Walsden! It’s on the Manchester side of Todmorden with its own station which is 28 minutes to Manchester Vic. It’s also 15 mins to get onto the M62 if you drive. And 22 miles to Manchester if you’re an uber commuter on the bike.

Prettier than Littleborough. House prices better value than Hebden. Trails just as good out of the door. Not cliquey or oppressive. And if you really want the Hebden experience you can go there for a latte. And leave.

Pop round if you want to go out for a spin on our trails.

*and whatever you do, don’t go for Bacup*

Highest concentration of trails (bridleways and footpaths) of anywhere in England, I once read somewhere. Been here 13 years now and I can believe it. Local knowledge defo helps. Just give us a shout when you’re here.

I’ve been riding those Hebden trails for the best part of 25 years, and I reckon it’s been a bit, not a lot, but certainly a bit over-rated.

There’s so much more to explore in the whole east of Manchester semi-circle, and anywhere that starts naming trails/descents is getting a bit too well known for my liking.

Not wanting to wee on anyone’s supper, but Hebden has a lot of problems:
Very high rates of suicide, depression, alcoholism & drug addiction being the most obvious.
Stupidly high property prices, oppressive geography and a very high opinion of itself being the others.
If I had to live in the Calder Valley again, I’d live in Mytholmroyd – it’s friendlier, the property is nicer and you see a bit more sky.

I lived in Walsden for 20 years, working in Todmorden & Hebden and have just moved to the Cliviger end of Burnley.
Have to say I find the geography a lot nicer here (didn’t see daylight in Walsden for 20 years 😀 ) and the people are much, much more friendly – not something I was expecting but there you are. 😐
(Apart from Clover of course – she’s lovely. 🙂 )

Rawtenstall is a nice little town.

Parts of Bacup are very nice but I just wouldn’t. It’s already dead, it just doesn’t know it yet.

Ramsbottom is very nice, as Binners says, but not as ‘naice’ as some of the locals think it is.

Littleborough is Rochdale with a traffic problem and delusions of grandeur and I don’t like anywhere south of Deansgate as it tends to be overpriced and congested.

If you want to commute into Manchester I think Bolton or Bury are your best options.
There are some really pleasant areas, very reasonably priced, good transport links, great access to trails and the people are very, very friendly.
Or, if you fancy a bit more of a commute, Burnley/Cliviger/Worsthorne is cracking, but not half as convenient for Manchester.

That was looking like a well thought out objective post rusty right up until you plugged your new gaff, snatch defeat from jaws etc 😉

Richpips I’d gone OT and into realms of fantasy by that point, I’d teleport into work 🙂

Horrible isn’t it? 😀

And the neighbours?

Admittedly, they’ve not asked us round for tea.
Probably having a bit of a tidy up before, eh?

I live on the outskirts of Macclesfield, near the forest. It’s got great links to Manchester and is nowhere near as bad as people make out. Been living here since last June and it’s a friendly town with a good local music scene. Good rides on the doorstep and climbing, if you are in to that sort of thing.

Then again I originally come from Dewsbury, which means everywhere else seems amazing!

Not wanting to wee on anyone’s supper, but Hebden has a lot of problems:
Very high rates of suicide, depression, alcoholism & drug addiction being the most obvious.
Stupidly high property prices, oppressive geography and a very high opinion of itself being the others.
If I had to live in the Calder Valley again, I’d live in Mytholmroyd – it’s friendlier, the property is nicer and you see a bit more sky.

Yup have heard that but friends who live there seem to think it’s been a bit overblown. Definitely don’t plan to end up right down in the town in Hebden, apart from anything else as mentioned it’s dark, flood-prone and there’s very few gardens.

Still though, I suspect that I am the type of person that everyone moans about Hebden being full of. I work in the creative arts and have socialist pretensions despite being firmly middle class.

Going to look at a place in Mytholmroyd tomorrow though. 🙂

My friend is selling a place in Mytholmroyd, 60 Burnley Road. No garden and Burnley Road resembles an end game of Frogger at the best of times.

Nowt wrong with Bacup as long as you’re not in the valley bottom, actually that applies to most of Rossendale and Calderdale. Got a new Morrisons going in and should be getting a brand new trailhead for Lee Quarry next year.

Seriously where do you, a long frustrating commute can wreck your quality of life. Rossendale is ok for north and east Manchester, 45 mibs from Bacup to Droylesdon for example. Avoid commuting on the M60 north of Manchester, it’s really not good.

Cliviger is bloody lovely Rusty you lucky sod. There’s just something about it. Great for geologists as well. Fancied moving there myself. 🙂

We’re up Red Lees Road way, past the Kettledrum.

I’m really surprised with Burnley – obviously it’s not the thriving, vibrant, architectural & cultural paradise that is post IRA Manchester, but it’s a lot nicer than we’d been lead to believe.

Guy called Keith Wilson is the local Countryside Officer & he’s brilliant – the same bloke who put the initial work into Philips Park in Prestwich some years ago.

And let’s not forget, it’s very, very cheap. 🙂

Riding around Hebden isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty much as good as it gets in the UK without either having to drive to it or live in the middle of nowhere. Still plenty of anonymous or barely-ridden gems to ride too, if you know where to look.
Grum – loads of interesting stuff going on for those in the creative arts, and two big, culturally rich cities just down the road/train track. Sounds to me like you’d enjoy Mytholmroyd.

Grum, wl:

I think this article by Jill Robinson pretty much nails Hebden.

As I said, I lived close by for 20 years, have worked all over the valley and have a lot of affection for the place.
But her comments about many of the local youngsters being raised without any discipline or boundaries is absolutely spot on and I think is at the core of many of the areas problems.
That said, the trails are great, it’s got a friendly bike shop, the cinema is nice and there’s always something going on.
Join the Trades Club grum, it’s ace.

Just MTFU and come to Crumpsall.

Preswitch. I wont say owt about Bury incase the angry’ brow beat me.

Tuppence-lickers. Love it! 😆

looks like i’m very close to rusty spanner and when i’m feeling less fat ride over to hebden but i have to disagree,burnley is a toilet and i’ve lived here 43 years – it’s on it’s arse.the town centre is a dump full of crappy teen pubs and all the shops are rubbish unless you just happen to have a pound to spend
but the riding round here is fantastic,i’m off out now for my first ride in ages,it’s going to kill me but i’ll have a big grin on my fat, sweaty face as i huff and puff past rusty’s countryside idyll 😀

ps – cliviger is not burnley – it’s far too nice

Is this some viral thing where people are on commission from their local estate agents? 🙂

Here’s a template for you:

I’d totally recommend [insert name of non-descript northern industrial town here], there’s amazing riding on the doorstep, pretty much the best in the known universe, it has incredible pubs selling beer, independent (not state-owned) shops the organic, stone-built, cottages have roofs and there’s a chippy as well, which is sometimes even open. And if you want culture, there’s a library and an Oxfam shop where they sell pre-loved books. I used to live in [insert name of inner city hell-hole here: Beirut/Kabul/Bogata] and it’s much better here, bar the odd shooting and you can generally bunny-hop the junkies lying around the war memorial.

It’s much nicer than [insert name of near neighbour which gets a bad press here] and that whole thing with the serial killer GP was much exaggerated. I used to live in [list the other towns mentioned in this thread already] and they’re not a patch on where I live now. Hell, the locals are some of the most beautiful and liberal [conservative if you have rightwing leanings] people I’ve ever met and it’s so safe and friendly that people leave their front doors open and you can pop in and make yourself a cuppa anywhere in town.

I know that people tend to big up the place they live in, but honestly [insert town name here] is far better than anywhere else on earth. Finally, while house prices are expensive, they’re not a patch on [insert name of improbably expensive area Knightsbridge/the Dales/Paris etc] where I grew up.

😉

Rossendale…………..nothing to see here, move along

Like I said, various drawbacks to Hebden. Precocious, under-parented, usually middle class kids is one I forgot to mention, but it’s not a big deal for me, just a minor annoyance.

I don’t really care who moves here and who doesn’t, just giving a few subjective pros and cons that might be useful for some folk.

sausagefingers – Member
burnley is a toilet and i’ve lived here 43 years – it’s on it’s arse.the town centre is a dump full of crappy teen pubs and all the shops are rubbish unless you just happen to have a pound to spend

ps – cliviger is not burnley – it’s far too nice

😀
It might be a toilet to you, but compared to some the places I’ve lived in it’s wonderful:
Full list -Walsden, Radcliffe, Moston & Crumpsall (waves at smell_it , I lived just here, flat above the hairdressers).
.
Believe me, it’s great compared to those.

We’re just on the border between Cliviger and Burnley – crappy 70’s retirement estate.

I actually LIKE Burnley Town Centre, apart from the dogshit on the canal.
Less litter than Radcliffe, fewer smackheads than Moston or Crumpsall, friendler and more sunshine than Walsden.
Nowt wrong with the shops – needs a good hifi place & a decent guitar shop, but it has a couple of nice art galleries and you’re never more than two minutes from a Greggs 😀

You’re right, the pubs are a bit crap, but I’ve only been in two or three so there must be a nice one out there – Crooked Billet in Worsthorne looks nice, Kettledrum’s ok, if a bit small, Thornton Arms?

wl – Member

Like I said, various drawbacks to Hebden. Precocious, under-parented, usually middle class kids is one I forgot to mention, but it’s not a big deal for me, just a minor annoyance.

I don’t really care who moves here and who doesn’t, just giving a few subjective pros and cons that might be useful for some folk.

wl, I completely agree with you – I’m not trying to run the place down, just to give an honest portrait of my experiences there.
And you’re right about the riding, the whole of the valley is excellent.

BWD, hope this complies with ‘The Rules’. 🙂

Oh, sausagefingers, drop us a line if you fancy a ride.

No pressure.

Ramsbottom. It’s at the foot of the Raike and has easy road access to Mcr, as well as the West Pennines and all of Rossendale then northwards towards Calderdale and the Pennines. Got good pubs, takeaways, great scenery and if you live anywhere within the smell of the paper mill you get free bog paper and kitchen towel as a bung to stop you moaning.

I would recommend Summerseat village but the road access to the A56 and M66 is a nightmare.

Oh, sausagefingers, drop us a line if you fancy a ride.

rusty,if you’d seen me coughing and spluttering my way up gorple this morning i think you’d be offering to take me to the hospital instead 😆