We might be moving to this area… wondering what the mountain biking is like and whether people enjoy living there?

I live in the Ribble Valley. Wonderful place to live, rural/semi rural, small market towns and villages. Lots of very good restaurants and pubs.

Biking is very good, as you have got Pendle Hill on one side of the valley and longridge fell on the other. At the top of the valley is Gisburn Forest and its excellent trails.

However as it is a desirable part of Lancashire to live, it can be expensive.

We’re just moving to Grimsargh at the end of this month (if everything goes smoothly) which is just between Preston and Longridge.

Where are you moving there from?

We tend to ride:

Longridge Fell, Dunsop bridge and Chipping, Gisburn, Darwen Tower, Rivington & Winter Hill.

Lakes are within reach as your are fairly close to the M6.

Thanks – sounds promising then. Looked good when we had a drive about at the weekend but often difficult to tell just by doing that. Moving from the northern end of the north yorks moors.

I live in Preston and can be in the Lakes, Yorkshire Dales and the Peaks in around an hour. Lots of great routes locally too. Gisburn, Lee Quarry and Healy Nab to name a few.

I popped up to Beacon Fell for a play out with the dog, lots of short little drops to practice on. (only go on a week day)

I live in Longridge and tend to ride the Longridge Fell, Dunsop Bridge and Waddington Fell too. Close to yorkshire dales and the lakes (about an hour) for other areas to enjoy riding. However we aren’t well served for bridleways in this neck of the woods, however there are a lot of mountain bikers in the area and groups that go out regularly most nights of the week. We tend to ride Wednesdays and there is a group of guys who ride Tuesdays who are a sound bunch but I don’t get to ride with them anymore due to other commitments 🙁

I second Beacon Fell as a weekday or evening only destination. Way to many other users during the week and it is only small.

Live in garstang and it’s a nice place to live. Less than five minutes walking and your in the countryside. Most folk who live here are a friendly bunch. As for mountain biking as other people have said the amount of bridalways isn’t that great ( the nearest to garstang is nicky nook fell) but gisburn and longridge fell isn’t to far away. Surprisingly stavley and the south lakes is the same time wise to get to as gisburn.

Benji – I’ve heard of riding round Waddingham Fell, don’t suppose you have a route do you? How does it hold up during the winter compared to Longridge?

Always good to have more local routes.

I think Garstang is the most horribly named place I’ve heard of in Britain.
Always makes me think of a concentration camp for some reason.

With that in my head, should I ever visit there, I’m sure my expectations will be exceeded quite easily

I think Garstang is the most horribly named place I’ve heard of in Britain.
Always makes me think of a concentration camp for some reason.

Yes. Enough to put me off just a little! There seem to be a few places with funny names ’round there.

I live just down the road in Lancaster. There’s great road biking around there if that floats your boat (Forest of Bowland has some very nice quiet roads), not huge amounts of mountain biking right there but close to decent stuff as above. Generally a very pleasant area, though I’m not so keen on Garstang itself