Anyone from the Wirral?? Heswall, West Kirby, Irby, Meols etc....

sophia-jo

Silver Member
Hiya gang,

this is totally unrelated to dieting but thought I'd post here anyway.

We've been house hunting/area hunting today and have been doing so for a few months now.
We live in Liverpool and are thinking of moving to the Wirral.
We don't really know the areas over there but have decided that we're interested in the 'Dee side' of the Wirral...ie, West Kirby, Irby, Meols, Heswall....I'm not sure of the other areas we've looked at...your head spins after a while.

Well, what I'm after is as much information as possible with regards to 'nice' areas, 'nice' roads and any information what so ever with regards to the possibility of us moving over there.
Also, I'd appreciate you letting me know which areas we should steer clear from.

We have a 3 yr old little girl and one of the reasons we want to move to the Wirral is for the schooling, apparently they're all quite good and some I believe are fantastic.

My sister lives in Eastham but we want to live the other side of the motorway (M53).

Guys, any info you have for me would be most appreciated.
thanks
xx sj xx
 
Hi

I live in West Kirby and have brought 4 houses in 3 years here (dont ask). I also grew up here and in Hoylake...trust me, there is nothing about West Wirral that I don't know!

I am selling one (moving in wiht OH finally!) - 4/5 bed town house with beach at end of the road. I haven't put it up with agents yet, but if you want a nose or more details let me know.
Amanda
 
PS - schooling - the state schooling here is better than most private schools, and there are two grammar schools for each sex when she gets to 11. I still wish we accepted a grammar place for my big one than send her private, but our boy is in Calday Grammar and doing fantastically.

However, there are some really bad primaries, and you really have to know which are which. Let me know where you are thinking.

PS - am slightly obsessive on schools and houses, so I will probably bore you to tears!
 
PPS

I have to go home now (still in work yawn), but I will be on here tomorrow.
Yay househunting!
 
aw thanks so much Amanda,
4 houses in 3 years ???? :eek::eek:

We deffo want min of 3 but pref. 4 beds, garrage, drive way, and big garden so would imagine we'd have to go for a semi, I do really like semis. We live in an old Terraced in the Allerton area, I love it sooooo much, but I really want to move 'over the water' as we say.

We've been to see a house in Irby today and I liked the area. It was on Irby Road.
We spent some time in Meols today and we thought the houses were lovely. There are some areas that we like but when you don't really know an area it's difficult to say if it is nice or not. We were originally thinking about Heswall and now we've been told that there are some nice and some 'not so nice' parts of Heswall. I'm worried about what the people are like there, I mean are there any 'rough' parts of Heswall? I guess I'd like to know if there are any rough parts of Wirral full stop. I know we're from Liverpool but we're from a very nice part of Liverpool so we don't want to move to a lesser area if you know what I mean??

It's so hard to choose an area when really we don't have a bladdy clue :(

I appreciate you replying to this thread and feel free to bombard me with info.. the more the better :D
It's truely appreciated.

Thanks Amanda,
xx sj xx
 
Hi Sophie - my in laws live up there - in Meols which is lovely, they previously lived in Hoylake for a long time which my husband says was very nice and we also have relatives in Caldy which is lovely and quite up market, agree with what was said about Heswall.

My hub went to Caldy grammar briefly many years ago and thought it was a great school. I always fantasize about moving up there whenever we visit!
 
Hey Sophie,

Irby is nice - esp if you are looking for a semi. My little one goes to Dawpool School which is in Irby and it is a lovely traditional school. They have 100% pass rate for the 11+ to get them into the grammars, and an "excellent" Ofstead rating, so can't complain. She has a fair bit of time off for various ops she has to have yet is still pretty much at the top of her class, which I think in a testament to the teachers - too often the "sick" kids are written off"! It is one of those schools that is just "warm" if you know what I mean?!

Personally I wouldn't live in Heswall. There are a few roads that are a little rougher but I wouldn't really say rough if that makes sense, but the reason I wouldn't live there is how busy it is - try and drive down the main road on a Saturday afternoon (or any afternoon come to that) and you will see what I mean. Plus there is no beach and it just seems really built up whenever you go through it. I don't think it is as "family" orientated as the other areas you have spoken about.

West Kirby will be pretty out of it if you want garage, drive and garden unless you live somewhere on or around Black Horse Hill, which is dumpsville compared to the rest of West Kirby - the houses do not appriciate as much as quickly. The two things you should know about West Kirby is firstly, it is its own housing market - nothing ever affects it, because it is tiny and everyone wants to live there. Secondly everyone appriciates that it is a compromise to live in West Kirby. You simply do not get garage and drive and big garden - the house we have just brought for us all to live in (all the rest are going!) was 600k - we got the drive and the garage, but the garden is fairly small, esp for an 8 bed house (we have 5 kids!). If you have over £1m to spend, then you will get all three in Caldy...but you'll have to live with the footballers :)eek:)!

As for rough areas, there aren't really any in West Wirral, there are just very nice places and less nice places if that makes sense - most of the "bad" areas are the otherside of the M53, save for Moreton, which is a right hole!

Hoylake and Meols are good for the types of house you are looking for and you get more for your money than in West Kirby or Heswall, and you still have the beach, which is great for the kids.

I understand what you mean about moving over (although enough of your lot do it ;)). The major thing you get over here is a far better education system - there aren't many areas left in the country that boasts a choice of 2 grammar schools per sex at 11!

If you have any specific questions let me know.
Amanda x
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

Amanda, thanks for taking the time to reply to this thread too :D I posted my question on 4 forums to get maximum results.

I'm so made up that you know sooooo much about Wirral. I do hope you don't mind me asking you questions :eek:

I must admit that you have both reaffirmed what people have said about Heswall, not that it's TERRIBLE just maybe not for us.:rolleyes:

As you know, we don't know the areas in the Wirral very well, only what we know when we've spoken to Estate Agents and driven around ourselves. Meols seems lovely, we went on Saturday and it was such a dreary day and yet we still liked the place. Sometimes when the sun is out most places look nice if you know what I mean, so it's good that we were still attracted to the place in the pouring rain :D
Would you say it's best to live closer to the beach or further back? I imagine it gets busy in the summer or at weekends.

So up to now, we're thinking either Meols or Irby, providing we can afford both areas for the type of property that we want. We'd prefer to go no higher than £300K. (so although Caldy is beautiful, I'm affraid we couldnt stretch...not by a long way) :D I'd heared it was popular with footballers...lucky divils :D One of my hubbys clients lives in Caldy...very, very nice house, although he's not a footballer.

So, I suppose I have many more questions just waiting to pop out but my head is in a whizz and I don't really know what else to ask you for now, your post was soooo full of information already. Thanks soooo much for taking the time to post it all.

I bet your new house is gorgeous, it would have to be for 600k. Where about is it? We could end up being neighbours :eek::D

I hope your daughter is ok. xxxx

oh, before I go, I suppose I could get this info from the schools but what are the catchment areas like for the schools over in Meols and Irby?? Are they very strict? Although our little girl is only 3 we don't really want to have to move house again before she starts school. We'd love her to go to the best one in the Wirral and again, really we don't have much info. regarding the schools, ie the names of them and where they are etc.... I suppose it can all be found by the click of a button but the task seems so mind boggling at times, having to like an area, being able to afford an area, and knowing what the schools are like there etc...... I know it sounds a little OTT but it's all so daunting for us,(and very exciting too) we never came to the wirral til my sis moved to Eastham 12 mths ago, and that's the only place we've been til recently.

so, on with the hunt I go :D thanks for all your info Amanda, it's been very useful to us.

Thanks and I hope to hear from you soon :D
Best wishes,
xx sj xx
 
Hey SJ

Another day house hunting - lucky you! (I love house hunting!).
New house is in the centre of West Kiby (4 roads from where I live!).
It is 8 beds (we have 5 kids and both need a study as we work quite a lot from home), but it is only a semi (albeit 3 floors) with a shared drive and small garden ...but that is West Kirby for you!

Being near to the beach in Hoylake and Meols doesnt cause too much of a problem - West Kirby beach is a problem because it has the marine lake and the train station is close so it gets packed in the summer. To be honest in my road in the Summer it is a nightmare to park, but I knew that when I brought the house - I can see the lake from my bedroom window, and I love being that close to the water. I have to say though my car has been bumped a few times, so I will be glad to move.

I don't know massive amounts about Meols, other than it is very nice middle class area - it kind of merges with Hoylake so people here dont really distinguish. My office is in Hoylake and I grew up here, so I know more about that. Hoylake (and Meols) are nice family areas. Because West Kirby has now gotten so expensive, both are having a little bit of a boom, and if you buy there you are sure to make money. £300 should buy something decent in Irby or Meols, but I think you get a bit more for your money in Irby, which is just a beach thing I think.

As for Irby, again, a nice family area. Dawpool is one of the local primaries and I can't praise it enough. A lot of professionals send their kids there and we all support the school well, so it is quite a "rich" school in terms of the equipment etc that it has.

In terms of catchments, they are fairly highly policed, because demand is so high, although we got Claudia into Dawpool and we are miles out - but she went at the end of her first year as she didnt settle into her first school (Avalon, a small private school in Caldy - she was the only one in her class of 16 who didnt go to the school nursery, where as her previous nursery was in Irby, so a lot of the kids went to Dawpool). Oh, if you need a private nursery for the little one, Carlton House in Irby (in the farm) is fabulous - dont send her to Daisy and Jakes and I say that even though my uncle owns it! Claudia went there from 6 months and I cant praise the place highly enough (and she was a really difficult baby - totally allergic to sleep!).

To be honest I have mates with kids at most of the loca lschools, so if I dont know I can always find out what a school is like. I think that is much better than the official reports - a place can have a glowing Ofstead report but no home/school relationship, which I think is really important.

In terms of the grammar schools (for when she is 11) there are no catchment areas. For catholics there is Upton Hall and others there is West Kirby Grammar - over the other side of Wirral there is also Wirral Grammar. I don't know of a school in West Wirral that doesn't spend year 6 coaching them for the 11+ and most have 100% pass rate. Here if you pass you will get in. If you have boys there is St Anselms for catholics and Calday (for some reason the school has an extra "a"?). I teach law to the 6th formers there and that is a fantastic school, as are all the grammars -I went to Upon when it was still private and my little sis went after it changed to a grammar - my mum said you couldn't tell the difference!

Any more questions please feel free to ask - I could witter on all day! I do love the place - I was adamant when I went to uni that I wasnt leaving because I think there is no place better to bring up kids...I even got my OH out of Liverpool (he lived there for years) Of, that reminds me - James his son, came to live with us in the summer from Liverpool (he's 13). He says the nicest thing is you can ride your bike and go to the park without "Kno*heads causing trouble!
Amanda xxx
 
- James his son, came to live with us in the summer from Liverpool (he's 13). He says the nicest thing is you can ride your bike and go to the park without "Kno*heads causing trouble!
Amanda xxx
lol, soooo true. Thankfully I;ve not come across anything like that but we tend to stick around the area in which we live which is one of the nicer parts of Liverpool, we're in Mossleyhill. There are some really bad areas of Liverpool and we never go near them for the same reason. I used to be so proud to have been born in Liverpool, but now..I have to say, I'm disgusted with what has been happening over the past year or so with gun crime etc. What kind of world are we living in eh?? Thankfully not everywhere is the same, and hopefully moving to the Wirral will be a good thing for us, especially our little girl.

You're post was full of useful information as usual, and I'm sure to call on you again.

Your house sounds lovely by the way, your current one and your new one. West Kirby is beautiful and we do actually come over every now and then for days out, especially in the Summer, and yep, it gets soooo busy. Izzy loves the beach :D

So you teach law eh? Fantastic!! You must have studied hard, well done to you. I didn't go to Uni, I did a couple of years in college (Business & Finance) and that was my lot, tis where I met my husband so I have no regrets...well actually..I have loads, but nothing to do with college lol:D but that's another story :D:D;)

I was very into art at school and that would have been the way to go with regards to Uni but I was put off by peoples opinion that there is no future 'career wise' for artists, ah well, like I say, I wouldn't have met my Husband and had our gorgeous Izzy if I'd have gone to Uni:rolleyes: When Izzy starts school I may study Art, it's my hobbie along with crafts etc... but I wouldn't mind going to Art college one day.

why am I babbling??? coz I'm soooooo tired, should have been having an early night tonight. Never goes to plan does it? :D

Thanks again Amanda, you've been so helpful.

I really appreciate your help and kindness.

Night Night,
xx sj xx
 
Hi Sj

It's no problem - I have had sooooo much help on this site it is nice to give something back:).

Mossley Hill is nice - quite a few people I know live out there. I know what you mean about Liverpool though - it is a great shame that a few are ruining a fabulous city. I worked there for the first 5 years of my career and I really miss the sunny cheeky attitude of the place sometimes. I have to say though, where my OH's ex lives with the kids is awful so it is no wonder they compare when they come over (and jump ship like James did). Not nice for them though to see such a difference in the "lives" we have. Up to their mum I s'pose!

Looking at your painting you should get yourself off to art school - I went to law school when my eldest started school and it was the best thing ever. Going as a "mature" student really makes you appriciate it more I think. And as we are so close to Liverpool with all the colleges you have no excuse really. Damn expensive to study these days though!

Thanks for the compliment re the house, I just can't wait to get in it, it is full of builders at the mo because the people who had it hadn't done anything for god knows how long. I have decided that builders are the biggest pains ever - the house was supposed to be finished in November and now they are saying March :rolleyes:. I wouldnt mind but there is no structual work to do! You'll have to come for coffee when you move over!

BTW, I am not a full time teacher - I go in and teach the kids who are doing law A level how to be a barrister for a competition they do. It is great fun to be with them, and a nice break from my real job of being a family lawyer, which can get a bit stressful at time. I have just signed up to do the New York bar exams - it is only a 6 month course and gives me something to do in the evenings instead of thinking about food!

Anyway, now I am wittering on...think bed is beckoning for me too.
Night xx
 
Hi, have you moved over here yet? I have just registered on this site and had a quick search for wirral to see if there was anyone local to me to natter with.
I live in Caldy which is just gorgeous. I've lived here for just over 3 years and prior to that I lived in Heswall. Regarding some views of Heswall I honestly dont think you should worry about it being a bit 'rough'. I think people have totally different views of Wirral depending on where you were brought up. In my view, any of the places that are on/near the Mersey are the ones to avoid (Birkenhead, Wallasey, Rock Ferry, Moreton, Liscard, New Brighton) but saying that....you do get a lot of house for your money. There are also nice places within those areas though, for example, Oxton which is in Birkenhead has gorgeous houses. I love Irby, my family are there and I my boyf and I are going to move there after Christmas. I definitely wouldn't move onto the 'new' estate ( I think this gets called the Wimpy estate...and its not new anymore...prob about 20 years) which is around Denning Drive and roads around there. The roads are crammed full of cars and houses are closely packed. I just hate it around there. Irby has lots to offer, it has a great little village and nice places to walk to. Good luck xxx
 
I know this thread is 12 years old, so I'm hoping my message will be seen.

We are also planning a move from Liverpool to the wirral. There is my husband, myself and 2 children (14 & 10).

We are 100% set on a new build house, so our choices are limited. We are considering the new development being built on the Burtons Biscuit factory site in Moreton and the one being built on Arrowe Brook Road in Greasby.

I've heard that Moreton isn't a great area, but we like that it's close to the sea. We are outdoorsy and would love long bike rides and runs along the coast paths.

The Arrowe Brook Road area looks so green and village like.

What are peoples opinions?
 
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