What's Hitchin Like?

drewfromrisca

Ok as the move to Farnham isn't going to go ahead (see my previous topic) then I've been advised by a friend to try Hitchin. Easy links to get into London for me and the missus, he says its a nice area and that its got some great areas for riding.

Any Hitchinites on here to testify that my mate is indeed telling the truth!?!?

p.s. also helps that rental prices are at half if not a quarter of what we are paying now!

guilliano

It's just a typical new town built round an old town centre. If you've been to Stevenage or Peterborough then you've been to Hitchin. There is some nice riding outside the town, the same as there is anywhere in the Chilterns.

APIII

I've got some friends who live in Hitchin. It's pretty nice actually. The town centre has some decent pubs and places to eat. The suburbs are much like any other town, nothing like Stevenage though, that's a bit of a sh1thole. Even people who live there admit that.
No epic riding nearby, but plenty of country roads and access to the Chilterns.

hopper1

Hitchin' is quite dangerous, in my eyes... You never know, a psycho could pick you up and do alsorts of naughty things to you! :shock:

Sorry, again, peeps.... Bored! :oops:

Ok, ok, I'm leaving, now...

nicensleazy

I know the Territorial SAS are based there!

drewfromrisca

Cheers APIII, don't worry about the epic riding bit - can't get less epic than where I am now.
Sounds like it's good place to settle for a bit. I've been on the local town site and must say it looks very pretty but I would doubt they would post pics of anything else.

Headhuunter

guilliano wrote:

It's just a typical new town built round an old town centre. If you've been to Stevenage or Peterborough then you've been to Hitchin. There is some nice riding outside the town, the same as there is anywhere in the Chilterns.

Hitchin's not a new town! It pre dates the Norman conquest and is evident in records from the 7th century! It may have expanded a lot in the 20th century but it has some ancient buildings at its heart and it was not one of the small towns/villages like Milton Keynes and Stevenage identified by developers in the 1950s to 1970s as a new town. It's actually quite nice. I used to live in Luton, not far away, and yes, anything's better than Luton, but there's some lovely countryside around for biking and mountain biking.

mcmullej

Nice short sharp shock hills:

Hexton Hill. Sharpenhoe Clappers. Sundon Hill - newly paved.

Bison Hill and Tom's Hill not too far off.

Long quiet stretches:

Lilley Bottom, Gaddesden Row.

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I'm in St Albans and do most of my riding up near Hitchin, Whipsnade.

Headhuunter

Aaaah, Sharpenhoe Clappers, the memories. I managed to get up to about 55mph going down there back when I was in my teens!

hammerite

I agree with the others who say it's actually quite a nice little town. It's large enough to have a town centre with some useful shops (WH Smith, Superdrug, Wilko, Fat Face ) and pubs, without being big enough to be full of massive chainstores. It also has a few decent independant shops.

Cycling is pretty good too, Hitchin Nomads are the nearest club. Some nice riding into Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire on the otherside of the A1 and up into Cambridgeshire - nothing spectacularly difficult, but plenty of country lanes to explore. You could take your pick of evening leagues (Hitchin share some of the roads my club use for TT/racing) most week nights in the summer.

Not sure if you've got kids, but I understand that the schools in the area are decent.

If I'm right in thinking that you are still in the Met, I know a couple of people (both cyclists) who are also and travel in to London to work - probably from Hitchin or Arlesey.

hammerite

mcmullej wrote:

Sundon Hill - newly paved.

Don't know why but I got all excited that Sundon had been re-paved!

Hitchin Nomads organise a hill climb TT up Sharpenhoe Clappers as part of the interclub league (with Beds Road and Icknield).

drewfromrisca

Hammerite, that's a great help cheers. Thanks for all the info. Yes I'm still in the Met and I worked out a travel route and door to door it's approx hour and 10 mins. Not great certainly worse than my current four minutes but certainly bearable. At least with working early early mornings I won't be packed in the train like a sardine!

APIII

Well, you can always ride in. A mate of mine does it a couple of times a week in the summer. Only as far as Euston though...