In the spirit of not quite suggesting where you live, but not far away, Barnard Castle has some merits. Close to Hamsterley (12 miles, rideable if needs be; new trails being built), Darlington (16 miles, direct bus), the A66 (Keswick is about 1 h 15 by car), and Swaledale (Reeth is 15 miles). Teesdale and the North Pennines are on the doorstep. There is also some riding from the door (Pennine Way bridleway sections are rideable in summer; Tan Hill is an option as an out and back).
Good opticians, too
if doorstep riding is a priority then Staveley wins. Has a good pub and a few amenities as well. Still not sure it beats Peebles/Innerleithen for riding though.
A lovely spot and you can ride straight into bigger hills than the Tweed Valley. Fundamentally different kind of riding though. TV offers more fun, but sometimes you really need to get up high, eh.
Double post
Double post
Snowflake <=> Gammon spectrum.
Sweeping generalisations are sweeping, but
Disley/New Mills <=> Whaley/Chapel
Last time I rode through Whaley bridge I bumped into Edwina Currie (not literally). It was definitely her. I was riding somewhere I probably shouldn't have been and she didn't tell me off, which was nice.
I don't think this comment really helps anyone out, soz.
Last time I rode through Whaley bridge I bumped into Edwina Currie (not literally). It was definitely her.
Oh aye, Eddy C as she doubtless likes to be known, lives in Whaley
More cons to Kendal, the one way system through the town centre and the river that runs through it that constantly threatens to burst its banks, the traffic through the town centre. Having done a thread like this a few years back where a few people suggested Kendal, we ended up not far away from there in a spot that all the tourists drive past, I'm certainly glad everytime I go to Kendal that I didnt end up there. I think it depends on what riding you want 'from the door', yes the Lakes is great but a lot of the stuff is quite a mission and those bits that aren't get a bit repetitive especially when you have to constantly drive to them. If you ride once a week then yeah it's fine so long as during April - September you leave very early to get through before the idiots who can't drive narrow roads or before the queue backs up into Ambleside. However, I still miss the West Mids and being close to the Wyre Forest just because it's so easy, no gates, no roads, no tourists, you can go out and string together as much or as little as you like of an evening. Then if you wanted something different you could then drive to bigger destinations such as FoD and Wales. Having said that there are other bits I dont miss and I'm glad now that in approx 2 hours I can be in Scotland and I'm above Preston so there's little traffic on the motorway and we can head into the Dales on our motorbikes. Oh and also don't forget the Lakes are wet, obvious you'd think what with all the lakes but it rains a lot so if you dont want to spend 50% of your rides getting soaked or riding through some bogs then again dont bother. Yeah some bits are rocky but if you pick Staveley you'll end up riding through the green quarter and that has some DAMP bits.
Last time I rode through Whaley bridge I bumped into Edwina Currie (not literally). It was definitely her. I was riding somewhere I probably shouldn't have been and she didn't tell me off, which was nice.
I don't think this comment really helps anyone out, soz.
Was she out on the Cove Stiffee she was pictured riding once....?
To the OP, is there a chance your company might change working practices which mean you can no longer work from home? You may want to consider being somewhere convenient for a planned or unplanned career change.
I think it depends on what riding you want 'from the door', yes the Lakes is great but a lot of the stuff is quite a mission and those bits that aren't get a bit repetitive especially when you have to constantly drive to them.
I'd say that applies anywhere. You can live next to Glentress / Dalby / Llandegla and there's loads of riding from the front door but it'll get very repetitive!
Ultimately there are very very few places in the UK where there's a really good range of MTB routes right from the door, the hobby pretty much demands that you travel to it. I'm on the edge of the Peak District, there is riding from the front door but it's the same 6 trails unless I get the train further in or drive off somewhere else. And actually, I really don't rate the Peaks much. Very little woodland, a lot of boulder-y rubble-y stuff that turns into a soaking wet mess for 8 months of the year and loads of gates.
I loved living in Lancaster and there was a good range of road riding straight out of the house but I spent 5 years driving up and down the M6 to get to and from the South Lakes area for almost all MTBing (plus journeys into the Yorkshire Moors & Dales).
lot of boulder-y rubble-y stuff that turns into a soaking wet mess for 8 months of the year and loads of gates
Craze knows how it is...
As a non UK resident I got shown around a few MTB trails. Of those that meet your criteria I liked:
Thanks for the guiding Dylan.
Perhaps Shropshire is worth a look? You've got Wrekin, Malverns, Wyre then just a short distance to FoD, close to Wales too. Honourable mention to Cannock Chase, not worth moving for but it's a fine local for me and there's a ton of sketchy off piste for midweek rides.
Alternatively, I still own a lovely house in Aberystwyth you could buy.
Nice area, but an absolute bastard to get anywhere else in the U.K. in less than five or six hours. From Chippenham via train, when I tried to sort out times for my partner, so she could visit her friend in Llanddewi Brefi, the best I could do was twelve hours! By car it was over three hours each way. To do around 130 miles!
Stick with Cardiff, at least it’s less time to get up to the parks around Aberystwyth, and there’s all the other cycling areas around Wales, and the Forest of Dean as well.
Has nobody said Bristol yet?!
Certified the best city in the UK, anything and everything going on. Easy to dodge the shit bits and shitty people.
XC and gravel from the door is pretty good, and an hour's drive in any direction gets you to a plethora of amazing riding...
I reckon only Edinburgh competes...
Bristol does NOT have good riding, this has been verified. There are a couple of tiny, muddy and very busy spots outside the city and that's your lot. People seem to love the fact that you can drive places easily whilst ignoring the fact that you could actually live in those places and not have to drive at all. Plus the traffic is insane and no, it's not that bad everywhere.
Ultimately there are very very few places in the UK where there's a really good range of MTB routes right from the door
Cardiff is one such place though. I hardly ever drive to ride.
Although we could live pretty much anywhere, I can’t see us moving from Shropshire, it’s just brilliant for us and this is where everyone differs. Although the riding from the door isn’t “big” stuff, it is a lot of fun, feature rich and rideable pretty much all year round; we appear to be in a pocket of blessed weather and geology too 🙂 there is also other great riding that’s a bit more of a cycle from the door but not too far for an afternoon or morning. Then there are the options that are close, and when we fancy a bigger day we often find one of the options has excellent riding weather, even if others don’t. Revs, Eastridge, Long Mynd, Llangollen, Llandegla, Bucknell / Hopton and the awesome bits in between, Gwydir and lots of other lesser known riding spots are all pretty close. Our village is idyllic, amazing shop and pub with loads of lovely people (and obligatory asshats, but they are out numbered), it’s beautiful around here too.
Close by Shrewsbury is an awesome town and the traffic for the majority of places we go is pretty much non existent. Even the drive to FOD or BPW is pleasant and largely traffic free. And the train to London is relatively pleasant and has always been reliable for me. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea clearly, but we love it here and even working just 25 hours a week and taking most of the summer off, we never have time to sample all the great riding available. 🙂
Craze knows how it is...
Yes folks, stay well clear of the bloody awful Peak 😉
I suppose what it underlines is that one person's quite decent, if slightly esoteric riding, is another's mountain biking gruel. I guess my take is that for a mix of stuff to ride on a mountain bike, gravel and road bike, it's not an altogether terrible compromise and one I can enjoy. Personally driving endlessly to ride elsewhere just seems wrong - and actually really dull unless you're a big fan of motorways.
Fwiw, what both of you seem to have in common is that you'd far rather live in the Lakes, but there's a part of me that wonders if a year or so down the line, the local riding there would be similarly unsatisfying and you'd decide that the only place worth riding is Scotland and so on. Some of this stuff is always going to be a compromise both in life and riding terms and everyone's take on both is different.
I have the slightly untypical take that a lot of 'riding' actually happens between your ears, so you can choose - to an extent - what you get from your local trails. If you start off with the attitude that they are not what you want them to be, then I figure you're courting a gentle undercurrent of dissatisfaction every time you head out.
And of course, when all else is lost, there's always Peterboghorror, the sugar-beet capital of the flatlands 🙂
Ultimately there are very very few places in the UK where there's a really good range of MTB routes right from the door
However, somewhere with better access rights and less population is likely to have more. So Scotland. 😉
However, somewhere with better access rights and less population is likely to have more. So Scotland.
I think a lot of people now mostly ignore access rights, certainly round here, but fewer people, yes, big tick, assuming you're talking somewhere hilly anyway.
As all the Peak regulars (BWD, Crazy-legs, IHN) have mentioned, places near Hayfield are really great for mtbing from the doorstep. Don't discount Marple (approx 5 miles from Hayfield) as the crow flies. Marple has all of the amenities of a large town, but is near the Peak District. Also many people forget that some areas of the 'White Peak' have decent, challenging riding.
I don't get the 'loads of gates' thing for the Peak. I mean, there are some gates, but loads? And anyway, gate = breather, which I'm all for 🙂
As all the Peak regulars (BWD, Crazy-legs, IHN) have mentioned, places near Hayfield are really great for mtbing from the doorstep. Don't discount Marple (approx 5 miles from Hayfield) as the crow flies. Marple has all of the amenities of a large town, but is near the Peak District. Also many people forget that some areas of the 'White Peak' have decent, challenging riding.
No! We've agreed that the Peak is a horrible, dull, overrated giant sack of rubble that's simultaneously a mud fest 90% of the time and there are only six routes there. The only way to mountain bike if you live here is to travel, lots, that's just how it is. The White Peak is the same minus the rubble, so basically just mud. As for Marple, it has all the amenities of a large town, but they're unfortunately located in Stockport. Can we put a stop to this nonsense about the Peak being a good place to live or ride please 🙂
I don't get the 'loads of gates' thing for the Peak. I mean, there are some gates, but loads? And anyway, gate = breather, which I'm all for 🙂
Is it an e-bike thing? In some cases gates = lifting.
I think a lot of people now mostly ignore access rights, certainly round here
Yes, the South Wales Valleys is de-facto open access, no-one cares because they all grew up roaming all over the mountains themselves and see it as public domain.
Is it an e-bike thing? In some cases gates = lifting.
I shall be sending my second to call on you sir!
..,....
We've agreed that the Peak is a horrible, dull, overrated giant sack of rubble that's simultaneously a mud fest 90% of the time and there are only six routes there.
And anything good gets sanitised twice a year. And it's full of angry Brummie walkers.
Has a budget been mentioned yet? Apologies if it has...but some suggestions are 2 or 3 x the 'national average', price wise.
In the tradition of recommending what you like rather than what the OP might actually want, Stirling area. Direct train to London starting in the new year, sleeper train or single change route to London already here. Easy flight to London City via Edinburgh (what I do for London work trips), which is only a 40 minute drive away. Loads of local trails and great access to pretty much most trails across Scotland (apart from those North of Inverness). Cheap to live. Relatively friendly locals. Not too cold. A bit wet, but that means everything is super green. Good transport links to Edinburgh and Glasgow when you fancy a change for the day.