horsey areas to live commutable to London?

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ghostie

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Firstly apologies for not putting this in the regional boards, but the question covers about four different regions so thought it might get a better response here.

Anyway....

Can anyone recommend anywhere that's within 40 minutes of either Fenchurch Street, London Bridge, Waterloo, Moorgate, City Thameslink or Liverpool Street that is also a good place to keep a horse please?

We're thinking about moving to cut down my horsey commute and are prepared to live pretty much anywhere in Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey or Sussex (or anywhere else I've missed) provide that as well as being within 40 minutes of one of these stations also has good options for full livery yards with proper turnout (a minimum of 6 hours a day year round), ideally yards that aren't too far from the station either, or are accessible by a simple bus.

Suggestions massively welcomed, I'm driving myself crazy trying to work out where would work!
 
I used to live near Tring and commuted for a year to study in London. Tring station is approx 35 - 40 mins to Euston and then it's a quick tube journey to Waterloo.
 
Currently keeping my horse near Bayford, train down to Moorgate. Great hacking, lots of nice yards with a variety of options. However you might be limited to a couple by the short walk to the station. Bus only goes 3 times a day and the latest is about 3pm.

Minus side is that it's quite expensive.

Also used to be near Radlett which again has great hacking , lots of yards and a Thameslink train but has just been named one of the most expensive towns in the UK.
 
criso said:
Currently keeping my horse near Bayford, train down to Moorgate. Great hacking, lots of nice yards with a variety of options. However you might be limited to a couple by the short walk to the station. Bus only goes 3 times a day and the latest is about 3pm.

Minus side is that it's quite expensive.

Also used to be near Radlett which again has great hacking , lots of yards and a Thameslink train but has just been named one of the most expensive towns in the UK.
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I'd agree - the area around the trainline from Moorgate northwards (first capital connect) is very horsey with plenty of decent yards to choose from, although some will be a bit further away from the station itself. Barnet, Radlett, and further north.

Suspect some other Herts HHOers have a list of local yards! I'm at a very friendly full/part livery yard in Ridge, South Mimms.

Would love to hear how you get on if you do end up in the Herts area, as I sometimes think about this myself to cut the yard commute which is currently 35 mins or so from home, with work being an hour away from home, so I end up doing lots of late night riding!
 
Bernster said:
I'd agree - the area around the trainline from Moorgate northwards (first capital connect) is very horsey with plenty of decent yards to choose from, although some will be a bit further away from the station itself. Barnet, Radlett, and further north.

Suspect some other Herts HHOers have a list of local yards! I'm at a very friendly full/part livery yard in Ridge, South Mimms.

Would love to hear how you get on if you do end up in the Herts area, as I sometimes think about this myself to cut the yard commute which is currently 35 mins or so from home, with work being an hour away from home, so I end up doing lots of late night riding!
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I shall keep you posted :) My dream is to have my horse walking distance from home, but frankly even a short bus ride would be a massive improvement on what I do now! The OH is pretty flexible as long as his commute is under an hour so I have spoke to move wherever suits me and the horses.

Which station do you use for South Mimms, or do you drive?

Do you know of any that are accessible for Elstree/Borhamwood? House prices seem pretty reasonable there and it's only 25 mins into Farringdon!
 
Sevenoaks is 29 minutes to Cannon Street (also lines to London Bridge/Waterloo East & Charing X) and loads of yards in area. It ain't cheap tho' ;)

Brilliant commuting however! When I moved to UK, I wanted somewhere that was a really short journey to London, easy to get home to Belgium and where I could keep my horses at home. Sevenoaks area ticked every box and some.
 
A second vote for Guildford/the surrounding areas (depending how close you want to be to a mainline station there are several country villages if you want something more rural than a town).
Woking to Waterloo is a 27 minute train ride, about £280 a monthly season ticket last time I checked.
You have chobham, Chertsey, ripley, clandon, worplesdon, shere that are all horsey areas near both towns with good choice of yards & easy access to M25/A3.
 
ghostie said:
interesting thank you - is Guildford good in terms of yard options? I love Guildford (I was at law school there) but didn't have a horse at the time so never looked into yards
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Guildford is a good area for horses with Merrist Wood, Pachesham and Tweseldown very near venues as are plenty of others. Woking is a good station for Waterloo, only 30mins, and lots of good yards around Woking, Chobham, Pirbright and Normandy. There are lots of yards and good hacking all around Guildford as it is in the Surrey Hills.

There are lots of HHOers in this area so if you need more info I'm sure people will give a good variety of yards.
 
I have a place in Muswell Hill North London it takes 20mins to get in to central London and there are yards such as Mote End Farm that are only 8.3 mi or 30 min drive.
 
ghostie said:
I shall keep you posted :) My dream is to have my horse walking distance from home, but frankly even a short bus ride would be a massive improvement on what I do now! The OH is pretty flexible as long as his commute is under an hour so I have spoke to move wherever suits me and the horses.

Which station do you use for South Mimms, or do you drive?

Do you know of any that are accessible for Elstree/Borhamwood? House prices seem pretty reasonable there and it's only 25 mins into Farringdon!
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I drive and South Mimms is def better suited to car than public transport, although some people do but it sounds like a bit of a pain. Will find out what's near Elstree etc stations and PM you :)

You could also try Herthordshire Horse Riders on FB or Everything Equine for Herts, Beds, Bucks area. Lovely that you have the flexibility!
 
I used to have my horses in Chorleywood, Buckinghamshire. you can get the metropolitan line direct into London, and there are quite a few yards walkable to the station- my old yard was probably 10-15 minute walk to the tube. housing is quite pricey there, mine you surrey is as well. lots of full livery available, and competition venue Pattchetts not far. bucks countryside for hacking
 
I live in south east London and keep my horse in chelsfield Kent at bluebell farm full livery is £500pm and they have xc and Olympic sized school with mirrors it's a lovely yard too. They have a waiting list but I could give you number if you like? It's 10min drive to Bromley and the train station is a 10min walk from yard and takes 25mins to Waterloo east.
 
Ooh just to add hacking is great (lullingstone country park) good grazing with a choice of separate paddocks or big field with herd. Nice people and plenty of clinics etc. really big stables and they are generous with shavings and hay. It's also good distance to local shows.
 
i used to be in the chingford area and there are good links to london from there and also epping and waltham abbey which are all on the borders of epping forest BUT all year grazing is quite hard to find as there are so many horses in those areas. i am on the suffolk/essex border and have been very lucky to find all year round grazing(24/7 in summer and all day in winter) but the travelling to london would be too long for you. im sorry but ithink you are looking for the almost impossible, good luck and hope you find somewhere.
 
splashgirl45 said:
i used to be in the chingford area and there are good links to london from there and also epping and waltham abbey which are all on the borders of epping forest BUT all year grazing is quite hard to find as there are so many horses in those areas. i am on the suffolk/essex border and have been very lucky to find all year round grazing(24/7 in summer and all day in winter) but the travelling to london would be too long for you. im sorry but ithink you are looking for the almost impossible, good luck and hope you find somewhere.
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thank you - funnily enough I'm near there at the moment, but as you say the turnout is the issue, shame as I adore Epping forest
 
AmiRobertson said:
I live in south east London and keep my horse in chelsfield Kent at bluebell farm full livery is £500pm and they have xc and Olympic sized school with mirrors it's a lovely yard too. They have a waiting list but I could give you number if you like? It's 10min drive to Bromley and the train station is a 10min walk from yard and takes 25mins to Waterloo east.
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ooh, now that's very interesting thank you, as just looked on a map and it's actually only a 15 minute walk from Knockholt station. Hmm, food for thought. Waiting lists aren't necessarily an issue as we'd be looking to buy anyway so could bide my time until a space came up.

If you don't mind me asking, is is it ok as a yard? There are a few threads on here from a few years back suggesting there were issues - PM me if you prefer ;)

thank you :)
 
Watford junction is 20 mins to Euston. It's a hugely horsey area. Patchetts is my nearest yard, 10 mins drive if that. There are tons of yards round here.

I would gently suggest you don't live in Borehamwood. The housing is reasonable for a reason. Do PM me if you'd like more details! Elstree is crazy expensive.
 
The Maidstone area is great and around the town there are villages,such as East Farleigh,East/West Malling with mainline stations,making these areas popular with commuters.There are liveries around which offer full livery that may be useful.Good luck.
 
ghostie said:
ooh, now that's very interesting thank you, as just looked on a map and it's actually only a 15 minute walk from Knockholt station. Hmm, food for thought. Waiting lists aren't necessarily an issue as we'd be looking to buy anyway so could bide my time until a space came up.

If you don't mind me asking, is is it ok as a yard? There are a few threads on here from a few years back suggesting there were issues - PM me if you prefer ;)


thank you :)
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Yeh knockholt is the station I go too its actually only 10 if you cut through the mares field! They also turn out all year apart from if it really snows heavily. If its really hot like it is now they give you the choice of 24/7 as long as someone else is out too! Yes lovely yard! Run by a mother and daughter who are the most accommodating people! They and the yard owner who is also lovely built my horse an outdoor stable because she wasn't settling in the indoor barns. The daughter also met me half way when I had to hack my mare there as she doesn't load! Amazing people! The references on here is when a lady ran it very badly few years back who was eventually kicked off by the landlord.
 
Also we all tend to go out for dinner once a month and all of the liveries are lovely! The managers view is that she wants people to want to stay forever so she wants to make it the best yard ever!!!
 
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