By Paul Furner, Paul Furner Homes
I live in Culmstock, and I think the Culm Valley in Devon is easy to miss if you’re searching for a home by drawing a circle around a town or railway station.
The Culm Valley runs through a collection of places with quite different personalities. Culmstock, Hemyock and Uffculme are all close enough to explore in an afternoon. Willand and Sampford Peverell add other possibilities nearby. But a house in one won’t give you quite the same day-to-day life as a house in another. That’s what makes looking around properly so worthwhile.
Start with the life you’ll actually live
The Blackdown Hills are a National Landscape, still familiar to many of us as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Their western edge reaches Culmstock. It’s a lovely setting, but when you live somewhere, the countryside becomes more than a view from an upstairs window.
It might be a walk after work, a trip up towards Culmstock Beacon or simply noticing the river and the changing fields on your regular journey. For some buyers, being able to do those things close to home matters more than another room in the house.
Then there is the practical side. Junction 27 of the M5 is especially convenient from the Uffculme and Willand side, and Tiverton Parkway main line station sits at Sampford Peverell. For someone who travels occasionally for work or has family further away, those connections can make rural life much easier to picture.
I wouldn’t suggest that every village here is equally connected, or that you can necessarily manage without a car. If the station or motorway is important to you, try the journey from the actual house you’re considering. The last few miles make a difference.
Spend time in the village, not just the house
This is the part of a property search that’s easy to rush. A viewing might tell you plenty about the kitchen and garden, but very little about whether you’ll enjoy living in the village.
In Culmstock, The Strand is a shop, café and deli beside the river. There’s also the popular local pub, The Culm Valley Inn and Mypremcoach, a personal training and fitness business based in the old chapel. Hemyock has its own pub, The Catherine Wheel, and plenty going on in the village. In Uffculme, you’ll find a village shop, schools and local events, as well as Coldharbour Mill. These are the sorts of places that help you get a feel for a community when you’re looking beyond the house itself.
I’d take a walk around after the viewing. Perhaps stop for a coffee or lunch. Return on a weekday if you can, and drive the route you’d use most often. Rural roads and village centres can feel different at eight in the morning from how they do on a quiet Sunday.
Schools can shape the search
For families, the school run can be as important as the commute. Culmstock, Hemyock and Uffculme each have a primary school, and there are primary schools in Willand and Sampford Peverell too. It’s worth looking at the schools alongside the houses, because the daily journey and the feel of each village are part of the decision.
The popular Uffculme Secondary School is another reason families often consider the area. It serves the wider Culm Valley and is understandably on many parents’ list when they start looking at where to live. If a particular school is central to your move, though, check its current admissions policy for the address you’re considering. Being nearby doesn’t automatically guarantee a place.
Find the right version of it for you
Some people want a period home and a quieter pace. Others would choose a modern house, easier road access and a village where they can walk to a shop. The appeal of this area is that there are several ways to get that mix of countryside, community and connection.
There are compromises too. Facilities vary, some lanes are narrow and the journey to the station can be very different from one village to the next. The right home needs to work on a wet Tuesday in November as well as on a sunny afternoon.
I’ve spent a lot of my working life helping people think through where they want to live. Living here myself, I’d say the best way to understand the Culm Valley is to take your time with it. See more than one village. You might find the place that feels right isn’t the one you first searched for.
If this is a new part of Devon to you, my Culm Valley and Blackdown Hills area guide offers a broader introduction.
