I rode stuff in Surrey just the other day that scared me more/as much than some of the DH runs I've done in Scotland and the alps. Not very long admittedly but plenty steep and techy, and plenty of them.
Just a matter of knowing where to look. Its not having the gradient that matters, but what you do with the gradient.
I never really get this "my area is better than your area" crap that gets spouted off in forums. There are great areas up north and down south – great, it means people can get around and ride other places and enjoy them – too few people (on this website in particular) do that.
I've said this before, I've never shown anyone the trails I ride down here and not seen a massive grin on their faces. If you don't want to try that or believe it, I won't lose any sleep over it.