Job prospects are looking pretty dire where i’m at. Looking extremely likely that we’re heading for 4 day weeks. So i’m applying for jobs which seem mostly to be in the South East, I’ve just applied for one in St. Albans. Is there any riding nearby? I realise its going to be a culture shock from the North West……..

Yep,

Epping Forest, miles of singletrack & regular MTB’er haunt
North Downs – the same
Bracknell/Swinley Forest the same
Chiltern Hills – more natural
Kent / Kentish downs
Danbury Essex

Loads and loads really….

Surrey Hills. All you need to know
South Downs Way is an ace long distance ride if relatively untechnical
IMO South is less ‘out there’ and technical
But dustier and the Surrey Hills singletrack has nothing comparable that I could find in the North West.
It’s all riding 🙂

How far are most of those places then? In travelling time I mean.

Surrey Hills or Swinley are probably about an hour and a bit, Epping maybe a bit less. South Downs Way well over an hour and a half. That’s all if you hit not much traffic (ie. on a Sunday morning). You can probably get to the Chilterns in less than an hour’s drive.

There is probably some not very good local riding near St Albans, but if you can get jobs South of London, you are much closer to the best riding and more likely to be able to live somewhere where you can ride from the door to good riding.

You’ve also got Woburn, Chicksands and Aston Hill that are nearer to St. Albans than a lot of the places already mentioned.

There’s lots of decent singletrack in the woods here and there around Herts.

It’s not a bad place to be based at all in the summer. Gets a bit muddy in the winter though.