Where to live for cycling, outdoors activity, lively town?

[cyclinglikingcyling]

We plan to move soon and can luckily work remotely as long as there is fast fibre optic broadband (DH says 50 Mbps which is pretty fast but I understand fibre optic is being rolled out in lots of rural places).

The ideal would be somewhere with great cycling, being able to cycle day to day around the town with good cycle lanes preferably separated from traffic, and also nice countryside walking and cycling nearby, which you could walk/ cycle to rather than have to drive there.

Preferably a lively town with lots of activities and good schools (we could go private if needed but good state schools preferred), and good public transport links out.

We currently live in a big city and I'm open to nice cities, however as we don't need to live there for work it seems that we'd be amongst the congestion, pollution and higher house prices unnecessarily.

DH would have to travel about twice a month so being able to get to an airport within a few hours by train would be helpful.

I've been looking at the towns that got Cycle Status from the government, and also Scotland as the fibre optic broadband is apparently really good in Scotland, however I'm finding it hard to narrow places down.

Cambridge I did think about, it is just really expensive and as we don't need to commute to London I'm wondering if we can find something nice that is less expensive.

Thanks for any suggestions!

In terms of house prices I would say Scotland would be your best bet. I don't know it well enough but maybe somewhere just outside of Edinburgh? We also like Lewes in the South East. Lots of cycling on the Downs and a very vibrant arts/cultural scene.

Lewes was lovely when I visited a few years ago, I'll check it out.

Yes Scotland looks promising. The Borders region looks great but the liveliest towns in Borders don't have a train station, and I'm not sure if we'd find it limiting having to bus or drive to Edinburgh, as dh hates driving. The towns with a train station in the Borders seem much quieter in terms of activities.

I have looked at further north in Scotland but I'm not sure if it would be too much of a big step for us and about the weather!

The trouble with wanting cycle lanes is that you really don't get them outside cities.
I live in S Worcestershire, and we have fantastic cycling, a lively cycle scene, fabulous outdoors - but there is one cycle path in my tiny town!

Ok I guess I'm used to city traffic which is scary without proper cycle lanes. A town with good non-scaring cycling would be fine :)

So we have:
train station with direct train to Worcester, Oxford, London.
Shortly, a train station 4km away will open with direct trains to Birmingham and eventually Cardiff/Cross Country line
Buses regularly to Worcester and Evesham apart from Sundays
Proper shops - bakers, greengrocers, butchers, fishmongers etc
Community theatre/cinema
Leisure centre
youth centre

How about York? Lovely area for cycling, and good to get to the coast/north york moors. (Not sure about broadband, and whilst cheaper than Cambridge it's not that cheap.)

I've been looking at York too. Are there any particular areas/ nearby towns/ villages that you recommend? I think York prices would be OK, just ideally looking for less than Cambridge/ London.

I will look at Worcestershire too, thanks.

I've moved from London to a small town, and many of the lanes around here are popular with cycle clubs etc.
However, I felt safer cycling on my own in London than around here in rural areas. Drivers all seem to go far to fast along windy hilly roads, give you very little space when passing you and generally behave as if the Highway Code is a purely optional document that you forget once you pass the test.
Before you make such a big leap, I suggest you spend a few days in potential areas to find out what it's really like.

You could go somewhere along the Bristol / Bath cycle path. Most of that is only shared with pedestrians as far as I know. Lots of other cycle routes off it too.

Around Bath is lovely, lots of nice smaller towns and links to London/Bristol.

Exeter is good for cycling and near Dartmoor, again the fast train gets to London in 2 hrs.

Shrewsbury is nice. lots of outdoorsy stuff and a very pretty town. Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester don't take very long on the train.

Shropshire schools are very good in general too.

The Netherlands. Seriously. Somewhere like Leiden? Close to Amsterdam and Rotterdam for flights

Peebles in Scottish Borders is a great town. It doesn’t have a train station to Edinburgh but there is a regular bus service and it’s a 20 minute drive to Galashiels which does have a train station.
The high school is excellent but also many private schools in Edinburgh.
The community is lively with many many activities year round. Have a look at TweedLove festival for a biking weekend run locally but local people.
It’s a cycling town with a mountain biking course 5 minutes out of town.

Stroud? Good Schools both private and state, lovely countryside, easy access to London with direct trains from the town.. Housing is reasonably priced and varied. We have cinema, good restaurants, the best farmers market in the country, lots of clubs and activities. I think there are some formal cycle routes but lots of cyclist ( a bit hilly) Stonehouse Wheelers cycling club, leisure centre with outside and indoor pool, Vicky Martin fitness group for women. Quite a few minor celebrities have discovered the town (not sure if that is a plus)
I'm not sure of your budget but Bath and Bristol are very expensive in comparison and you can get to either via trains from Cam and Dursley quite quickly from Stroud, Cheltenham is easily accessible too.

Diss, Norfolk?

Good train links to London and Norwich.

Good mix of town life and countryside. Lots of cycling routes, huge cycling community (Facebook Madgetts cycles and they’ll give you some information).

Good schools locally and more in Norwich if you like.

We moved here from London 10 years ago and absolutely love it.

I don't live in York myself (reasonably frequent visitor though). Bishopthorpe always gets a mention, as does Fulford, but looking at those on rightmove the broadband speed isn't brilliant. Heslington is supposed to be nice, though right next to the university.

I think the villages further out, whilst being very nice, aren't exactly lively and you'd be lacking on the activities front. Broadband speed might also be a problem.

Portsmouth is definitely good for cycling, everyone seems to have a bike there as it's mostly flat. Also pretty easy and quick to get to London via train.

Trafford (South of manchester). Probably best area in the country for schools, Manchester Airport a few miles away (but the flight path goes in other direction so little plane noise), if you're keen cyclists you can be out in the peak district within 20 mins or so but lots of cycle paths along the canal, through Cheshire back roads.

I live in Sheffield. It has excellent cycle and hiking routes just outside of the city, amazing countryside etc. You could try a suburb nearer town or a bit further out into Yorkshire. The city itself is lively and improving so much culturally, a lot of arty and indie stuff going on, and quite a few of the suburbs have a nice community feel and lots of indie cafes and shops. Good schools too in the right catchment. Off the top of my head good Sheffield suburbs include Fulwood, Crookes, Walkley, Totley, Dore. Loxley is nice, as are Honley and Holmfirth. It seems with your budget (looking for cheaper than London) you could get something really large and fantastic anywhere in Yorkshire, just maybe research and see which part you like best. Personally I would love to live out in the Hope Valley but it's a bit rich for my blood! Will second/third/fourth York as wonderful, I've visited a lot and my sister in law lives just outside (Heworth).

Newcastle/Gateshead (or the north east generally). Lively, things to do, easy to get out to the coast (lovely beaches) or the countryside (and the national park). Plenty of outdoorsy stuff to do. Easy to cycle around - you see loads of Lycra clad cyclists heading out into the country.

Newcastle is really quite small so you can live somewhere with great fibre optic broadband (and shops, cafes, pubs in walking distance) and still do whatever cycling and outdoorsy stuff you like.

There’s an airport on the outskirts of the city and a mainline train station in the centre (you can get to London in under 3 hours). You’ll find that you can but much more house than in Cambridge or London.

Stirling?

Great train routes to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth plus mainline that means you can be in London for 11am on a direct train.

Within minutes you are in fantastic cycling country. Lots of lovely villages round about. Housing much cheaper than Glasgow or Edinburgh

Also there are some good state schools in and around Newcastle, and the cheaper housing would mean more money for it if you decided you wanted private school.

Lancaster. Next to the Trough of Bowland, a cyclists paradise.

Bournemouth. Easy and flat commuter cycling along the prom or around Poole harbour. Or great recreational cycling in the Purbecks or New Forest.

Thanks, so many good suggestions.

Stirling I haven't heard of before, I'm researching it now. Would we stick out as an English family there? What is it like in the winter?

Lancaster I was looking into as I read the cycling is great. I might try and visit sometime as I haven't found a huge amount online about what it's like to live there. It would be great to have the countryside and seaside both close by. How is the weather there?

Stroud completely new for me and on paper it looks great. I'm not sure about a grammer area as where I am now kids get three years of tutoring for the 11 plus, too much pressure. But maybe it's not so pressured in Stroud? Cheaper than nearby Cheltenham too :)

Peebles would be PERFECT if it had a station. I love it. Will speak to dh about it. The bus/ taxi just makes it a bit trickier when he has to travel, but maybe worth it.

I'm still looking into the other suggestions!