Swaffham & Bottisham
East Cambridgeshire 009 · 3 sub-areas · 6,268 residents
East Cambridgeshire 009 is a rural pocket of East Cambridgeshire, home to around 6,300 people and sitting firmly in owner-occupier territory — nearly seven in ten households own their home. A typical two-bedroom property lets for about £937 a month, noticeably below the UK national median, though the area's relative remoteness from major employment centres is a real trade-off.
Swaffham & Bottisham is a settled residential pocket of East Cambridgeshire. The bigger gravitational centre is London, around 130 minutes away by direct train, but most days don't require leaving — local life is what people are here for.
Overview
What's it like to live in Swaffham & Bottisham?
Greenspace is reachable but isn't on the immediate doorstep — most residents walk a few blocks to reach a park; there's effectively nothing within walking distance — eating out, drinking and shopping mean a drive; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; Transport links are limited — a car or e-bike is a practical assumption for most regular trips; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,016 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 3 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Swaffham & Bottisham in East Cambridgeshire
Living in Swaffham & Bottisham
This part of East Cambridgeshire has the feel of settled, semi-rural England — low crime, older demographics, and a strong owner-occupied character that sets it apart from the more transient rental markets you'd find in nearby Cambridge city. Most people here have put down roots rather than passing through.
The cost of renting is genuinely competitive. A two-bedroom home runs around £937 a month, which is comfortably below the UK median for that size. But rent-to-take-home sits at around 47%, which tells you something important: wages here aren't high, so even lower rents can stretch budgets. The median resident earns roughly £34,300 a year — a decent gap above what local employers actually pay (around £30,200), which means most working residents are commuting out for better-paid jobs.
The population skews older than UK norms. Around a quarter of residents are 65 or over, and the 50–64 bracket is also sizeable at more than one in five. Under-35s are relatively thin on the ground — only about 15% of residents fall in the 18–34 range. Families with children do have a meaningful presence (roughly 23% of households are couples with children), but this isn't an area that draws large numbers of young renters.
Practically speaking, the area is car-dependent. Nearly half of residents drive to work, and public transport use is minimal — under 2% commute by bus or train. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 5.4 km away in a straight line. Working from home is unusually common here — over 42% of residents do so at least some of the time, which partly explains why the area functions despite limited public transport links. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is East Cambridgeshire 009 a nice place to live?
- For the right person, yes. It's quiet, low-crime, and genuinely affordable to rent compared to much of the East of England. The trade-off is that it's car-dependent, public transport is minimal, and the population skews older — it suits settled families and remote workers more than young professionals looking for an active social scene.
- What is the rent in East Cambridgeshire 009?
- A one-bedroom property runs around £715 a month, a two-bedroom around £937, and a three-bedroom around £1,141. These figures are estimates scaled from district-level data using local sale prices. They're below the UK national median for equivalent sizes, though local wages mean rents still take up roughly 47% of typical take-home pay.
- Is East Cambridgeshire 009 safe?
- Yes, relatively so. The crime rate here is around 49 incidents per 1,000 residents a year — well below the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. The area also scores in the least-deprived 25% of neighbourhoods nationally, which tends to correlate with lower crime levels overall.
- What's the commute from East Cambridgeshire 009 to the nearest major city?
- By public transport it's around 132 minutes to London — a significant journey. The nearest mainline rail station is about 5.4 km away, so most residents drive to it. Nearly half the working population either drives to work or works from home, and over 42% work from home at least some of the time.
- Who lives in East Cambridgeshire 009?
- Mostly older, settled owner-occupiers. Around a quarter of residents are 65 or over, and nearly half are aged 50 or above. Young adults make up only about 15% of the population. Around 43% hold a degree-level qualification, and most working residents commute out for better-paid jobs than the area itself offers.
- What schools are near East Cambridgeshire 009?
- There are four schools within typical catchment distance, though only around a third are rated Good or Outstanding — significantly below the national average. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is about 6.3 km away. With a small number of schools in the area, it's worth checking individual Ofsted reports and catchment boundaries carefully.
- Is East Cambridgeshire 009 good for families?
- It can work well for families who drive and are happy in a quieter rural setting. Around 23% of households are couples with children. The main caution is schools — the local Ofsted picture is weaker than average, so checking specific catchments matters. Low crime and affordable three-bedroom rents of around £1,141 a month are genuine positives.