So, on my Tell me about…Romiley thread, someone said:

Glossop was great back in the day, like many places near the Peaks it’s become full of southerners and returning northerners looking for the next place that will give a good return on a house purchase. A bit like a bigger Holmfirth without tourists looking for compo.

Now, I’m a soon-to-be-returning Northerner, and Glossop is on the list of places to consider.

Should we keep it on the list and, if so, why?

And if not, why not?

I’m hearing that the traffic can be a nightmare, but then that’s what I hear about everywhere…

There’s a Greggs.

And now a Subway and a Costa and and an M&S food shop!

Not long before it becomes trendy…

GLOSSOP (n.)

A rouge blob of food. Glossops, which are generally streaming hot and highly adhesive invariably fall off your spoon and on to the surface of your host’s highly polished antique-rosewood dining table. If this has not, or may not have, been noticed by the company present, swanage (q.v.) may be employed.

Edit (for clarity) :

SWANAGE (pl.n.)

Swanage is the series of diversionary tactics used when trying to cover up the existence of a glossop (q.v.) and may include (a) uttering a highpitched laugh and pointing out of the window (NB. this doesn’t work more that twice); (b) sneezing as loudly as possible and wiping the glossop off the table in the same movement as whipping out your handkerchief; (c) saying ‘Christ! I seem to have dropped some shit on your table’ (very unwise); (d) saying ‘Christ, who did that?’ (better) (e) pressing your elbow on the glossop itself and working your arms slowly to the edge of the table; (f) leaving the glossop where it is but moving a plate over it and putting up with sitting at an uncomfortable angle the rest of the meal; or, if the glossop is in too exposed a position, (g) leaving it there unremarked except for the occasional humorous glance.

But more seriously I think it’s OK – as ever some bits are nicer than others – great riding not very far away – high street is a mixed bag of pound shops with a few nice independent retailers – not many great pubs IMO – one or two decent restaurants

Traffic can be horrendous – Friday afternoons seem especially bad through the town – reasonable train service to Manc though

Some of the primary schools pretty good, less so the high schools

I don’t like it as much as where I live now but I wouldn’t try to put you off living there

Glossop? Seriously….

You’re persevering with this southside quest then? The traffic anywhere in that area is absolutely appalling, but the main road through Glossop is literally a car park. 24/7. You’ll be popular though. Being an addition to the gene pool who they haven’t breed with yet. Good luck 😆

I don’t like it as much as where I live now

Which would be where?

Being an addition to the gene pool

To be fair, I was born there, so I’m not sure I count 🙂

Tbh the traffic is bad but only ever beensat in it for 20mins at the most.

If you were born there, how did you leave?

Which would be where?

I moved to Mellor nearly 2 years ago – there’s nothing to do here unless you like bikes/walking/horses/golf/lacrosse – but I really like it – no shops but some good pubs – traffic is still a bit of an issue as most people travel to/thru Marple – very different to Glossop – much smaller

Mellor/Marple are most definatly on the list.

To be honest, I think I’m going to start discounting the traffic horror stories, as the traffic anywhere is going to be terrible at rush-hour. Unless of course there’s some mythical Mancunian commuter paradise…

Salford?

Glossop would be a lovely place if it wasn’t for the A57 and the traffic hell it (and the A628) produces. I couldn’t imagine living somewhere with a near permanent traffic jam bisecting it.

Hayfield/New Mills to the south or Saddleworth to the North are the better option IMO. Personally I’d go for Hayfield/New Mills. Saddleworth is a dark and dank place in the winter and is populated by strange people.

@IHN fwiw my commute from Marple to the withinton side of the Christie takes 25 mins – 15 at weekends. Leave Marple at 6.45 though Riding in is alright too, mixture of roads, side streets etc.

and is populated by strange people.

Oi!

Why are shops so important, I`ve heard you can only use them if you are local, are you local ?

We’re considering Macclesfield – good train links to MCR and right on the edge of the hills. Traffic jams very slightly less than Glossop we think.

I couldn’t imagine living somewhere with a near permanent traffic jam bisecting it.

Is this the case, or is it one of those situations where the traffic’s not great but the problems tend to be exagerrated?

Hayfield/New Mills also on the list.

Is this the case, or is it one of those situations where the traffic’s not great but the problems tend to be exagerrated?

I think you really need to come up and drive from the area into Manchester in the morning, just to see how bad it is. Its absolutely bloody horrendous!! I used to have a client where I’d go the other way through Glossop. I used to dread it!! And it is like that all the time. Not just at rush hour. The idea of doing it on a regular (maybe daily) basis is absolutely inconceivable. You’d get all….

I blame Tesco…

I’ve spent approximately 1/3rd of the total duration of every bike trip I’ve ever been on, stuck in Glossop.

Or so it seems

and is populated by strange people.

My mother’s from Glossop. Nuff said…

I think he was talking about people from Saddleworth.

Unfortunately Saddleworth just makes me think of Bradey and Hindley 🙁

I used to have to drive through Glossop when visiting my sister in Sheffield; it was the worst bit of an otherwise enjoyable drive. Terrible place altogether.

When I was working in Knutsford, I asked the same question on here. Was basically told it’d be like living in the dark ages but with a mega busy road running through it everyone had webbed feet/6 fingers.

It’s a very Northern name.

[quoteIs this the case, or is it one of those situations where the traffic’s not great but the problems tend to be exagerrated?[/quote]

it’s pretty much jammed in both directions from the crossroads with the A624 all the way to the junction with the M67 at Mottram in busy periods. In non-busy periods (ie Sunday mornings), it’s only jammed between the same crossroads and the junction with the A626 (mainly due to tescos and tourists). It’s probably clear after midnight and before 6am, but I’ve never driven it at those times.

For example on a typical Sunday morning from the centre of Manchester to clear the traffic jam in Glossop (about 15 miles) takes about 45mins. 30 minutes of that is the Mottram to Glossop stretch (about 2 miles).

I think he was talking about people from Saddleworth.

I stand corrected, said the man in the orthopaedic shoes. But Glossop is definitely full of strange people too. Take my mother for one…

allthepies – Member
It’s a very Northern name.

People in glass houses… 😉

dazh – cheers for that.

So, taking it as read that the traffic’s terrible, what’s the town itself like?

To be honest, I think I’m going to start discounting the traffic horror stories

I wouldn’t.
Glossop traffic is a special kind of awful.

I live in Glossop, though I’m not from there originally. I get kind of bemused by the endlessly original comments from Binners – give it a rest mate, it’s getting a tad predictable – and people who’ve driven through and are therefore qualified to know what it’s like to live here.

It has pro and cons like anywhere. Geographically it’s kind of amazing, brilliant road riding out of the door, some of the best trails in the country ten minutes ride away, less if you think Doctor’s Gate is good, gritstone climbing around 30 minutes drive away. It rains a fair bit, but that’s Manchester and the Peak generally for you.

I wouldn’t want to commute to Manchester by road – there’s a 35-minute train ride to Piccadilly which is eminently more sensible – because the pinch point at Mottram Moor and through Hattersley to the M67 is horrific unless you get out very, very early. Heading out the other way is fine though, either over towards Sheffield on the Snake or south via Hayfield/Chapel/Chesterfield/M1.

As a place to live, I kind of like it. It’s not Chorlton, but it’s actually changed quite a lot over the past decade or so. There’s a big Tesco, a Costa Coffee and a nicer local coffee shop called Revive, Marks and Sparks Simply Food, a decent local bike shop in High Peak Cycles, lots of pubs – the Globe is the best of them, but there are others – a local brewery, Howard’s Town – a good local bookshop, nice delicatessen, brilliant Thai noodle box takeaway etc.

The High Street does get busy, mostly with chubby Manchester-based mountain bikers driving to Ladybower with their Santa Crux laden Audis, but to be honest, if you live here, that’s mostly not an issue, though it can take a few minutes to cross the road when it’s busy.

I’ve always found the people here decent. Not up themselves in the least, mostly friendly and down to earth. I guess that makes me some sort of inbred weirdo freak, but the reality is that around half the people living in Glossop are original locals and the other half are outsiders including a lot of people who work in the University or elsewhere in central Manchester.

I suspect it depends on what you’re looking for in a place to live. It’s not as twee as Hayfield, but then it’s bigger and has real shops, is more affordable and there’s always Old Glossop if you want picturesque with a bonus alloys factory thrown in. For riding it’s brilliant.

If you need to commute westwards by car, I’d look elsewhere unless you’re fond of sitting in endless traffic and the bike commute options into Manchester look unappealing to me, but some do it and seem okay with that.

Finally, if you’re in search of a vibrant Bohemian cultural scene, you may be out of luck, for that you’re better off heading to Ramsbottom where dry-humoured intellectuals like Binners host philosophical coffee mornings in the local wine bar.

HTH.

Glossop traffic is awful anytime of day, not just rush hour.

Some nice independent shops there, also the park is brilliant, it has the old traditional kiddy railway, tuck shop, river for paddling, crazeeeegolf (free if you take your own stick and ball), tennis courts and of course dog poo!

The old part has some interesting quaint stone houses.
Best of all it’s right next to the countryside.

New mills, starting to smarten up, traffic not as bad as Glossop, like every where, some good bits and bad bits, however. Marple is way betterer.

BWD – thanks for that.

Marple is way betterer

Yeah, but it’s the locals that put me off. I hear tales of depraved sexploits involving kitchen aprons…

Oh, housing stock – there’s a lot of two-up/two-down, standard issue stone-built terraces with two or three bedrooms, if you want something bigger, there’s a bit of a limited pool of older housing, tends to be more modern brick-built stuff.

If I had to sum it up, I’d say Glossop was a pretty typical northern industrial small town with a traffic issue if you drive into Manchester a lot – the A57 and the Woodhead funnel into a single-lane choke-point controlled by traffic lights – bingo, congestion and a Binners problem. It’s not posh, it’s not rough, it’s just somewhere in the middle really.

Good place to live if you’re a mountain biker/climber/runner/hill-walker 🙂

Marple is way betterer

Yeah, but it’s the locals that put me off. I hear tales of depraved sexploits involving kitchen aprons… Hangs head in shame.

Finally, if you’re in search of a vibrant Bohemian cultural scene, you may be out of luck, for that you’re better off heading to Ramsbottom where dry-humoured intellectuals like Binners host philosophical coffee mornings in the local wine bar.

OUCH! Its a fair cop BWD

I freely admit I know eff all about Glossop (other than the horrific traffic). But surely that puts me in a perfect position to comment about it on internet forums, right? Righty ho…. back to my latte, goats cheese and roasted pepper foccacia, and Nietzsche 😉

Just to add, despite what I was told, for the location and if the right house came up I’d have moved there. Just look at where it is for a mountain biker!!! Just look!

the Globe is the best of them

It’s got a friendly atmosphere but I’ve yet to have a decent pint in there despite local friends insisting it’s great. It’s not. It’s very hit and miss and the half dozen times I’ve drunk in there they’ve all been big misses. I’m not alone in this view. Apparently the vegan menu is good…so I’m told. The Wheatsheaf and The Bull’s Head in Old Glossop are good though. If I were to live in Glossop that’s where I’d want to be.

The Globe – dirt cheap food and beer but some people have experienced “interesting” after effects

Glossop? So if you commute by car to Manchester you’d be royally ****.

I drive to the Peaks past Glossop at silly o’clock at weekends, coming back its ‘ok’. If I set off at 9am+ it gets bloody stupid coming back say 2ish- its just a very tight bottleneck.

Live somewhere else IMO.

Move in with Hora