Places to live for off road running/biking

[longcoffeebreak]

Can anyone recommend somewhere for me to live with great trail running with my dogs and off
road biking from (very near) my (imaginary at the moment) house in a friendly town somewhere?

Low crime rate, beautiful accessible landscape and good community. But not constantly raining!!

But also within 30 or so mins of a decent size city for arts/independent film/fun things to see and do/work for me/my teenagers?

Hell yeah @longcoffeebreak can I move there too?

Glasgow. Apart from the rain bit.

😀 Yeah plus a nice co-housing community

Horsham! Near the Downs for trail running and biking plus there are a few local spots and it's 30 minutes drive from Brighton

Newbury, Berkshire?

You have the Ridgeway, Icknield Way, the Kennet & Avon Canal, plenty of commons and open space nearby.

Cycle paths run from Reading & the Thames to Bristol and the Welsh border. Pewsey Vale and the edge of Salisbury Plain are about 20 miles away.

I can't vouch for the weather though 😀

Hadn't thought of Berkshire and have looked at South Downs near Worthing in West Sussex but not Horsham.

I'm probably priced out of those locations though - budget is about £400,000

Midhurst in W Sussex 3 bedroom house in the town for £400,000. Big new secondary school in the town, can walk to shops etc. Easy to get to Chichester or Guildford for theatres & cinemas.

Airedale or Wharfedale, apart from the rain bit.

Salisbury (Wiltshire) and the surrounding area is lovely and ticks all your boxes I think.

Western bits of Sheffield towards the Peak District? Dore or Totley area. Plenty going on in Sheffield and easily accessible.
Not sure on weather though but heck of a lot better than further west.
I'd favour the Pyrenees but that might have its own challenges in terms of language, visas etc

Stirling? Or any of the villages around Glasgow e.g. Bearsden, Milngavie, Eaglesham, Lenzie.

Beaches, hills, sea, lochs and plenty hiking within 30-60mins. Only downside is the rain

@LookingOldTheseDays is it very rainy? Cos Leeds looks good as a city to be near. Any place recommendations?

@PosiePerkinPootleFlump
Ooh yes Sheffield has low rainfall according to the Met Office! I guess the further east the drier it gets! Will look at Dore and Totley are they nice?

@Heli1copter wonder if that's getting a bit far north but I have a friend in Stirling come to think of it

The pyrenees would be ace but have no language skills and a so with SEN so that idea is sadly doomed unless i have enough left over money for a caravan, camper van or tent!!

Budget?
What kind of off road cycling/running do you do, how far, how muddy, how hilly?

@lljkk
My budget is about 400-425k for a three bed or two bed with extra reception room, house needs to be relatively low maintenance (eg not big and Victorian!) as i'm totally crud at DIY.

Running - 5-10k - don't mind hilly in fact one of the things I love are the views that come with hills as you crest the top.

Cycling - 10-50k - mix of off road cycle paths, non technical MTB single track and gravel - I have a decent hardtail MTB but fall off and get injured if I attempt anything fancy 😀

Perth.

I don't love mud but realise that is a bit unrealistic at the moment given the winter we have had!

Where I am now I go on the beach if the tide is right as that brushes off the dogs unlike mud. But can't always get on and no trails within walking/running distance to get a scenic trail run in before work where i don't have to faff with the dogs on a lead except for the first and last couple of minutes. So that's what am looking for.

London?

Malvern. The town is on the hills, great running and cycling trails. Has theatres, restaurants, but easy to get to Worcester, Cheltenham and Birmingham

@stargirl1701

Blimey that's somewhere I have never even looked on a map at!! I'm at the opposite end of Britain at the moment!!

I wonder if I'm too scared to go that far north!!

Definitely agree that East Central Scotland (so Fife, Angus, Perth, Stirling, rural areas around Falkirk) would fit the bill. Generally not wet (unlike nice bits around Glasgow which would also fit other than the rain issue...)

Possibly look around the Pentland hills south of Edinburgh as well.

Avoid Dumfries and Galloway if you don't like rain - that makes Glasgow seem like a desert!

@CMOTDibbler oh jeez my ex partner said Malvern and I discounted it on that basis 😀 I might have to re-look. Where in Malvern is nicest?

London?? Oh yes, screams trail running and bike riding in lovely scenery with off lead dogs 🤣