[Closed] Yorkshire relocation....but where?

Harrogate.

somewhere on the north of leeds, cos the south is terrible.

Live in Mirfield. Good links to Leeds/Manchester.

Nice bit of riding from your door, bonus!

Skipton/Settle - easy commute in to the centre by train and the whole of the Dales on your doorstep!

i would love to live in settle myself.

Northallerton

Kirkburton / Denby Dale / Skelmanthorpe / Shelley area. All close to M1 for Leeds & Sheffield, can ride, run + walk in hills on your doorstep, relatively close to Holmfirth and Peak District.

SW Sheffield - takes me 20mins to cycle (downhill) to the city centre one way, and 20mins to cycle (uphill) to the Peak District the other way.

Either Penistone area I.e. S36/S75 bits roubd there or Sheffield if you need to be in town.

West Sheffield best of all worlds

Settle is too far from Leeds, IMO. Train service starts to get patchy after Skipton.

If it's Leeds, and you can afford it, Harrogate, Ilkley, Skipton are all pretty good for access to the Dales.

You might consider nicer bits along the Huddersfield corridor, but I know nothing of these...

Huddersfield. Home of the Sweary Northerners and the CVMBC.

Really depends where you will end up working. Leeds/Bradford has really, really bad traffic. Depending on where the job is in Leeds will determine where to live as traffic is that bad.

Riding from your door, i don't think you can beat the Aire Valley for riding from the door.

Harrogate has a bit, but certainly not in the same league. Northallerton was completely flat last time I was there...

Manchester.

😉

Why would he want to live in the 3rd World Terrahawk? 😉

As has been mentioned, if you're commuting into Leeds centre, you really, really, really, really want to be doing it on public transport. The roads around the whole of West Yorkshire are a nightmare at rush hour. That said, I did Leeds centre to Halifax last night at 5pm along the M62 in ~40 minutes which isn't bad going. North Leeds outside the ring road is good - Pool, Otley, Ilkley etc. All nice little places but not sure what transport links are like?

I'll add my totally biased opinion and say that if you were looking at working in Leeds centre, Calderdale should feature high on your list. ~40 minutes sat on a train from Halifax/Sowerby Bridge/Mytholmroyd/Hebden and reasonable house prices, beautiful scenery and obviously the riding on your doorstep (which for me is priceless!). I'll never fail to reccommend Skircoat Green/Savile Park in Halifax as nice places to live. 15 minute walk to the station (trains every 15 mins to Leeds), nice mix of houses, good schools etc, nice 'local' shops and awesome riding. Good road links too (5 minutes to the M62).

York... Hmmm, I'm from York originally and I've got to say, it'd take something special for me to go back. Its a lovely place, no doubt about it but more expensive to live vs where I am now and the (off road) biking from your door is almost non-existant. 30/40 minute drive to Dalby/Helmsley is about as good as it gets. York Council seem to be doing a pretty good job of self destructing as well by closing off Lendal Bridge at peak times so driving anywhere within the outer ring road is soemthing akin to hell on earth. If a dream job came up in York I'd take it........ and live somewhere else.

Don't know much about Sheffield. By all accounts its a good place to live for bike'ey types - very much like Leeds with two crap football teams 😉

Keep it in the West Riding, the true home of Yorkshire.

Thanks for the suggestions... and nice try terrahawk! I'm not a fan of commuting by car and hate the prospect of sitting in large traffic jams. I'd heard that the traffic around York was awful but hadn't appreciated what it was like around Leeds so I would much rather commute by train. The suggestions about sensibly priced housing are much appreciated as I would like to have some cash at the end of the month.

Good schools - I hadn't even broached that one...

Are there nice wee parts of Leeds in the city itself?

I live in York. Great place to live, except Fri/Sat night during hen night season. Fantastic place for a young family. Good road riding, very cycle friendly city (police, ambulance and posties still on bikes) with loads if cycle paths, but you have to drive a bit (30-45 minutes) for much decent MTB.

And given its touristy nature a lot of the restaurants aren't as good as they should be - too easy to take someone's money once, and don't worry about repeat trade 'cos they're gone at the end of the week. There are good ones but they need hunting out.

Edit: just read DBW's post. We live in York and commute out (Castleford and Grimsby as it happens). On the south side of York that's very easy. If your job takes you to London much, York is faster than Leeds. Commuting into York is what hack bikes are for - you won't be the only one and a lot of the time you don't have to go on road until you get very close in to the centre.

the true home of Yorkshire

Eh?

Ok. 🙄

We moved to Huby, about 10 miles north of York, and I loved it there.

Like DBW Said, I too would move back in an instant if work came up there.

Bingley is commutable to Leeds centre by bike/train 1hr/train 20mins. Housing to suit all pockets.

Bear in mind too that the trains are hell at rush hour too.

Are there nice wee parts of Leeds in the city itself

That will depend entirely on what you're after. If you're single or have no kids, and socialising is high on your list of requirements, then there are plenty of apartments in close proximity to Leeds centre that will fit the bill. Pricey though, you'd get better value elsewhere. Roundhay/Chapel Allerton/Headingley etc probably a better bet if you were wanting more traditional housing, but again they're pricey!

What do you do by the way?

if working in Leeds - look somewhere to the north.
if working in Sheffield - look somewhere to the west/south west.

don't go to Mirfield! i grew up there and it's ok, but the riding from the door is much better in other places, as above.

We lived in Chapel Allerton in Leeds which was a nice area. Would have stayed if we could have afforded to buy a house.

pretty much what's been said above...

If Leeds and you have to live in Leeds City Council areas then stick to the north of town, outside the ring road. Bear in mind that the further east you get the more claggy the soil. Further west into the Bradford district & the underlying stuff becomes more gritty, drains better than N Leeds clay. If Bradford, try stick to Bingley/Baildon/Saltaire & outlying villages such as Harden, Wilsden, Cullingworth. Keighley doesn't have much to recommend it other than the steam railway and Haworth/Oxenhope

Train lines into Leeds from the north & west (best hills!):

Airedale line - Skipton - Keighley - Bingley - Shipley (best avoid the centre of Shipley but Saltaire & Baildon are good) - Leeds;

Wharfedale line - Ilkley - Menston - Guiseley - Leeds; all good, and hilly too. Baildon & Shipley are just down the hill from Menston & Guiseley, rides in one area generally tend to flow in & out of the other
Otley is not on a railway line but Menston isn't far. The A660 into Leeds gets really bad once you cross the outer ring road at Weetwood and will get worse for a while if the trolleybus ever gets started

Harrogate line: York - Knaresborough - Harrogate - Horsforth (Horsforth is nice too)

don't know too much about the southwest (cleckuddersfax) or East (York/Selby)

south of Leeds, no-mans land until you get to Morley 😉
East Ardsley is semi-rural but no railway station even though the east coast main line spur to Leeds goes past the edge of the village; getting into Wakefield area, Wrenthorpe, Outwood, Stanley all ok to good; south of Wakefield I'd only recommend Sandal or Newmillerdam. East of Wakefield is flat & empty. Apart from classy Cas.

Getting from north of Leeds / Bradford to anywhere south of them during rush hour, and vice versa, is a nightmare.
When the M62 is flowing well, it's good. but when it's bad it's a disaster.
if work ends up in Sheffield, don't go any further north than Barnsley - but if you end up in Barnsley you'll need an interpreter 😉

. Northallerton was completely flat last time I was there...

It still is but the North York Moors are only 8-10 miles away 8)

Mirfield? I've driven through there so many times and went to the Hardtimes club there. Its one of those places thats 'grey' IMO. Not a bad thing.

I would not commute from Jct23 to Leeds way on the M62 for any money.

Ooo, forgot about Bingley/Harden/Wilsden etc. Real nice area and top notch riding!

Some good riding from Mirfield. Not ridden from there in a couple of years now but up through Hopton Woods, around the golf course, Bluebell/Lady Woods and over towards Coxley Woods/Middlestown etc - all good little rides and almost totally off anyones 'where shall I ride' radar.

Mirfield - having grown up there the riding is ok for an hour or two.
Not a patch on west Sheffield where I also lived, or out towards Bingley, or Halifax.

I live 7 miles out of York to the south.
Wonderful place and excellent for kids if that's a consideration. Schools are all of a high standard, and there are no real bad areas (compared to Salford/Manchester where we lived for 10 years).

Plenty of road riding to be had over towards the Wolds.
MTB 40 mins away on the Moors or Dalby.

Transport routes are not too bad, but I commute into York by bike, so pass any stationary traffic. Can do the 7 miles as fast as any car.

People seem to have a real sense of community too.

Train from York to Leeds is reasonable, and link to London is less that 2 hours.

Would like a few more hills though. I make do with finding new non-road routes.

[Edit] Lived in and around Sheffield too and loved it. It was very student orientated, but felt like it had a large town, rather than a city feel. From Hunter's Bar we used to pick our way through the parks to the peaks most weekends. Have very happy memories of our time there.

I know a nice B&B in Northallerton that I could recommend should you need to do a reccy. They accommodate bikes too.

I live in Chapel Allerton and like it a lot, singletrack within a mile of my doorstep.

As per FunkyDuncs comments commuting into and out of Leeds by car can be a bitch, it frequently takes me 45 mins to do 3 miles to get out of the city in a morning during which I pass the queue of folk trying to get into Leeds which often backs up onto the M621, they often queue all the way from Huddersfield to Leeds on a morning, in an evening this pattern reverses.

If your working in Leeds and can also live in the city I would for the sake if avoiding all the time you'll lose commuting.

chriswilk is right, just ignore DBW and sandwicheater, there's nothing worth riding from the Mirfield area, move along - nothing to see here.... 😉

Is that you G? Hows the little 'un doing? We need to ride!

ooh, I forgot to mention Batley. Avoid.

ooh, I forgot to mention Batley. Avoid.

If there's one comment on this thread that I'm confident will achieve a unanimous consensus (of agreement), it's that one!

DBW - I think you'd struggle to get a visa to move back as you've been in the West Riding too long and have become naturalised to their ways 😉

York is ok. Good for road biking (in the triangle between the A19 and A64). It's crap for mtb though. The Howardian Hills are just a mudfest most of the time so you need to travel to the North York Moors (Dalby/Sutton Bank/Ruddland Rigg). The best NYM riding is on the other side though (Danby/Lealholme) imho. Traffic is crap (best to cycle/walk/run if you can). Transport links are good but of you're heading into West Yorks it's not cheap as it's outside the WY Public Transport thingy. House prices are quite high.

I live in Skipton and love it. House prices are good, schools are good, lots of hills near by and Leeds 40 mins on the train. Trains to Leeds are every half an hour through the day and are quite modern.

If you want sensibly priced houses avoid Harrogate/Ilkley.

Forgot to say, got mates in York and really like it there but the riding is a bit pants without a journey. It'd be high on my list if I had to move from Skipton.

Sod off, were full. 😯

Dewsbury and Batley areas are a little different, but have lots of old railway tracks converted to cycle trails. Not my idea of a good time, but OK for the wife and kids. Not recommended after dark!

. Northallerton was completely flat last time I was there...
It still is but the North York Moors are only 8-10 miles away

And some great riding in the Hambleton hills too

Dewsbury: I once wore a dress there out, modelled at Frontier nightclubfor a fashion HND end of year show and streaked through a pub butt-naked for a bet..

johndoh - Member

. Northallerton was completely flat last time I was there...
It still is but the North York Moors are only 8-10 miles away

And some great riding in the Hambleton hills too

There certainly is 😀

To the "avoid Batley" post, can I add Beeston.

and Thornbury/Laisterdyke

Harrogate, Skipton, Alwoodley, Roundhay, Cottingham, Otley, Ilkley are all really lovely places.

Avoid the city centre, North East / West and South Leeds.

Harrogate, or Huddersfield. Lived in both. Like both 🙂

Is that you G? Hows the little 'un doing? We need to ride!

Any chance an old acquaintance (from nigh on 10 yrs ago...) can get in on that?

Yep as has been said, north leeds is good for nice areas and proximity to good riding spots. But you pay for it. Harrogate the same. Sheffield obviously near to peaks, warncliffe etc. East of leeds is flat, but area's like Woodlesford (where I am) rothwell or garforth and colton are decent areas and not too exspensive. And great for transport links.

Move to Harrogate and get a spot on The Stray ready for next July.

I can't believe how many friends want to come to visit us for the weekend next July...

Ilkey? Right on the hill, 1 mile from the dales NP. 20 mins to leeds on the train and a great cycling and running community. Ok it a bit pricey for houses as stated above

Just moved to Calderdale and we absolutely love it. Great riding from the door, stunning scenery, nice friendly places with lots going on. I've seen The Orb, Dreadzone and Andy Weatherall at a venue 10 mins walk from my house, but I can be riding an awesome technical descent in about 10 minutes on the bike going the other way, or walking through beautiful spots like Hardcastle Crags. Lee Quarry and Cockhill just down the road. Train to Leeds or Manchester (direct) in about 40 mins.

Only downside is in a bit further from the Lakes than I used to be in Lancaster.

Hebden is pretty pricy but nice - Tod is slightly less pricy and a bit less posh but still nice IMO. Halifax is nice in places. 🙂 Some gorgeous spots just up out of Halifax on the hills

Depends on where you work and what your job is.
South east leeds is nice, and most folk above sum up the areas fairly.
Woodlesford is nice (where I am) and 10 mins from Leeds by train. Excellent motorway links too.
You need to live on the side of leeds where you work or be prepared to wait in traffic.

[i]Getting from north of Leeds / Bradford to anywhere south of them during rush hour, and vice versa, is a nightmare.[/i]

This.

This is great guys, a clearish picture is emerging. I would be working in the teaching hospital and possibly the university and I see the station isn't that far from the hospital.

Can you commute [u]safely[/u] by bike from any of these northern (out of ring-road) areas? What is the local cycle network like?

Out of interest, I was looking at some met office climate data - is it true that leeds is so much wetter than york and sheffield and a couple of degrees cooler in the summer? Seems crazy given the relative proximity of all these places.

I do have a family with a 2 and 4 year old so family friendly with good schools is top of the list (with access to hills a very close 2nd!). Thanks again.

Can you commute safely by bike from any of these northern (out of ring-road) areas? What is the local cycle network like?

If you're on the canal then it's an easy commute to the centre of leeds and a further 10 mins to the University.

It's around an hour's ride from Shipley into town.

I would be working in the teaching hospital

LGI or Jimmy's?

Can you commute safely by bike from any of these northern (out of ring-road) areas? What is the local cycle network like?

well there's the Meanwood Valley Trail which IIRC goes all the way out to Bramhope (Golden Acre Park), from there it pretty well follows the A660 in through Meanwood (duhh) & Headingley into the university. can get boggy in winter. and summer, and spring, and autumn...

From the west you've got the Leeds & Liverpool canal going all the way to, er, Liverpool, pretty much following the Aire Valley train line; from the east you've again got the canal (Aire & Calder), and a fairly short, albeit busy ride up from the canals to the uni. LGI is nearer to town than Jimmy's but even so, not by that much really

otherwise the A65 out through Kirkstall to Horsforth, Guiseley, Ilkley, Skipton and, if you keep going, Kendal... bit hilly outbound mind. I wouldn't like to cycle on the A64/A63 in from the east, or the A647 in from Bradford / West Leeds. A653 / A61 from the south, A660/A61 from the north. None of which I'd recommend by car in rush hour

Out of interest, I was looking at some met office climate data - is it true that leeds is so much wetter than york and sheffield and a couple of degrees cooler in the summer? Seems crazy given the relative proximity of all these places.

not that you'd notice. marginally drier than Bradford, distinctly more so than Manchester

See lots of people cycling on the A660 into / from the centre through Bramhope.

Trains would be handy for getting to Leeds General Infirmary and the Uni, but would be less ideal for getting to St James.

House prices can vary quite significantly between neighbouring areas e.g. 3 bed semi in Bramhope would be more expensive than neighbouring Otley, Yeadon, Cookridge or Horsforth, so would be worth having a look around various areas and getting local property papers to see the price differentials.

Don't rule out living in the city itself - there's lots of lovely areas in North Leeds - Headingley, Far Headingley, West Park, Cookridge, Adel, parts of Meanwood, Oakwood, Roundhay, Alwoodley, Moortown, Horsforth, Chapel Allerton which would enable you to commute by bike or bus. Somewhere like Oakwood, Roundhay or Chapel Allerton would be ideal for getting to both teaching hospitals and the Uni.

Great Schools (Outstanding primary 200m from my house!), 9 minute train ride to Leeds, canal to cycle into the centre on nice days.... Check out Woodlesford (biased!).
Only thing is... no hills for mountain biking, but good driving links for getting other places.

You have a 2 year old and a 4 year old?

The answer is York - we have the NRM.

Don't rule out living in the city itself - there's lots of lovely areas in North Leeds - Headingley, Far Headingley

Lovely if you have a thing for students.

I've lived in West Leeds (Headingley), North Leeds (Roundhay), East Leeds (Woodlesford) and I currently live in South Leeds (Morley). Leeds is ace.

I just wanted to give my opionion on South Leeds..

South Leeds has some rough parts but there are some nice areas as well (Churwell, Guildersome, parts of Morley), but it has good access to huddersfield, Calderdale, Halifax, Hebden bridge via the motorway. It has a good Local bike shop as well - Garage Bikes. Generally south Leeds has more affordable housing - so depends on your budget.

I've lived in South Leeds now for 6 years, and had no trouble crime-wise. But had our house robbed and I got mugged in North Leeds in the 3 years I lived there. Go figure.

South Leeds has good motorway links to the M1, M62/M621 so you can be most places pretty quickly. If you see yourself travellening and riding a bit more south then South Leeds is worth a look.

I often cycle to work via a combination of road, wooded singletrack and cyclepaths. \m/

On days when I don't cycle in, the Motorway takes you right into Leeds - which is a bonus as it is rarely congested, which I can't say for all the other areas I have lived in.

Another vote for checking out Woodlesford as well, hidden gem. Although beware of buying near HS2 if it happens.

tomhoward - Member

Harrogate, or Huddersfield. Lived in both. Like both

Is that you G? Hows the little 'un doing? We need to ride!

Any chance an old acquaintance (from nigh on 10 yrs ago...) can get in on that?

Ayup Tom ,have dropped you an email.

I would be working in the teaching hospital

Are you aware of the 'interesting' dynamics within LTH? Obviosuly I know nothing about what you do, but it is notorious in the area for a management team that doesnt communicate, bad relations between clinical and non clinical staff, disorganisation.

Dont get me wrong, I know people who have worked there/do work there and they enjoy the job, but other Trust do have a better culture (ie Sheffield)

DBW - I think you'd struggle to get a visa to move back as you've been in the West Riding too long and have become naturalised to their ways

Yep, 10 years this year 😀

I keep telling you to move over here too. Means after work drinks which inevitably lead to mountains of meat, growler and drunkeness in Leeds are easier to do... and its dead cheap to get the train home afterwards!

Otley, far enough away from Leeds to have it's own identity but still easy to commute in.

Been here 22 years now. Won't be moving unless I have to.

We were pretty much decided on Horsforth or Otley before circumstances led us across the Pennines.

You have a 2 year old and a 4 year old?

The answer is York - we have the NRM.

So, I managed to land a job working mainly in York, but also Leeds and I'm moving down this summer with my wee family 🙂

We're taking a campervan from Keighley this weekend and fancied dropping by the dales and then travelling from skipton>otley to York on sat. Where would you suggest camping around the skipton south dales area? Also suggestions for campsites around York, Dalby or on the coast near Filey for the following night would be much appreciated

Could I mention Elland and surrounding area, like stainland, greetland, barkisland?
Some lovely houses for sale and M62 is 2 mins from Elland.
Also great riding from your doorstep.
Deffo avoid Batley though..and Dewsbury....and Hecky. Just thinkin of living in Batley again really makes me sweaty

We're taking a campervan from Keighley this weekend and fancied dropping by the dales and then travelling from skipton>otley to York on sat. Where would you suggest camping around the skipton south dales area? Also suggestions for campsites around York, Dalby or on the coast near Filey for the following night would be much appreciated

There's a nice site at Little Stainforth just north of Settle. Run by MTBers as well, I think, although I may have hallucinated that bit. Good riding out of the gate, and a nice riverbanky bit for picnicking.

There's a nice little campsite right in Dalby forest,
http://stoneclosecampsite.co.uk/the-site/

Near Skipton, check out this place
http://www.masonscampsite.co.uk/

2 great pubs nearby and a easy access from Skipton in to the Dales to check out part of the tour route and explore Grassington, Kettlewell and the villages before maybe heading over to Hawes.

Otley!

Been there 22 years now, not planning on going anywhere else.

Chris

Near Skipton, check out this place
http://www.masonscampsite.co.uk/

Forgot about Masons, actually a better plan. Couple of really nice pubs, good riding nearby, swimming in the river near Burnsall if it's hot.

Campsite reasonably close in to York at Acaster Malbis.

York is poor for from the door MTB, but good for road riding, and excellent for kids riding - lots of cycle paths.
If you are considering York, live on the south side near the A64 if you ever want to travel during the rush hour. The north side ring road is terrible.

f you are considering York, live on the south side near the A64 if you ever want to travel during the rush hour

... provided that it's not Scarborough that you want to get to 😉 Nearly missed my sister's wedding thanks to traffic on the A64 between York & Malton

There's actually a little campsite right in burnsall as well, can't remember what it's called though. Masons is bloody expensive and doesn't have many pitches as they can only open their second field so many days a year, mainly BH's. It is nice around there though.

There's a nice site called threplands off north lane, Cracoe nr skipton, although there's a website called threplands house farm which has pictures of a different place. Threplands doesn't take bookings though so just turn up.

Stayed here in Filey for a night in the van a couple of weeks back - http://www.centenarywaycamping.co.uk/

Nice spot, playground for kids. Apparently walkable to the beach but we were parked on the front by the prom by about 1000 before the hordes.

Beware that the beach at Filey town itself gets covered at high tide so check times if you're planning on doing any digging.

Welcome to Yorkshire - a county big enough to live, work and holiday in. "Waaar would thaa want to go anywaaar else"