So further to a previous thread I’m no longer off to Solihull I have accepted a job in Nottingham!

I know it’s close to the peaks and a decent location for lots of things. Once in there and settled is there anyone on here willing to show me some good riding?

I’m feeling better about this location than Solihull to be honest!

I know it’s close to the peaks

Not close enough! Although I was spoiled by living in Sheffield.

Riding is a bit rubbish if you’re used to having the good stuff on your dooorstep.

Good mtb is a drive away, plenty of canal path / fields to stay away from the traffic.

I tend to go out on the road mostly now, loads to choose from, from lumpy to flat depending if you head north or south of Derby.

Loads of towpath/bridleway/Sustrans stuff in the Nottingham-Derby-Ilkeston triangle. And cafes.

Exciting riding is elsewhere but if you want unexciting riding at any point, happy to show you Ilkeston side of things.

Quite a few Notts people on here, should be easy to find someone to show you pretty much whatever you fancy.

I’m in Snowdonia so am a bit spoiled.
I realise that its going to be a lot different but will happily go to where the good stuff is. I’m happy to be shown whatever the area has to offer!

Where is the nearest Dh stuff?

@MCTD – you must be v close to me, just of J25 in the middle of the derby/notts/ilkeston triangle

StuF – There’s a few of us about 😉

*Cough* West Hallam *cough*

If you fancy some boring company on a boring ride, on or off road, my email is in my profile.

There is a bit of moderately exciting singletrack in bestwood Park, a very small dh area by hemlock stone, think 10-20 seconds at a time though. I go to cannock dh track if I’m after dh.

I met some lads who were telling me about a Dh place near Derby so there is some about.

It’s not got the elevation of snowdonia unfortunately

I suppose the Shropshire Dh stuff isn’t so far away. I look forward to maybe meeting up with some of you sometime soon.

I suppose the Shropshire Dh stuff isn’t so far away. I look forward to maybe meeting up with some of you sometime soon.

100 miles, 2 hours ten mins. one way to Ludlow.

Peak District and Cannock seem like your obvious destinations.

I’m in Nottingham too. Cannock is 1 hour away, depending where you are sherwood pines is close but flat and short, gets kinda boring there. Peak District isn’t that far, you can park at lady bower reservoir and take up some excellent trails there. That takes about 1hr15 to get too.

If you need recommendation of places to live, west Bridgford is great. Beeston is good.

West bridgford is good, Beeston is great 🙂

I’ll be working in West bridgford. Haven’t started looking for a place yet. Figure I’d go via spareroom in the first instance!

Some worthwhile riding between Nottingham and Sherwood Pines too. Sansom Wood, Blidworth etc.

If you head south from Notts, there’s elevation around Loughborough, and some good stuff round there and Whitwick/Coalville.

A few hills around West Leake.

West Bridgford is quite nice. Bit pricey to live….

Best of luck for your move…

Not sure trails are still in Drum Hill, but that used to be a bit jumpy.

There’s was a thread on here about Drum Hill only a couple of months ago, so I think it’s still there.

Think there’s a fair whack of cheeky stuff around Shining Cliff Woods/Black Rock (Ambergate/Cromford).

You and your posh gentrified suburbs. Long eaton is where it’s at!

Bestwood and north is packed with decent singletrack if you know where to look. The bridleways and woodlands in the m1 corridor mean I can be offroad within about 150m of my front door and ride all day, barely touching tarmac.

The area seems to be fairly well stocked with riders too, so should be all to get someone to show you round.
I’d recommend living somewhere that makes cycling to work viable as rush hour in the rain just means gridlock.

Just off j 26 in Kimberley here. From my door I can link up patches of forest to the north, flat bridleways and towpaths around Ilkeston etc and trails around Bestwood and Bramcote, happy to show you around. For real fun stuff I tend to head to the Peaks at least weekly though, again happy to show you around/lift share. Email me if interested:grumpytechnophobe@gmail.com

We need some sort of Ilkeston/Strelley centric meet up ride, there’s a lot of us lurking on here. Or a “secret sign” to greet each other out on the trails.

Aye up me duck is the sign 😉

I’m off the bike at no due to ankle , I’m North notts with plenty of singletrack by the front door but not very dh

Ex Long Eaton, a bit further north now, but we have a few Derbyshire/Peak GPX’s on our little facebook page here
We have a couple of riders from the L.E. area and we are mostly more ‘mature’ riders. Always looking for new riders to join us 😆

+1 for the Loughborough and Coalville stuff. Not spectacular, but good enough for a night ride each week. Don’t know if it is worth your drive from Nottingham, though. The other thing to remember is in NW Leics and Charnwood in particular, anything good to ride is cheeky.

Thanks for all the posts!

I still am not sure when exactly I will be in the area but I will check back here and take people up on their kind offers.

On a side note – are there any areas which are best avoided when looking for somewhere to stay?

Another Nottingham-ite in Watnall here. All the others have mentioned the riding in the area.

As for places to live/ avoid, where are you to be working?

Eyup!

Thought I’d drop a post in here to say that I live in a nice shared house within reasonable walking distance of the city centre with a relaxed private landlady and we’ll be looking for someone to fill a room between now and Christmas.

Drop me an email if you’re interested.

Cheers!

I’m going to be working in West Bridgford.

Belm – That sounds great but I still am not sure when i will be starting. I hope its in the new year as it gives me more time to faff about, sell my house and have a holiday!

Ideally I would like to ride to work so something within 5 miles would be ideal.
I do have 2 cats too who i would like to bring along but it makes it a little more difficult.

Radcliffe on Trent is quite nice, easy off/quiet road routes into West Bridgford, plenty of public transport into the city. Easier parking too, West Bridgford streets are chocka every Saturday in the football season; County and Forest play alernate home games. Not much MTB, but plenty of good road and CX into the Vale of Belvoir.

West Bridgford is fairly easy to commute to, using the Trent embankment, and is a fairly cycle – friendly area, but expensive/desirable to live. Depends what your priorities are for where is good to live/where avoid. The western/northern side of the city is best for trails/biking and close to an M1 junction will allow you to capitalise on one of the best things about the area, ie it’s central so can reach most of our island’s best mtb spots.

mildbore what part of West Notts are you thinking of when you say its good?

what part of West Notts are you thinking of when you say its good?

And a 5 mile bike commute from West Bridgford?

Haha, didn’t say it was good, I said it was best! NW Notts has the bridleways around Ilkeston, Moorgreen, Annesley, Bestwood,Bramcote and all the bits of She wood Forest. W Bridgford can be reached fairly easily through Wollaton park then back of QMC and the embankment

A tremendous amount of good riding to be had on this map (and beyond). Maybe one day I’ll label it all, although all the good off-road bits are fairly easy to see here. Get in touch if you need if you need higher res or further guidance.

Look up TNC on Facebook. Group gets out every Tuesday night for some local trail riding and has a few trips to Wales etc a year.

Also as to where to live. West Bridgford is brilliant but very expensive.. feels like a nice London pricey suburb. Beeston is quite studenty but much more reasonably priced and has good local amenities and plenty of pubs etc

Yep, West Bridgford is really nice in a suburban kind of way. If you’re buying, house prices start at £200k and rental properties reflect this. There’s a strong road cycling scene in WB but relatively slim pickings with MTB – the maps promise good stuff but rarely deliver. As others have said, the really good trails are north of the city, so living in Mapperley could be an option (a really nice area but cheaper than WB). You may also want to get in touch with NATS who do lots of organised MTB rides.

oldejeans, your map link didn’t work. Would be interested to see, as I do loads of riding round this neck of the woods.

ah shame, I copied the link from my googlephotos into tinyurl. seems to work fine for me. I’ll send it you if you like. It’s only a strava heatmap from Carsington to WB so it’s pretty easy to find.

Where are you gonna be working? EA par chance?

Our regional office is in Solihull and I’m based in bridgford

Just checked back on this thread!

Yes I’ll be in the EA. I am looking forward to it, It seems like a good place to work. Are you in there too then Kid Cragg?

Do any of you know much about a place called Redhill in Arnold and a place called Keyworth?

I have been doing a bit of room searching and have found a place in each of these.

Redhill/Arnold on the N. side of the city, awkward commute to W Bridgford and not the nicest area, sort of slightly run down suburb and close to some dodgy bits. Good side of the city for best local riding, ie Bestwood and the bits of Sherwood Forest. Key worth is out of town, mostly rural, the right side of the city for a viable commute but v little worthwhile local riding for mountain biking. Good quiet lanes for roadies though