Noticed via Twitter that MBR have a top 10 of best places to live in the UK. Anyone got a copy and can jot down that top 10? Just interested, that’s all.

Ta!

Got it at home. Can do it later….

Off the top of my head (not in any order)

Brighton/Hove
Bristol
Sheffield
Edinburgh

……are in there. Not read it yet, just flicked through the mag a couple of times….

Its MBR so…….

Brizzle followed by Surrey

Kent

10 – Exeter
9 – Manchester
8 – London
7 – Cardiff
6 – Brighton/Hove
5 – Leeds
4 – Glasgow
3 – Sheffield
2 – Edinburgh
1 – Bristol

I live in Bristol and love the place, but always fail to see how it can beat Keswick (etc) as the best place to live in the UK as a mountain biker.

How is Bristol No.1?

😕

You know full well that it’s Embra. Reasons include-

Inners

TBC

Pentlands

And the A9

Which will have you here in 2 hours

Or you can pound the roads west and be here in 2 hours too

i’m a little confused as to ‘in respect to what are these places best to live’? I assume it’s cycling? If so what’s London doing in there? I live in that there London and it seems to coincide with the least cycling I have ever done.

10 – Exeter
9 – Manchester
8 – London
7 – Cardiff
6 – Brighton/Hove
5 – Leeds
4 – Glasgow
3 – Sheffield
2 – Edinburgh
1 – Bristol

Um, those might be the best cities to live in the UK for mountain biking, but I suspect that there are better places to live for mountain biking if you don’t want to live in the city. Highlands, Lakes, Scottish Borders anyone?

I think it was top to Cities, not places.

Cheers Pauly.
No need to be so rude Chunky. 😉

Teetosugars – Member
How is Bristol No.1?

Not sure, but doesn’t it look at job prospects and cost of living etc. as well as what the riding is like in the area? I seem to remember seeing unemployment rate or something as one of the stats next to the city names??

Bristol is pretty well placed for access to lots of places, I guess.
The whole thing is very subjective, isn’t it?

It’s not the best place to mountain bike, it’s the best city to live in if you’re a mtb.

FWIW, it was definitely one of the reasons I chose to live in Bristol. YMMV.

Which will have you here in 2 hours

By that argument all the riding South of Leeds is an argument in favour of London!

Can’t believe they left Leicester off their list!

I’d have thought Inverness would rate quite highly, or even Stirling since its now a city?

Don’t know what the ‘doorstep’ biking is like in Inverness, its great in Edinburgh when its not all hub deep or blocked with wind blown trees… 😕

1 – Bristol

best?? best place to nick a MTB ? 😐

TINAS- But 90% of the riding south of leeds cannot compare to 1000m of Scottish Mountain.

Bristol is OK – access to mountainbiking is OK but better than Edinburgh or Sheffield? Sheffield does not have the access to the trail centres of Edinburgh but the from the door riding might be better. Bristol has some from the door riding and the Quantocks not far away and Dartmoor not much further.

Edinburgh is best tho 🙂 Previous surveys said so

best?? best place to nick a MTB ?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2011/jun/08/uk-bike-theft-hotspots

Top 10 police forces for bike thefts in 2010:
Metropolitan police: 21,315

Thames Valley: 6,060

Greater Manchester: 5,185

Cambridgeshire: 4,477

Avon and Somerset: 3,895

West Midlands: 3,222

Leicestershire: 3,057

Lancashire: 2,727

Sussex: 2,668

Humberside: 2,440

TandemJeremy – Member
Bristol is OK – access to mountainbiking is OK but better than Edinburgh or Sheffield?

Nah, on a par with Edinburgh and probably behind Sheffield but a much better city to live in than either 🙂

(obviously subjective so I’m not really serious – Edinberg is fine. Sheffield, not for me but YMMV)

They churn this one out every couple of years, I think it’s not just based on cycling. Also includes their views based on stuff like average incomes, quality of life, house prices, crime rates etc etc

By that argument all the riding South of Leeds is an argument in favour of London!

or leeds 😉

also its 2 hours actual driving time, not sitting in the M25 traffic jam 🙂

Yes it’s a top 10 of where to live as well as where to ride. They talk about job opportunities and lifestyle too.

Very surprised not to see Aberdeen on the list. Aberdeenshire has some of the best mountain biking available in the UK and the oil industry presents massive employment/earning potential.

Yes, but it’s still Aberdeen (As my colleague who grew up there says 😉 )

Aberdeenshire has some of the best mountain biking available in the UK and the oil industry presents massive employment/earning potential. really is the sole employer for several hundred miles

FTFY 🙂

Bristol seems pretty reasonable to me as a number one, considering all the factors.

Very surprised not to see Aberdeen on the list. Aberdeenshire has some of the best mountain biking available in the UK and the oil industry presents massive employment/earning potential.

On the downsides;
*it’s so remote that it’s easier to fly to london than drive (other destinations are available).
*there is the oil industry and dnowt else, so unless your an engineer wanting to work with oil, yerr fekked.
*it’s dark for a lot of the year

edit njee was quicker

raw nerve clubber?

avon & somerset is not just bristol 🙂

Having until recently lived in Scotland for a few years, I never saw the need to go to London by any mode of transport. Nor anywhere outside the borders other than the Lake District.

I know phil… 😉 Just pointing out that Bristol isn’t the worst city for bike theft..

Better figures here:

http://road.cc/content/news/36808-police-stats-reveal-uks-recorded-bike-crime-hotspots-how-does-your-area-fare

How can London be top ten for anything apart from museums, tea towels and poncy nob ends ?

Think some of you are judging how great a place is to live by it’s proximity to civilisation but it’s the opposite of that for me! I go to London a few times a week with my job but given the choice I wouldn’t go anywhere near the place.

There are lot’s of industries in Aberdeen away from oil.

Aviation, Leisure, Tourism, Fishing, Medicine, Animal medicine, Retail etc, etc, etc. So just like any other city in the UK except with the added bonus of the oil industry and stunning mountain biking.

I’d have thought Inverness would rate quite highly, or even Stirling since its now a city?

Don’t know what the ‘doorstep’ biking is like in Inverness, its great in Edinburgh when its not all hub deep or blocked with wind blown trees.

I grew up just north of Inverness and it was very good, this was very much pre-trail centre days though so maybe not what ‘current’ mtbers would call ‘good’ mountain biking. There are now quite a few trail centres up that way though somehow I’ve not managed to ride them yet. If you are into natural trails and can use a map, rather than wanting manicured mtb trails with a cafe at the end of it, I don’t see how you can beat the Highlands really. Stirling is ace too.

There’s not really any MOUNTAIN biking near Bristol is there?

There’s not really any MOUNTAIN biking anywhere in the UK IMO. HTH 🙂

Besides, St. Andrews… I’m suprised anyone there rides anything except a polo pony 😛

Bristol, yeah right. I could think of many places I would rather live.

I’m suprised Bradford isn’t on that list. It’s pretty central to some of the best MTB terrain West Yorkshire has to offer, plus local to at least a couple of good trail centres, not forgetting the peaks and dales.

There are mountains in the Highlands chaps!