[Closed] North East England - where's good to live and ride?

moving up north... my commiserations dude *hug*

A mate lives in Hexham and there are a few groups that ride there I think

Hexham - you can join our Wednesday night ride...

northern edge of the north york moors national park. small towns that come to mind, yarm, stokesley, great ayton and guisborough. could ride from the house/without driving (except yarm) onto moors/woods. theres a few smaller places too. i mostly ride alone, or with one/two friends but believe there is a regular riding community in and around guisborough.

Durham's a good place to look, less than an hour from Newcastle & Teesside airports, 45 mins from the North York Moors, an hour from Swaledale, close to Hamsterley & the North Pennines beyond & mebbe less than 1 1/5 hours from the boring, rolling hills of the Cheviots.
Depends on your budget though dunnit?

Probably want to have a look up the Tyne Valley - Corbridge, Wylam, even Hexham. Keeps you on the right side of the town for access to the airport (A69 is decent road in for you) - that's access to the wilds.

North of the city you're looking at things like Stannington (nice little village) maybe, or up to Morpeth. Again, just off the main A1 so commutable with ease.

Again, you have a choice - east of city is seaside so not much riding, south is Gateshead/Sunderland but again urban and a bad way to be coming into Newcastle (though if you're used to London traffic it probably seems like an open carfree road).

An hour you say?

Hexham area

Morpeth area

Rothbury area will come with doorstep riding

Alnwick area, some really nice people live in this area and me. Not quite doorstep riding well nothing exciting but it's a short hop to the Cheviots.

Durham area is nice too.

Your spoilt for choice and it's all clean too and not overcrowded not like the south.

Bear in mind anything that requires you to drive past Team Valley/Metrocentre on the A1 will take you a long time (especially at Christmas when all the grannies go out in rush hour to buy presents).

If your working south of Tyne then live south of tyne - and vice versa.

I work in Newcastle City Centre and live on the coast near Alnwick. No riding as such from doorstep but 30 min drive to Rothbury area and some secret spots.

Commute to Newcastle on the train from Alnmouth normally at £40 per week.

40min drive to Newcastle.

Id say from what you have suggested - Morpeth, Alnwick, Hexham, larger nice towns but they all do have rough areas (like anywhere really).

Loads of nice places about, Rothbury for riding but no big shops or anything (you may even see some Raoul Moat mourners hanging by the riverside) - Corbridge, Wylam, Warkworth, even up Bellingham area there will be good riding places near (Kileder) but small town - few pubs and local stores.

I lived in Newcastle for 5 years and thoroughly enjoyed all the excellent riding around Chopwell, Prudhoe and the surroundings valleys all accessed from the city centre by bike, by riding out past the Metro Centre to Rowlands Gill and onwards, or North through the Race Course out towards the coast

great bike club at the University who were happy for non-students to come out riding on Wednesday afternoons and Sundays

also found it very easy to take trips by car (with driving friends) to Thrunton, etc.

I know of a nice 3 bed house that is for sale in Newcastle, and another in Hexham if your interested 🙂

I have a revolutionary idea. Live dead close to your work so it takes no time at all to get there, or hopefully you can bike. Then for the nights or days when you want to go riding either bike there or get in the car and drive the say 40mins to Rothbury/Thrunton.

I come from Rothbury and would really like to live there but could not stand commuting all the time. I used to do it from Sheffield to Nottingham every day taking about 2 hours out of my life. Now it is 10 minutes to ride to work, see my friends and Family more often and am less tired so I can do more riding and am not a grumpy git, well most of the time.

Hexham (where I live)

Local trails:
[url= http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2074/1800601506_c48884e0fc.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2074/1800601506_c48884e0fc.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/1800601506/ ]Moorland Singletrack[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr

Geda - I live dead close to work (1 mile) AND i can go riding without havign to drive anywhere. 🙂

Carbon337 - Hexham's "rough area" isn't too bad.

As a southerner looking for small/medium size towns in the NE, I'd say that you don't have that many options (bearing in mind most places known as towns here would be thought of as villages to many southtrons, including some places mentioned before). Towns within 1 hour of Newcastle with decent riding nearby (and some local clubs etc)? I'd say Alnwick, Hexham, Shotley/ Consett/ Castleside, Barney.

Then you have the likes of Richmond... but that's not really the North East any more.

I wouldn't personally recommend Morpeth area for riding. Wooler is probably a village by southern standards, but is a pretty big one and about 1hr from town. Rothbury the same but closer, ditto most Tynedale settlements mentioned and Stanhope (all tick the boxes for riding locally on and off road). Morpeth and SE N'land is crap for riding by local standards. As a few people have said, Newcastle itself isn't a bad bet as it has decent access to several areas, several road clubs and saves the waste of commuting. Just not much great off road stuff on your doorstep.

ir_bandito- that must be a recent pic, I bet it looks just like that out on the moors just now...

To be fair he said an hour max anyway.

Bully for you. So can I. I takes 1 hour riding on cycle paths to get to the forest but that's my endurance training.

As a few people have said, Newcastle itself isn't a bad bet as it has decent access to several areas, several road clubs

So does Morpeth and it's a rather nice area.

Don't live in Consett. It's my home town, whilst there's some decent riding round there it's dull as owt and full of idiots (more so when I visit).

October 28th. (2007)
So no, not recent. But it is like that on Hexhamshire Common in the dry.

Nearer to town:
[url= http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2260/1799774769_acfaa2f87e.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2260/1799774769_acfaa2f87e.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/1799774769/ ]Home[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr

Mattjg,

Just come and visit. A half day drive around Tyne Valley and just sth Newcastle will instantly give you a feel.

+1 ir_bandito and bajsyckel

Hey thanks all for so much info so fast, appreciate that. Re commuting that's not an issue, I work online. I walk to the home-office and my fingers cover the rest of the distance.

Mackem I've been to Consett and hear you well on that (my other half is from Great Lumley).

north yorkshire is not far. i regularly travelled from teesside to gosforth in about 50 minutes, via a19/tyne bridge route. about 1 hour middlesbrough to newcastle airport.
speaking of gosforth, thats a very nice place to livebut not a small town.

I think I forgot to mention that I need a selection of pubs selling soft southern shandies, and a fishie-on-a-dishie shop of course.

goodwill

All the band down from Hexham to Durham ie. west of Newcastle is mostly good and you'll be spoiled for choice with riding . Problem with knowing where to live is that you really don't know what an area is like until you get local knowledge. There are some big new developments in Consett and it's not as bad as it used to be (seriously Mackem 😉 ). By the same token, places which look idyllic (usually described in estate agent speak as charming semi-rural former mining village close to Durham eg. Sacriston) might have a well deserved bad rep.

I tend to get to most of the bad places on a fairly regular basis around Durham/Consett/Stanley/Rowlands Gill areas, so if you are thinking about there give me a shout. If I don't know, the guys at work certainly will

I think I forgot to mention that I need a selection of pubs selling soft southern shandies

That rules Stocksfield out then - no pubs at all!!!

Hexham's good. I'll be moving back there (or Prudhoe) later this year. Currently spending a year in exile in Newcastle.

I go out on Wednesday night with a bunch, some of whom have already shown their faces here *waves*

So how come you're moving ooop north? Why the constraint on location if you have a home office?

I rode in Guisborough a few weeks ago an there's as much or more to ride and a bigger community than in Hexham. Hexham is much better located for Newcastle. Guisborough to airport = 1hr20+. Hexham to airport = 25 mins.

Hexham has at least one really good pub, several ok ones. Luckily most of the best pubs are a short ride away 😀 Haven't tried the fish 'n' chip shops. Having worked in a Grimsby chippie for 2 years I can't lower my standards.

Love where we live - village NW of Darlington - large village green, 2 pubs, shop, chippy - decent people.

The riding from the door is a mixture of bridleways some better than others. Also Hamsterley is only 15mins, N York Moors 1hr, Yorks Dales 30mins etc.

Lived in Wylam for 18 months at my folks flat there. Decent access to places to ride. Quiet as well.

@Jon

> So how come you're moving ooop north?

Shock pregnancy of partner, we've been abroad for a few years but have to go back to UK, bloody hard to find a house (buy or rent) in Dorking where I'm from (& has great riding), other half has family in the NE so that's second candidate.

I'm completely biased as I grew up there but

Tynemouth/Whitley bay - not great for mtbing but by the sea and lovely place

Or rothbury - riding on your doorstep but a bit pricey.

🙂

STW NE ride?

Don't recognise a lot of names on here and you all seem to live not that far away.

Chopwell for an afternoon could be fun. Or Something more adventurous if you like.

Near stokesley is good. As mentioned theres lots of riding and groups around Guisborough but theres lots over towards Osmotherly and around there too, thats where we ride every thursday night 52 weeks a year drop an email if you want to join in. Also Dalby Forest and Hamsterley Forest trail centres are within an hours drive and are both very good, oh and stainburn aswell.

I can't believe no one has mentioned Chester-le-Street, it's almost equidistant from Newcastle and Durham (or Sunderland if you're that way inclined), on the main railway line to Landaan (and 6 minutes to Durham/ 9 mins to the toon), has some great riding on Waldridge Fell and the surrounding woods, is almost on the edge of the Pennines, the C2C trail goes through it so you can pootle across to the Lakes on a free day, it has ok pubs and also ones that sell southern shandy, a decent bike shop, a Test Match cricket ground, a dog racing track, oh the list goes on.

Plus, the Bible was first translated into English there.

All in all it's a great place and is within half an hour's drive of Hexhamshire, on proper country roads so you have the best of all worlds.

Hope this helps! 🙂

P.s. The Beamish Oddsox are a local mountain bike club, dead laid back and a nice bunch of folk:

http://www.beamishoddsox.co.uk/Home.aspx

😯

Don't tell me you've never heard of the Oddsox Woody! 😀

Of course - I've even seen them out and about but never actually made it out for a ride.

The 😯 was amazement as I'd never thought of c-l-s like that. I live in the posh Durham suburb of Langley Park y'see 😉

The oddsox calendar uses USA date formatting. Not nice.

It's the north east, Mackem, we do things our own way, you should know that. The Americans probably copied off us.

Haha Woody, Langley's a decent enough place, that must mean you get over Waldridge way? There's some decent riding in them thar hills.

P.s. There's nowt wrang wi Seggyson.
😉

Tend to go the other direction - up Lanchester/Cornsay/Brandon/Wolsingham. I've been meaning to try that way but put off as someone said that Waldridge Fell is way too popular with dog walkers and later on with dog...........

Mattjg - if your missus is expecting, then from experience, Hexham's a great place to have a kid 🙂
My boy was born in Hexham General, 100 yards from my house. Got a great bunch of local friends now, primarily through the kids.

@ir_bandito cool thanks, good to know. We're past the 'expecting' stage, and more like waiting by the front door like a puppy ready to shred the post coming thru any moment.

lordi see what you lot have done - so far the NE has just been a contingency plan, now I actually [i]want[/i] to do it!

Depends what you want.

Hexham, Morpeth, Durham, Alnwick are 'proper' town with shops and pubs and which you could live in or near and not need to go to the city. Many other places, particularly within 30mins of Newcastle are taken over by commuting accountants/doctors/dentists (I should know) so are really just a collection of houses in a nice place but you'd forever be popping into the nearest town for stuff.

I live near Hexham (locals may be able to work out exactly which village ;-)) and it took a while to adjust to the idea that you don't need to go to Newcastle to buy things, Hexham really has it all. If you lived in Corbridge for example, as well as being more expensive, there are really only little boutiquey shops.

So probably decide whether you just want to live there or be part of a local community . . .

Chester-le-Street is decent for getting into town (Newcastle that is)and there are plenty of places to ride nearby although not necessarily technical. Of course, Great Lumley is nice, but makes the commute that little bit more awkward.
Someone mentioned riding on Waldridge Fell. The day the new Durham County Council was formed they slapped a ban on bikes on the Fell!

Woody - That's certainly true about Waldridge Fell car parks, I was once winked at and given the nod by a bloke on a scooter in the most suggestive way. 😆 And this was in the middle of the day! I just thought he was admiring my bike. 😆

As for banning bikes on the fell, well, people still ride there and you might get a dissaproving telling off, but to be honest the Council have done more to vandalise the paths than any cyclist ever has. There are loads of good trails off the beaten track that no one walks and you'll never be seen. Whether that is 'right' is another story though.

The woods just next to the fell are good too, and you will never see a soul all day. I spent most of my weekends there as a kid and the only person I used to bump into was me dad out for a run! Oh, and the occasional mountain biker and even Jason McCroy on the odd occasion, we named a steep bank the 'JMC' after he rode down it, it was like a cliff face. Great times.

GG That's good to know.Cheers.

I've been thinking about heading over that way via Burnhope/Holmside as I thought there might be some good stuff. I've had a sneaky look around Lord Lambtons land but not had much joy at joining it all up but on the plus side I didn't get shot 😀

Problem is, as the OP will find out, there is just so much choice!

To be fair if you plump for somewhere like Gosforth with is North West Newcastle if isn't a bad place and if you squint you could maybe think it's a "village like" atmoshere - it's got a High Street! Then 2 mins onto the A1 for the airport, and pretty much on the start of the Cyclone route for the road riding!

Watch out for the Lions on Lord Lambtons land.

Too true mate, there is loads of choice.

Lambton's land is ok and I've never had any bother when I've been pootling around, but I wouldn't really want to get caught by a gamekeeper with a gun. 😉 Or the lions!

You can do some good loops down from Burnhope into Holmside and fit in the woods at Waldridge, or even go as far as Beamish Woods, there really are some good trails in there. Also, there used to be an old BMX track in Sacriston, but I'm not sure if it's still there but it was good for messing about on.

Also, Chopwell isn't that far for a ride really, I think someone else already mentioned it earlier.

Watch out for the Lions on Lord Lambtons land.

I use them for sprint training. 8)

Edit : Chopwell is pretty good but I've only been to pick up wounded bikers there recently!

To summarise - all this is pretty much in a one hour radius of Newcastle! 😛

Welcome brother!!!

Lived in Newcastle area most of my life and of all the places around there I would live again in allendale. 5 bridleways going in different directions from the village or near enough to ride. If you want a few more luxuries then as people have said Hexham and Morpeth are both good. I think Alnwick is a touch far out. As others have said there's plenty of cycling in the region and most a short drive.

The oddsox calendar uses USA date formatting. Not nice.

No it doesn't...

A warning about Hexham...
It has a very good triathlon club with national level coaching and a competition standard swimming pool. If you choose to live in Hexham you may be tempted to ride on-road in a wet swimming costume... 😯

a mate of mine is going to be renting his house in chopwell village soon, not exactly the nicest area in the north east but cheap and smack bang next to chopwell woods for riding. about an hour commute to/from newcastle city centre by bike on 90% offroad route, 20mins bus/car. if anyones interested my email is in my profile

i live in newcastle (heaton) - you can do a bit of cheeky riding in jesmond dene/various other urban woods if you stay central say in gosforth, and chopwell/holywell dene are about an hour buy bike

personally i'd go for south of the tyne, Co. Durham way (burnopfield, consett etc) or Tyne Valley (wylam, hexham etc). it's all a bit too flat north of the river till you get further out past morpeth

No it doesn't...

not now, very odd (sox)

think Alnwick is a touch far out.

Ay? It's 32 mile to Newcastle takes about 50 min on a weekday.

Plus they talk funny up there. 😉

You're making me jealous. I live miles away but visit regularly as my wife is a native Northumbrian and we seriously thought about moving up to Rothbury but couldn't get jobs. I always take the bike on visits but have no where near exhausted the possibilities . Just do it.

So Mattjg, what are you waiting for? Give us a shout if you make it up here anytime. Only too happy to share the local knowledge.

So Mattjg, what are you waiting for? Give us a shout if you make it up here anytime. Only too happy to share the local knowledge.

We're waiting to pop the sproglet out and see if our house in Dorking works out. If it doesn't we'll likely end up renting, and there are no decent rentals in the SE so it's likely we'll be in the NE where the other half's family are and there's a bit more space. (And I've warmed to the idea a lot).

Thanks all for your hospitality and advice, appreciate it.

And if we stay down south, Dorking has masses of forest/cross country riding on the doorstep so gimme a squawk if you're down that way.