Great places to live with riding from the door?

‘Lively’ in Sheffield looks a bit like this in and around the city centre.

I like Glossop. Western edge of the Peak District National Park with ace riding out of the door. Town has proper shops, decent pubs, bars and restaurants and friendly people plus a half-decent bike shop. It’s 30 minutes on the train into the bright lights of Manchester.
I get the love for Whaley Bridge, Hayfield, Marple etc, but the first two are too small village for me, ditto New Mills, while Marple – and Disley – just feel ‘urban’. The downside with Glossop is the traffic if you choose to drive into Manchester, which only an idiot would actually do, when you can simply get on a train. And bike commuting into Manchester is tough because you have to ride over a big hills, but that’s why the riding’s good.
I love that you can stand on the platform at Glossop station and there are big hills on three sides of you.
I like Sheffield, but I actually think the riding is better on this side of the Peak and I don’t want to live in a full-blown city or its suburbs, though yes, I realise it’s less city-like than most equivalents.
I’m still confused by people who think that ‘riding from the door’ involves a 30-minute drive ;-)

I also sort of get Hebden Bridge, but it always feels like the British anser to Rjukan, set in a valley so deep that the sun doesn’t reach it for half the year, but without the world class ice climbing… Nice riding, but I think I’d want to live up above it rather than in the valley itself.

‘Lively’ in Sheffield looks a bit like this in and around the city centre.

Ah, the good old days of living in S2 and kids going to Manor primary. Used to watch Police Camera Action and working out if it was our road or the next one the perps would turn down next….

Chorley for me.

bloody hell, didn’t think I’d see that pop up! Grew up there,  learned to MTB at Rivi and surrounds, couldn’t wait to leave. Riding was pretty staid but more importantly Chorley was quite a hole. Almost sad I have to list it as my place of birth on various forms as an adult… 

Calder Valley shirley.

As a few other locals have mentioned, it’s a steep sided valley surrounded by fantastic moorland with lung buster climbs and great descents as soon as you set foot outside your door.  Transpennine rail in the valley bottom so good access to Manchester and Leeds and at the head of the valley, Halifax is going through something of a renaissance with the Piece Hall now attracting some decent bands and acts and has some great pubs.

Mmm, Three Pigeons tomorrow night…

lived in the Lakes for a while (Montgomery had a car then)

Did I once give you a lift from Junction 40?

I live in Worrall, 5 miles North West of Sheffield city centre,  2 miles from the Peak National Park, 5 minute ride into Wharncliffe. It’s in S35 so doesn’t command the S6, S10 and S11 postcode prices.

I consider myself pretty lucky to have the benefits of a big city but quiet village location and riding so close.

Did I once give you a lift from Junction 40?

Bingo!

Surrey, where the locals are rude, you can’t get a proper cooked breakfast (avocado with everything!) and beer is expensive. Makes us glad to be at home in our MTB-desert.

It all true, every word. Especially about all us locals being rude. And the bacon, sausage, egg, beans and avocado doesn’t have much avocado in it.

I live in Worrall, 5 miles North West of Sheffield city centre, 2 miles from the Peak National Park, 5 minute ride into Wharncliffe. It’s in S35 so doesn’t command the S6, S10 and S11 postcode prices.

I consider myself pretty lucky to have the benefits of a big city but quiet village location and riding so close.

Worral, Oughtibridge and Middlewood are good alternatives actually to S10/11/17 postcodes as @teenrat says. I lived in the housing development at Middlewood hospital for a while and regularly rode Wharncliffe woods with almost no tarmac involved (just a pleasant woodland trail with a short steep bit of tarmac in between). Added bonus of the tram in to town for work and shopping and enough local shops and restaurants in Hillsborough too.

Hayfield (no good train connection though)

Erm, NO TRAIN CONNECTION full stop! Also a somewhat claustrophobically small local community, a tendency to be over-run by tourists much of the year and a constantly expanding number of Air BNBs. And the ever-present prospect of having Nick Craig float effortlessly past as you struggle to simply stay on the bike up some steep, rocky climb. Nice to visit, I’m not sure I’d want to live there. 

“endless gravel riding” is estate agent spin for “there is no MTB”

“… and the roads are catastrophically dangerous”.

New Mills is particularly good from a transport point of view with 2 train lines and decent doorstep riding. When I lived there it worked well for work/going out etc in Manchester and riding regularly.
Yeah Hayfield might be picture postcard nice and have immediate hill access… but no trains and touristmegeddon.
Marple/ Furness/ Whaley Bridge would be good too.
Surrey Hills? Well there are some spots with trains and close rides to the well-known trails but it’s £££s .
Somewhere like Haslemere would be good for trails and trains . Petersfield for QECP/ South Downs access too. Both are good towns with Petersfield being a bit cheaper,  relatively,  as both are on London train lines.

There’s good moorland xc up and down the country, but actual excellent MTB locations are rare in the UK (imho). Your doorstep riding just needs to be a MTB ride, but if you’re hours away from anywhere really good then it gets noticeable. This is a large part of S / mid / N England imho – it’s a blessing if you live in the Peak, Pennines, Dales etc for your doorstep riding but none of it is top tier MTBing as of today. I find I miss having that sort of destination riding within easy reach where I am (S Manc).

This is only really an issue if you just purely ride MTBs, which is likely a minority of people. I mean your bike commute is a more important consideration to your general life than how far away the Tweed, say, or BPW is.

Malvern anyone?

Never lived or ridden there, but have walked there a bit. In fact at the end of our NYE walk there saw Evie Richards on her way out for a quick one presumably. MTB must be OK with Tracy, Hattie and Evie living there, and it has a Waitrose plus an unusual concentration of Nepali restaurants and Buddhist temples.

Another vote for Hebden Bridge / Upper Calder Valley.

Following up on some of the earlier comments…

There is fantastic riding straight out the door if you’re fit and keen, but it’s a crap area for friendly, easy family riding with young children or unfit partners. If you’re not fit you’ll need to go elsewhere, get an ebike or be happy to walk and push at times (no hardship with the nice views round here). I’ll stick my bike on the roof if we’re going away somewhere, but 99.9% of my riding is from home. Mid-week riding is better than weekends if you can do it, quieter and fewer issues with other trail users (there’s a fair bit of trail conflict round here, the area’s become a victim of its own success with too many dicks about on mountain bikes).

Job opportunities very dependent on your line of work, but loads of commuters use the rail links to Leeds and Manchester. Commuting to Leeds or Manchester would be a time-wasting nightmare, friends have tried it but they gave up and moved elsewhere.

Culture wise there’s more going on here than you’ll find in most small towns, and the big cities aren’t far away (about half hour or forty minutes on train to centre of Manchester, Leeds a little bit more). Hebden, Tod, Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd all got different character (and house prices). If you don’t know the area then worth a few visits, or renting until you find what you like best. Personally I wouldn’t want to live right in Hebden itself, but it’s a great spot to have right on the doorstep.

The Rjukan / valley fever factor is definitely something to consider. If at all possible you want to avoid living on the dark (south) side of the valley unless you’re high up, the valley bottom where it’s narrow is gloomy and depressing. If your job / commute allows and you can actually find a suitable property available, then I’d go for one of the hilltop villages where you’ll get hours of extra daylight every day, especially in the winter. The flood risk is usually a lower up the hill as well.

The ice in the valley certainly isn’t as good or reliable as the riding, but when conditions are right there’s some good climbing to be had round here!

Edit:

Commuting to Leeds or Manchester BY CAR would be a time-wasting nightmare

New Mills is particularly good from a transport point of view with 2 train lines and decent doorstep riding.

I like New Mills from a geographical point of view, but it’s not really over-endowed with nice pubs or restaurants and there’s a choice between a Sainsbury Local, which is okay, but small with quite a limited range and a massively over-priced , small to medium-sized Co-op. The nearest large supermarket is Tesco in Whaley Bridge. 

On the plus side, Sam at Sett Valley Cycles is ace. The Torrs is genuinely impressive. And there’s good riding out of the front door on roads and/or trails. On balance though, I’d pick Glossop over New Mills every time. I just think it’s a nicer place to live and, as a bonus, seems to have a more reliable rail connection into Manchester than the shambolic service from either of the New Mills stations. 

Also, for some reason, a fair proportion of the drivers in New Mills think they’re extras from Fast and Furious – Death on the Streets. Either that or they’re shooting it locally and haven’t told anyone…

Great places to live with riding from the door that have decent job opportunities, good transport connections (ideally rail, if we’re trying to ditch cars) and a decent amount of liveliness to them?

We seem to have drifted from the original brief (above) and are now discussing which part of the northern powerhouse is least crap. I guess that shows that the main demographic of the forum and mag is now northerners who enjoy a good old fashioned xc ride. (On a MTB because gravel bikes are too modern, and you know, old achey bones!) Some of the places being suggested now have so few good points that the only way they meet the original criteria is by having a bridleway nearby and good access to a motorway.  :D

We seem to have drifted from the original brief (above) and are now discussing which part of the northern powerhouse is least crap.

Tbf, I think that’s just me being grumpy about various bits of the western edge of the Peak District rather than a more general trait :-)

In Hampshire, Petersfield has to be up there for road and offroad riding. Right in the middle of lovely lanes/hills, plus Rogate and QECP very close.

Tbf, I think that’s just me being grumpy about various bits of the western edge of the Peak District rather than a more general trait 🙂

No, there’s been a few places mentioned that I vaguely know and have wondered wtf? :D

Just to boost New Mill’s cultural appeal and to balance out the Fast and Furious element…it has an arts theatre! 

How’s the Fox at Brook Bottom these days? Used to be a good post ride pint spot. 

Just to boost New Mill’s cultural appeal and to balance out the Fast and Furious element…it has an arts theatre! 

I’ve just googled it to check it’s Decent Amount Of Liveliness score. It has Ali Baba running for a few weeks, then a Bon Jovi tribute, then Roy Chubby Brown. I’d say that’s quite a low DAOL score? I’m not moving to New Mills to be nearer to Roy Chubby Brown’s gigs.

(I’m quite bored in work today. :D )

I know a couple who’ve just moved to Hebden Bridge and they aren’t even cyclists.

Göteborg is good, but you know. Brexit put paid to that…

(and i don’t even live there)

Within the UK the Stirling area is hard to beat, though depends on what you do job wise of course.

Could always move a long way – Rotorua keeps coming up but Nelson at the top of the South Island NZ is better IMO – and why I moved here two years ago! Loads of biking, a great MTB community and a lively small city.

How’s the Fox at Brook Bottom these days? Used to be a good post ride pint spot. 

It’s a curious journey back in time to an indeterminate point in the last half of the 20th Century, but it’s still there and still serving beer. It’s a nice place for a summer evening pint with a view across the valley, but I’ve not been inside for a while now. They still do the mulled wine and outside bar thing on Boxing Day with added Morris dancing…

For me, for somewhere to be a truly great place to live it must have good riding from the door of the non mountain bike kind as well as good riding from the door.  

I am lucky enough to live in a great place that has pretty good from the door riding… of a hills woods and bridleways kind.  I didn’t chose to live here as this is where I come from and I like it.  In fact apart from applying for jobs and going to uni I have never made an active choice to live somewhere.  This thread has made me think about how that would feel and it’s quite an interesting exercise.

Anyway, what sucks about Gower is that hardly anyone cycles for getting about.  There is no ‘utility cycling’ culture here at all.  It’s full of people who have moved here for the sea, landscape, surf, schools, etc. and they all drive everywhere all the time.  My friends, many of whom work in right on green jobs, drive everywhere. My colleagues drive everywhere.   It’s bonkers as the place is tiny and you can cycle round it in no time… I get why you need to drive lots if you live in rural mid Wales but not here. 

So… if I was going to move somewhere truly great with good riding from the door I’d also want to be able to use my  bike for all local journeys on nice quiet roads where other people do the same, or at the very least have fewer cars on roads that I have to use. 

Surpsised Hebden Bridge or Todmorden haven’t been heavily mentioned. Local riding is amazing (if a little niche) and both towns have stuff going on (again, a little niche) and commutable on the train to Leeds or Manchester. 

Well, Skipton has just been described as the ‘Ibiza of Yorkshire’ in the Mirror. Is that lively enough for you? And we definitely have riding from the door… ;)

Does it have to be in the UK?

Sheffield IS good. Riding out through the parks is pretty bland and you end up at Lady Cannings etc but pick somewhere like Crookes and you can ride out through Rivelin which has numerous options and little descents and you end up on Stanage which is fantastic. New stuff constantly being built too.

I ride out the door and in under 5 minutes of quiet back streets I’m on Bole Hill DH, from the bottom of that I can head up the Rivelin valley or navigate Hillsborough and ride out to Wharncliffe along the river.

It’s a slog back up the hill at the end of the day but views and starting on a brilliant DH make it worth it.

East Lancashire has loads of good riding and cheaper house prices than the Calder Valley. The downside is the local towns though. Trains and buses to Preston and Manc though. I lived outside Burnley and had loads of bridleways and permissive paths onto the moors and into town. I now live near Penrith in the Eden Valley and the local off-road cycling options are practically nil. I prefer the Rith to Burnley though!

what sucks about Gower

Access in general is a pain in the arse.  You can’t get in our out without going through Swansea in some form or another and you either drive miles around or get stuck in horrible jams.  Or both.  And the riding is quite limited, unless you do one of the above mentioned drives :)

Access in general is a pain in the arse.  You can’t get in our out without going through Swansea in some form or another and you either drive miles around or get stuck in horrible jams.  Or both. 

No worse than getting in to central Cardiff, as we’ve discussed before. It’s just that you use the worst way in at the worst times! I drove back from Cardiff on Sunday with no issues at all. Of course, if you’re trying to reach a popular beach in south Gower on a sunny, warm weekend morning then you’re going to have problems, as you would in Cornwall, etc.

And the riding is quite limited, unless you do one of the above mentioned drives

Gower has a decent amount of riding for a small area, not just the one classic ride that pops up constantly. But, as a small peninsular with only a few roads off it, steep climbs over it, and being an AONB and so on, there’s not going to be miles of off-road riding. It’s only, what, 12 miles long and 5 miles across? The fact that bikepackers generally take two days to ride it says something.

Having said that, he accessible riding in and around Swansea far outshines that of Cardiff. From where I live in central Swansea, I have two areas of  trails (Clyne and Kilvey) about 3 miles in each direction, with Troserch about 10 miles away. The trails at Briton ferry are a 9 mile ride each way, mainly along a canal. I can ride to Afan for a slightly longer day out. There are unofficial trails up the Swansea valley, over above Skewen, pretty much in every direction except south because of the sea! And you can surf that, or SUP, or just sit near it drinking beer. :D

Edinburgh fits the  bill.  surprisingly good riding from your door and a great place to live

Abergavenny should get an honourable mention. Seems to be an influx of bikey types moving in from Bristol (who previously moved out of London). The road bike scene was always strong in the town with great local sponsorship leading to many events in the town and our own Olympian. Goes without saying that there is great MTB straight from the town (which also has a station), and within a 40 minute radius you get most of the South Wales valley, BPW, Dirt Farm FOD, The Gap, The Beacons and the Black Mountains. Road links are good with Dual/motorway straight to Bristol, Cardiff or London (2 hours pre-speed cameras!). Big Foodie culture if that’s your scene, Hay Festival, etc. Only thing missing is a thriving Beer Scene.Biggest issue is finding somewhere affordable as everyone and his dog wants to live here!

Big Foodie culture if that’s your scene, Hay Festival, etc. 

And two Nepalese restaurants! Two more than down here!

Surpsised Hebden Bridge or Todmorden haven’t been heavily mentioned.

Thought they had.

They always are.