[Closed] BEST town in Britain?

Brighton (and Hove).

Harrogate

I'll cut this thread short.

Cut & paste

Wherever I live

Seahouses is a hole! Sorry, but it really is!

For me;
London - Don't care what people say, it's simply the best city on the planet.
Salisbury - Lovely place.
Stockbridge - Mainly for the butchers shop, Robinsons. As it happens, I shall be off to Stockbridge shortly, which is nice.

Northallerton

A few cities in the OP, and so top of the list has to be Edinburgh

Other close contenders are:
Kendal
Chester
Brighton
York
Glasgow (sshhh don't tell anyone I said that) and
Perth

Harrogate without a doubt, unless you're poor

Edinburgh
Glasgow
Kirkudbright
Carnoustie

[i]Guildford[/i]
FAIL

Harrogate without a doubt, unless you're poor

'Nam

Whitby

London - There is nowhere like it and it's great, especially if you take the precaution of living in the burbs.

London
Brighton
Guildford
Chester
Dartmouth

Harrogate is an OK place to live,

not so sure it's the best place in the UK though, too many folks trying to keep it in the past,

Ambleside seems like a better place ( imho ), I stay with relatives who live there and it's great

But I think WHITBY would get my vote, loads of events happen there, great riding on the doorstep, and interesting to boot

Live in Cardiff and love it. Oh, and would live in Northumberland at the drop of a hat.

Low Newton-by-the-Sea, Sennen,St Ives, Whitby, Marsden, Hebden Bridge, Hostel on Berneray, Manchester (for shopping) to name only a few.

[i]Marsden[/i]
ick 🙁
actually any place which has the Tunnel End Inn can't be that bad

Another vote for ambleside. Its touristy and full of Goretex clad pensioners with walking poles who go no higher than the steps of the coffee shop but it does epitomize the Lakes for me and I love being there.

I quite like Bath as well.

Harrogate is an OK place to live,

not so sure it's the best place in the UK though, too many folks trying to keep it in the past,

And all this just 5 minutes from the edge of the Dales and Stainburn. And also 30 minutes train ride from York and Leeds.

I also really like Chester and Cheltenham. If I had to live anywhere other than Harrogate it would be Chester without a doubt.

Top 5 in no particular order:

Sheffield
Holmfirth
Keswick
York
Oakham

Manchester
Ambleside
St. Ives

Another vote for Bath actually, yes. 🙂

I agree that seahouses is a hole!
Love alnmouth though,
Edinburgh
London
Newcastle - i live there!
was in cardiff last weekend, lovely city centre

Chester seems to be popular, Mrs Surfer works there and its only about 20 mins away from me.
Suppose it is quite nice really.

Ambleside is too busy, Keswick is a bout right IMO or Threlkeld easy access to Keswick without the people.

Ullapool is good as well.

what Dobbo said. ****ing hate Ambleside.

Edinburgh obviously. I like Harrogate, Chester, York, Almouth, Whitby, Inverness, Fort William and Richmond (the one in Yorkshire) as well.

I like visiting London but no way would I like to live there.

If I could live anywhere in the UK it'd probably be Gairloch.

In the summer Cambridge is unbeatable, I'd even take it over palma de mallorca which as amazing town/city.

Which St.Ives do you lot mean, better be mine not that touristy one in cornwall!!! 😉

Ambleside is too busy

It is if you only ever go there at weekends/in school holidays.

I really like Keswick though actually. I even quite like Hebden Bridge too :gasp:

Chichester (now live there), enough there to keep me interested (biking/surfing)

Brighton (lived there as a stoodent), great fun, good biking.

Like visiting Edinburgh & London but wouldnt live there.

love Keswick but only been there when is busy

Would consider living in Taunton/Bath/Bristol as spent a fair bit of time there and really like them.

In England
Chester (I'd live there if I had the choice)
York
Cheltenham
Salisbury
Cambridge (much better than Oxford)
Shrewsbury

In Scotland
Stirling
Glasgow

In Wales
Llandudno
Betws-y-coed

Which St.Ives do you lot mean, better be mine not that touristy one in cornwall!!!

Sure they mean the nice one in Cambs, must be alright if two off here live there

Loads of places I have been in the UK are great particularly small towns and villages in the north of Scotland, England and Wales. To name a few are:

Aviemore
Venachar
Aberfoyle
Stirling
Glasgow
Ullapool
Cambridge
Stratford-upon-avon
Bath

London sucks and I have been plenty of times (relatives live near there), I wouldn't live there even if I was filthy rich, Sorry Londoners.

St Ives, Cornwall of course! In Winter preferably, the light, sea, beaches, alley ways, artists, pasties........

Positive post - nice one Mr Poddy!

Not towns, but parts of Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow tick boxes for me.

Not sure about Cambridge, it's too full of students on rubbish bikes to be in my top 5.

Woodbridge is nice, and I liked living in Bristol a lot (which is technically out of scope as it is a city and not a town). Southwold and Aldeburgh are a little bit too poncy for me to take seriously, but are still very nice places.

I think St. Anne (ok, the whole of Alderney really) tops things though. It's an ace place.

Sure they mean the nice one in Cambs, must be alright if two off here live there

there's more than one stivien on here, you been up thicket path singletrack recently? 😆

Dartmouth
Keswick
Hebden Bridge
Patley Bridge

Hebden Bridge. Its the only place I want to move to and I only live a few miles away as it is... AWESOME riding (even better than my end of the valley if thats possible), lovely shops and cafes and generally a really nice slightly 'hippy' vibe about the place. I like it...

Patley Bridge

What on earth is there about Pateley Bridge that is remotely interesting? The only good thing about it is the fantastic road climb up Greenhow Hill.

I'm another who loves this country.

Tavistock is hard to beat, pretty, not too big, lots a friends. Ace kayaking, biking, climbing and surfing closeby.

Only thing missing is a decent Thai restuarant.

Good to See my home of five years, Brighton being so popular, and my home town of holmfirth even getting a mention.

Brighton
Bristol
Fowey (cornwall)
Woolacombe

No particular order, other than Brighton being the clear winner.

🙂

CaptFH, a certain little Cockney geezah who also loves Laaaaadan village says "I love you"
😀

Frome is a nice little town, I may go there to die!

London, (born there) greatest city on planet

Brighton, lived there for 25 yrs just a fantastic place to live & ride !!

Austin,TX, lived there for 3 yrs fun,fun,fun.........

york is alright to visit, but i grew up there, and its nowt special to live in.
edinbrgh is a fab place though, i plan on ending up there after uni.

st andrews is a great little town too - perfect for my studenty needs. its got cheap supermarkets out of town, its small, its very friendly (never seen any fights or 'owt), everywhere is easy to reach etc.... however i'n not live here after uni - the students would make it hell 😉

Pateley bridge has a fantastic pie shop......... 8)
and some nice riding too pretty much on the door step.

Abergavenny or Brecon
Dorking (if you have to live and MTB in the SE)
Alnwick/Alnmouth (was there last week)
St Davids

For cities
London (sorry still love it)
Newcastle
Cambridge

All good for riding except Cambridge! - but a more dynamic business place is harder to find in the UK

I was in Camden at the weekend (not been before) and that must rank as my favourite town / city area now. Amazing place!
I was there for a concert and the afterparty, but spent some time exploring the markets, cafes and bars too.

I wouldn't say London as a whole necessarily, but I'm warming to it...

Stonehaven
[img] [/img]

Glasgow, not so big on Edinburgh, myself

Belfast, much better than it used to be.

I also like Stromness and Kirkwall

Kendal
Cardiff
London (well certain parts, specifically S of the river)
Lancaster (why did I ever move from there? 🙁 )

Lancaster is lovely I very much like living here. Traffic is a pisstake though.

Inverness - what more could you want - close enough to the wilderness and far enough from most of the people!

^^^ Fowey

Gotta agree with that one - lovely place. Stayed there a couple of years ago (on the quiet side which just has the two pubs). Stayed in a tiny cottage overlooking the estuary and loved it.

PeterP, if a city can make both that grubby little urchin and I agree, then it has to be great! 🙂

Lizzard

I wouldn't call The Lizard a town!...@rse end of no-where village more like with the nearest town being Helston...which is also full of nothing...although saying that, does have a good pasty shop!

Swanage, life just bimbles by, nice beach & the purbecks 🙂

Although it does get a bit busy in Summer ... however the fireworks from the pier help make up for that

London - a bit love/hate sometimes but really, nothing else quite compares
Chester - beautiful city
Betws/Ogwen Valley - always happy to be there
St David's. Newgale Beach - just beautiful even when the weather's cr*p
South Coast - Poole, Purbeck - beautiful esp in summer
South Downs - as above
Surrey Hills - as above
UK is a beautiful country. And as Op says, we should celebrate it

Bangor. Co Down, Northern Ireland

Frankly, I'm staggered that no one has said Bolton yet.

+1 Stockbridge.
Wichester and Corfe. Brightons good too.

CaptainFlashheart - Member

Seahouses is a hole! Sorry, but it really is!

For me;
London - Don't care what people say, it's simply the best city on the planet.

Brighton
Lewes
London
& Totnes.

All towns with good off-road cycling in easy reach that I've loved living in (or just outside of in the case of Totnes).

Peaselake for the tea and cheese straws
Corfe for the cream teas
Ambleside for home made lamb burgers and sticky toffee pudding at the end of a great ride
Glecorwyg for Tuna & baked spud after riding W2 and Penhydd all joined up
Padstein for tourist ready fish & chips and the camel trail up the estuary for wife and kid to blow off some steam
Lyndhurst for the butchers and seasonal venison
Winchester for the farmers Market
London for Emu steaks on a friday afternoon under the arches
Chapel Porth, St Agnes for the Hedgehog Icecream and the coastal path

You get the idea

oh, and to those that can only criticise this wonderful country: there are planes, trains and boats leaving everyday in all directions. Take your pick.

Another vote for Chester...... but I am biased as I have always lived there and can't imagine being anywhere else (although by the sea would be nice).
Why? It's a nice looking place, not too big, easy to get to other places and a massive variety of riding within 1hrs drive.
Bad bits..... parking is tricky, needs more shops at the moment, Delamere as of last Sunday morning has reverted back into slippy slidey covered in mud mode - hang on that might be a good thing 🙂

Mulletus, was very busy there earlier. Had to park up by Caviste and walk down to Robinsons. Obviously, this meant that to get to the car, I had to go back to Caviste....Well, you get the picture!

Juan, peut-être, mon vieux, peut-être......

I agree with those who said Seahouses is crap.
Alnmouth & Alnwick are both lovely.
Harrogate is good too.
Durham, where I'm from originally, is a great little city. (although there are some proper iffy places nearby)
Boroughbridge, where I am now, is also a smashing place to live, as long as you don't want a hectic lifestyle!

Boroughbridge, where I am now, is also a smashing place to live, as long as you don't want a hectic lifestyle!

Aberystwyth - A bit studenty for some, but I really like it.
Tenby - Nicest sea-side town I know of
Ambleside
Aviemore
Cardiff, great city and some great riding around the area.

I happen to love my home town of Llandovery as well.

Had to park up by Caviste and walk down to Robinsons. Obviously, this meant that to get to the car, I had to go back to Caviste....Well, you get the picture!

MM, might have to look that up for the summer....! How about you get the Three Cups to sponsor as well!

London, dont think I could leave but if I had to it would be Edinburgh.

also
Bath
Hove (OK then Brighton too)
Ambleside
Fowey, agreed but not to live.
Cambridge

and Dorking! How bloody nice is Dorking? Great riding too but the town itself its lovely.

Pateley bridge has a fantastic pie shop.........

Actually two fantastic pie shops in 100 yards!

Holmfirth yer right. Deanhouse more like.

We were looking at the Three Cups but they didn't seem too interested. It's still a lovely pub for afternoon drinks in the garden by the stream though. Best pub in the town imo.

Garstang in lancashire.Five minute walk from anywhere in the town and your in the countryside.The cities of lancaster and preston are only 12 miles each way away.And better still 40mins drive your in the lakes

Bristol. Marked by IKB magnificent structure.

Very well appointed for MTB'eeerrrrs.

[IMG] [/IMG]

MM, you could try asking the Peat Spade, they're decent sorts! If not, why not ask Caviste, could get some lovely stuff from them....! (Assume you're local?)

I want to move to Bristol, close to quannies & south wales for biking, an hour and half drive from good surfing, Bristol gets my vote.