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Where would you live in "the South-West"? (Read 7989 times)

ali k

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Where would you live in "the South-West"?
January 14, 2014, 02:09:59 pm
So I've been offered a job based in "the South-West". I'd be based from home but on the road much of the working time and would need to be within easy reach of Cardiff, Bristol, Swindon area and cover south-west from there so would need to be near decent road links, but apart from that I could be based anywhere.

Obviously that's the job spec but climbing-wise and MTB-wise where would be a good place to live? (Bearing in mind I know nothing about the south-west). Would like to be near a decent wall, plus maybe some local crags and MTB routes, not too expensive and not in a city centre. Not too fussed about night-life (i'm old and boring now) so quiet and safe is better.

So in short, where's the best place in the South-West to live?

Duma

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Bristol.

easy access to M4/5, good walls, good MTB right next to city, climbing in city (avon gorge) and nearby (cheddar, brean, S wales in striking distance, dartmoor <2hrs etc)

re quiet and safe, somewhere like long ashton might be good?

SA Chris

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My "patch" was the same as yours for nearly 3 years; S Wales and the SW. I based myself in Bristol, as the majority of industry was based there, and on the M4 from Newport to Cardiff, with Swansea, Plymouth, Swindon etc as outliers and do-able in a day if required. I was on the road 4 days a week, so based myself in bradley Stoke out of convenience for M4 / M5 access, but it's not a nice part of the city. You can easily get to the Peak on a Sat moring early, and even did the occasional day trip if motivated enough (easy with a company car!), esp to Staffordshire. And you can easily day trip to Dartmoor, Wye Valley, Avon, Cheddar etc etc and weekend in the SW if you are up and out early enough to avoid Saturday morning traffic, which can be horrific in the school holidays. There's good mountain biking just outside the City, in the Forest of Dean and the Cotswolds, plus Exmoor, Quantocks etc for weekend day trips. 2 climbing walls too.

What is the job? PM me if you want a contacts list!


Duma

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3 walls, soon to be 4

SA Chris

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I stand corrected. I can't keep up.

ali k

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Ok so Bristol sounds like a good place to be.

Any other recommendations for specific areas? Quiet, safe, good road links and not eye-wateringly expensive (though I realise the last one may contradict the first three factors!). And close-ish to a wall.

Job is energy-efficiency consulting so travelling to various sites 3-4 days a week and the rest from home.

Am I going to regret the move, coming from Yorkshire (via Catalunya)? Or is it a good place to be?

Duma

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the walls are all in the city, so not really very compatible with the quiet and safe vibe. How quiet/safe? nicer neighbourhoods/anything but the ghetto/villages on the outskirts?(I was thinking of this when I said long ashton - redpoint wall is fairly handy from there). there was a thread on bristol recently, can't seem to find it now though.

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Oldmanmatt

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TCA's far enough out to be"safe" if a little industrial...

Exeter is the most pleasant SW city, very Oxbridge in feel and relatively low crime rates. Less walls (1). Though there are a few close by...

Only an extra hour down the M5. Given the choice of the two I'd take Exeter.

ali k

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Thanks for that link - good info.

Definitely don't want city centre so next door to a wall sounds like it isn't going to happen but that's fine as long as one is within easy reach.

Villages/neighbourhoods on the outskirts would be preferable for some greenery and not having to live in a fortress.

ali k

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Exeter is the most pleasant SW city, very Oxbridge in feel and relatively low crime rates.

Only an extra hour down the M5. Given the choice of the two I'd take Exeter.

This would be ideal but probably would end up travelling back up to Bristol/Cardiff too often to be feasible. Bristol seems better located.

Ally Smith

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Hi Ali.
Another vote for Long Ashton in Brizzle.
Lots of my old uni friends stayed in Bristol after graduating and a fair few of those are now based in LA.
Easy access to mtb trails in Leigh Woods/Ashton Court (5min from front door).
Avon is close (it's also an acquired taste!) and you're on the right side of town to easily access Cheddar, Brean, Mendips, M5 and beyond without having to do battle with the city centre.

SA Chris

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Am I going to regret the move, coming from Yorkshire (via Catalunya)? Or is it a good place to be?

As far as Catalunya goes, anywhere will be a disappointment! I moved down from Leeds, and really enjoyed having access to such a bewildering variety of climbing and rock types accessibly for day or weekend trips, but missed the easily accessible gritstone crags for getting a good full evening bouldering session or some accessible short routes in. Plus the great mountain biking and surfing. 

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missed the easily accessible gritstone crags for getting a good full evening bouldering session or some accessible short routes in.

 :offtopic:, but:

I'm finding the same where I live. Having the Frankenjura in easy weekend range and the Dolomites in long weekend range is great, but having sod all within reach for evenings/afternoons is less great, especially with a family and a limited supply of entire free weekends.

shurt

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Am I going to regret the move, coming from Yorkshire (via Catalunya)? Or is it a good place to be?

I think it depends if you like limestone or not. I climbed almost exclusively on grit when I lived in Leeds and it took quite a few years to get into Avon and Cheddar when I moved to Bristol. I spent most of the first couple of years trying to get back up to the Peak and Staffs. I still go through phases now.
There are good things though. If you like routing with a rope after work then there is lots to go at trad (Avon) and sport (Cheddar). Pembroke is close too. Dartmoor is great for bouldering and you are close to all the other climbing in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall. Cornish granite can be done for a weekend easily.
As has been mentioned, getting out for a soloing or bouldering session after work is sadly a northern pursuit and cant really be done in the SW, unless you live in Totnes, Exeter, Plymouth etc. I think you'd regret living down that way due to all the extra driving you'd need to do for work.
I miss the closeness of Caley, the cliff etc still after over 10 yrs down here and its a reason that I always toy with moving back up north.

JackAus

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Another vote for Brizzle. Only spent a couple of years there but definitely the best years I lived in the UK!

duncan

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Yet another vote for the Bristol area! It's not Catalunya but I'd compare it favourably with Sheffield or Bradford, having lived in all three. As shurt says, the main thing lacking compared to Yorkshire is good local bouldering. The airport is pretty good now with flights to Lleida, Reus and other useful destinations.

If you fancied somewhere outside the city, where I grew up on the south slope of the Mendips has a micro-climate good enough for vinyards, lovely country scenery without being overly pretty, glorious views over the Somerset levels and is very safe and verrrrry quiet. Places like Axbridge, Loxton, Cross or Compton Bishop are about 10 minutes from the M5, 15 minutes from Cheddar Gorge, and 30 minutes from Bedminster for Redpoint wall. It would be a little further to Pembroke or The North than from Bristol but that much closer to everywhere else in the south west. I know nothing about mountain biking but there always seem to be mud-splattered MAMILs about when I'm out for a walk or run. I couldn't wait to escape when I was a teenager (verrrrrry quiet) but would love to move back there now. 


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Depending on budget, could even look at Bath? Safer, and much posher, but still within easy drive of everywhere that Bristol is, though think you'd need to drive to Brizzle for the walls

£££ mind.

ali k

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Thanks for all the good advice. Just an update - now moved to Chewton Mendip, south of Bristol and 20 mins from Cheddar.

Dislocated my shoulder a few wks ago (for the 2nd time - great timing with long summer days coming!) and haven't climbed for a while but hoping to get back to climbing in the next few weeks. Generally free most afternoons so keen to get out for some sport - if anyone's up for afternoon/early evening sessions get in touch! Or will likely be at redpoint wall a few times a week in the afternoons if I'm a billie (don't know anyone in this area yet!).  :boohoo:

Cheers, Ali

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How about the docks area in Gloucester. It's nice, quiet, newly developed and has a wall within walking distance.

slackline

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How about the docks area in Gloucester. It's nice, quiet, newly developed and has a wall within walking distance.

Aside from the fact that ali k has already found somewhere to live in Chewton Mendip?

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Places like Axbridge, Loxton, Cross or Compton Bishop ...

Just seen this. Duncan, where did you grow up?  I grew up in Barton, between Winscombe and Loxton.  A stones throw from Avon and Cheddar's finest North Quarry and Sandford Quarry.  Does limestone get any better? Ahem.

I now live in Inverness so afraid I can't offer Ali K much help but will PM him next time I'm visiting the family as I'm always short of folk to climb with down there.  I think we briefly met in Chulilla last Easter.

SA Chris

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How about the docks area in Gloucester. It's nice, quiet, newly developed and has a wall within walking distance.

Aside from the fact that ali k has already found somewhere to live in Chewton Mendip?

Who said anything about living there. He's talking about "going down the docks" for other purposes.

ali k

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I think we briefly met in Chulilla last Easter.

Were you the group of three(?) lads from Scotland? Yeh if I remember right I'd just popped my shoulder for the first time a few months before that trip!

Yeh get in touch when you're down next. Cheers

duncan

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Ali, hope this works for you. You're also very close to the delights of Fairy Cave Quarry  :whistle: 


Places like Axbridge, Loxton, Cross or Compton Bishop ...

Just seen this. Duncan, where did you grow up?  I grew up in Barton, between Winscombe and Loxton.  A stones throw from Avon and Cheddar's finest North Quarry and Sandford Quarry.  Does limestone get any better? Ahem.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere, between Bleadon and Cross. My first steps climbing were on Brean and Cheddar trad. and at Uphill Quarry where - pre SPA - our school teacher encouraged us to solo stuff like Cave Chimney, now HVS. It explains a lot.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2014, 09:47:10 pm by duncan »

 

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