I think BWD has been very restrained on this one - assuming he still lives at the house where I met him once!
I don't have anything against Sheffield, nice city if you like cities, one of the better ones. I just get a bit tired of people slagging off Glossop as if it's some sort of inbred horror hole. The reality is that it's an unpretentious, friendly, northern town on the edge of the Peak District National Park and with some ace riding on the doorstep.
Yes, the road link into Manchester is dire at peak times, but it keeps house prices down and you can get into central Manchester in 35 minutes on the train if you want culture. Road links the other way are fine, across the Peak to J29 of the M1, up to the Lakes in a couple of hours, Dales in 90 minutes, North Wales about the same.
As far as locals in Glossop go, around 50 per-cent of the population are from outside the area, lots work in central Manchester, quite a few at the University and people generally are friendly. There's plenty of local mountain bikers, a half-decent LBS, all the shops normal people need etc.
I kind of like being able to be on Middle Moor in 15 minutes from my front door, run onto the top of Bleaklow in 30 minutes, ride stuff that only locals know and is awesome, have a load of classic road climbs on my doorstep etc and as I don't often have to drive into Manchester, I don't give a stuff about the traffic congestion on the A57.
Oh, and the Globe is an ace pub by any standards.
I love the way people who basically have driven through somewhere a few times or have a disillusioned mate who used to live there or once saw the League of Gentlemen on the telly and thought it was a fly on the wall documentary feel qualified to spout a load of crap. But then what would you expect here?
