Directions
Poppy View is situated on Thaxted Road in Saffron Walden, around 13 miles from Stansted Airport, 14 miles from Cambridge and 49 miles from central London. The nearest railway station is Audley End for services to Cambridge to the north, Bishop's Stortford, Stansted Airport, Tottenham Hale and London Liverpool Street to the south (journey time of around 50 minutes). Major roads easily accessible from the development include the M11, the A11 and the A120.
Poppy View lies within the administrative boundaries of Saffron Walden Town Council, Uttlesford District Council and Essex County Council.
Leisure
Poppy View is just a few minutes walk from the Lord Butler Fitness and Leisure Centre, which offers a wealth of facilities including two swimming pools, a gym, fitness studios, indoor sports courts and outdoor sports pitches. There's a skatepark and an indoor bowling club next door to the leisure centre; the town also has football, hockey, cricket, golf and rugby clubs.
Saffron Walden has a community cinema - Saffron Screen - based at the town's high school. The school is also the site of Saffron Hall, a venue for live music, drama and dance, with performances from local, national and global artists.
The imposing Audley End House and Gardens is less than two miles from the development. This Jacobean mansion depicts life in Victorian England, both above and below stairs, with servants in period dress working in the kitchen, stables and gardens. For youngsters there's interactive displays in the Victorian nursery, an outdoor play area and a miniature railway that travels through the mansion's extensive grounds. The gardens form an important part of the estate and include those created by historic landscape designer Capability Brown, a restored parterre and an organic kitchen garden. During the summer the gardens provide a picturesque backdrop to open-air theatre, cinema and music events.
Education
There are a number of well-regarded schools in the local area. For younger children these include St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, R A Butler Academy Infant and Junior Schools, Katherine Semar Infant and Junior Schools and St Mary's CE Primary School - all within walking distance of the development. Saffron Walden County High School and Joyce Frankland Academy - both around five minutes' drive away - cater for older students, as do secondary schools in nearby towns, such as The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College, The Bishop's Stortford High School and St Mary's Catholic School, all of which can be reached in around 30 minutes by car.
Shopping
Saffron Walden has a vibrant town centre with a good selection of high-street stores, boutiques and independent retailers, as well as coffee shops, traditional pubs and restaurants, dotted among its medieval buildings. There's also an outdoor market, which takes place every Tuesday and Saturday in Market Square, with stalls offering a range of fresh produce.
Further afield, both Bishop's Stortford (around 12 miles away) and Cambridge (around 16 miles away) are busy shopping destinations, popular with local residents, regional visitors and tourists.
