Moving to the countryside is a dream for many people – and if you want to live in a rural area around Huddersfield it’s more affordable than you’d think.
You can buy a three-bedroom house with a pretty view for as little as £100,000 according to Huddersfield estate agents Bramleys.
So where in Huddersfield do such dreams become an affordable reality? Read on.
Slaithwaite
Five miles west of Huddersfield is a village with a name that is seldom pronounced correctly outside of Yorkshire.
As well as having an oft-mispronounced name (it’s ‘Slawit’ or ‘Slathwaite’ – as if you need telling) it’s location up the steep Colne Valley means there are pretty vistas aplenty.
But Slaithwaite has a wide range of different properties and some of them aren’t particularly pricey.
You can buy a three-bedroom terrace for £110,000 to £130,000.
Slaithwaite has plenty of independent shops, including the famous Handmade Bakery, plus an Aldi supermarket.
Alex McNeil, of Bramleys, said: “Quite a lot of Slaithwaite is quite rural. It’s a bit cheaper than similar places in the Holme Valley and it’s quite a nice area.”
Marsden
Two miles west of Slaithwaite is the last village before you cross the Pennines.
It may have appeared in the dark BBC comedy League of Gentleman but there’s nothing sinister about this charming village.
It’s a little more expensive than Slaithwaite – a three-bed terrace will cost around £125,000 – but with sheep that wander into the village you can safely call it ‘rural’.
Marsden has an attractive high street and on sunny days a pint outside The Riverhead, next to a particularly beautiful section of the River Colne, takes some beating.
Alex said: “Marsden is good if you need to access Manchester but it’s that bit further away from Huddersfield.”
Flockton
With rolling green hills and not much else surrounding it, Flockton is probably the ‘most rural’ of our entries.
And you’ll be surprised to hear it’s one of the cheapest.
You can buy a three-bed terrace there for between £100,000 and £120,000.
It’s smack in between Huddersfield and Wakefield and it’s within easy reach of the M1. This means it’s handy if you’re working in either town or in Leeds or Sheffield.
So what’s the catch?
One of the principal routes between Huddersfield and the M1 is through Flockton’s main drag, Barnsley Road. That means there’s more pollution than average for a rural village and traffic jams are frequent.
Elland
Outlying areas of Elland, such as West Vale and Holywell Green, are surprisingly cheap.
A three-bed terrace in good condition could cost you between £100,000 and £120,000.
Transport links aren’t as good as in the other places we’ve mentioned; the Calderdale Way between Halifax and Huddersfield is one of the most congested roads in West Yorkshire.
But West Vale has plenty of decent local businesses and Holywell Green isn’t short of verdant views across the valley.
Alex said: “Towards Brighouse it’s quite rural and the prices there are a bit more affordable.”
Meltham
Five miles southwest of Huddersfield is a village which has a community with a strong do-it-yourself spirit.
Meltham has plenty of local businesses and the added bonus of a Morrison’s supermarket.
It also has a wide variety of properties and the homes further out of the village are often cheaper.
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Estates such as Highfield and Sunny Heys have the most affordable properties with a three-bedroom ex-council house going for as little as £100,000.
Alex said: “The bit with the lower value housing is the more rural bit.”
