Moving to Oswestry
In the latest instalment of our 'Moving to' series, we look at the ancient town of Oswestry, which sits on the Welsh border and is known for its mixed English and Welsh heritage.
In the latest instalment of our 'Moving to' series, we look at the ancient town of Oswestry, which sits on the Welsh border and is known for its mixed English and Welsh heritage.
Records of the area date back to 550 BC and it is thought to have the setting for the Battle of Maserfield, between the Anglo-Saxon kings Penda and Oswald.
Now home to around 17,000 people, it offers pretty rural countryside walks and came up trumps in our recent 'beauty spot challenge'.
Click on the gallery to your right for more pictures of Oswestry
The famous walking route of Offa's Dyke runs nearby to the west of the town and famous landmarks include the nearby Whittington Castle, the Shelf Bank hill and St Oswald's Church with its ancient Norman tower.
Transport:
Although Oswestry no longer has a railway station, it is served by good road and bus links. It is located by the A5, which provides access to Shrewsbury and Wrexham, the former taking around half-an-hour.
The regular bus routes link Oswestry to neighbouring villages as well as Shrewsbury and Wrexham.
What the people say:
Tom Jarvis, who has recently moved to Oswestry said: "It seems a very friendly market town. I'm sure there's a certain element of everyone knowing each other, and that I'm an outsider. But for me at present it's nice being able to wander into town, go to the shops that I need and still be reasonable driving distance from Shrewsbury, Telford, Wrexham and Chester."
@bestofoswestry said on Twitter that the best thing about living in Oswestry was the "genuine friendliness" of the people there, but the worst was the traffic on a Friday.
The traffic and state of driving in Oswestry is the source of much frustration amongst residents, who discussed the issue on the Shropshire Star's Facebook page.
Schools:
Primary: There are fourteen registered primary schools in the Oswestry area, some of which are quite small to serve the local communities.
Of the larger ones, Whittington CofE is rated as 'Outstanding, Woodside Primary School and The Meadows are considered 'Good' schools and Ifton Heath and Weston Rhyn Primary are 'Satisfactory' according to Ofsted's reports.
Secondary: The Marches School and Technology College is a mixed school with 1,171 registered pupils and was last rated as 'Outstanding. There is also Rhyn Park School and Performing Arts college which is listed as 'Good' and has 353 students.
Property prices:
The average house price paid in Oswestry over the past three years is £168,432. The average home value has decreased by 10.2% in that time, an average monetary loss of £18,333.
For more Oswestry market statistics, click here.
Search for a property:
Did you know:
Amongst Owestry's famous sons and daughters in Wilfred Owen, the famous WWI soldier and poet.
Links:
Oswestry news
Oswestry on wikipedia
Best of Oswestry
Oswestry.com
Oswestry tourism
