Seconded that on Warrington; the whole area is ghastly, flat and congested with traffic. The “island” between the M6 and the M61 is difficult to access and a complete ball-ache if you’re unfortunate enough to be in a car.
Study the OS 1:25,000 map and look north of Bury – you’ll see that the Rossendale valley heads north towards Rawtenstall and then curves east where it joins up with Calderdale, the home of STW. The entire length of both valleys offers magnificent views and great mountain biking. The mind-blowing choice of off-road routes is thanks to the pre-industrial sheep farmers who carried their goods around on packhorse trains, creating a complex network of tracks, some of which are now bridleways. With industrialisation came the mills, canals and quarries with access tracks and roads – look at the area of hills north of Rochdale, starting with the amazing Rooley Moor Road (so-called Famine Road) and ending at Lee Quarry and you’ll begin to understand how good the area is for mountain biking. Have a look at this very good website for a taste of the quality terrain on offer:
http://www.idonohoe.com/moorland-gallery.htm
So to find a house that’s near the M60/M66 is not too difficult as it’s a buyer’s market around here. Look north of Bury in Summerseat, Greenmount and Holcombe, Ramsbottom and all the way up the East Lancs railway to Rawtenstall, home of the very excellent Ride On cycles and some quality restaurants including Nino’s Italian’ almost next door. Oh and if you like beer there must be a dozen craft breweries within riding distance as well.
Ask again if you need any more advice. I could even take you out for a spin in the car to see some of these delights in exchange for a pub lunch.