20 minutes from her wouldn’t be to bad.

Sorry for delay in getting back.

Your DD is on the north side of the river and there are several villages nearby: Mordiford (good pub and lovely wood nearby. ), Fownhope, Lugwardine, Bartestree. None are what you would call rural. There is a health centre with swimming pool etc within easy reach of all of these villages.

I am more familiar with the villages south of the river.
Little Dewchurch is a lovely little village with a good community feel. Kingsthorne, Much Birch and Little Birch are all nice villages which segue one into the other. All have lovely views but are only 10-15 minutes from town (Hereford). There is an excellent doctor's surgery in Much Birch. Much Dewchurch is also a good place to be.

Heading further south, there are the villages of Wormelow (has a shop - open 7.30 to 9pm, as also is the Post Office there) , St Weonards (also has a shop). Really rural are the villages of Orcop and Garway, which is an extraordinary place with a pub, small primary school and amazing new community centre built with lottery money - it is a "passsiv" building and is an architectural gem - loads of stuff going on there all the time, and a great community feel. I am always driving over there!

Good luck with your searches. Lots of the villages have their own websites, so it is worth looking at these.

We have recently moved from Herefordshire....to be near family but loved our time there. One of the nicest villages we got to know was Yarpole near Leominster. It has a lovely community complete with community run shop (in the church) and a community run Pub. Everyone we got to know was lovely there and I'd always be happy to recommend it. Leominster is a nice friendly little town as well - a little rough around the edges but it has a very genuine feel. Its well known on the antiques trail and is featured regularly in tv antique programmes - we got to really enjoy its warm and friendly vibe. Good luck with your search.

Thank you both so much for your replies and recommendations

Fownhope is a lovely village, lots of activities plus great doctors surgery, maintained fire station, post office/village shop, butchers & 2 nice pubs. 10 min drive to Hereford , passing through Hampton Bishop.

Sadly, I left Hereford in 1958. Still visit. If it weren't for family ties here, would love to move back there!
But although a marvelous county, do be aware of the flood risks.
The last couple of visits to The WaterWorks Museum, on Broomy Hill, the floodwater was up to the top of the five bar gate into the car park!
My memory is that Mordiford and Bridge Sollers were prone to flooding, so take care as to just where in such places you choose.
Leominster and Ledbury are nice places. Bromyard is a little more hilly. Vowchurch definitely is.
An Uncle mused to own the mill at Eaton Bishop, from where my family and paternal grandparents came.
A lovely county, be happy there!

Thank you everyone for your replies we ended up moving to Tupsley, not A village I know but it’s great being so close to my DD and GC

I live in Herefordshire of course it all depends how much you want to spend on a house.
I have a brother who lives on the border of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, not far from Newent, although it is an expensive area it is very quiet with a relaxed community. Also, as someone has mentioned, Little Dewchurch and Kingsthorne are also nice areas as the latter is where my son lives. I found the villages along the Black and White Trail north of Hereford quieter than the busy Ross-on-Wye region but some are so small that they only have a pub.
Good luck with your search if you haven't already found somewhere.