Where to live around High Wycombe?

shmo

Bit stuck for what to do. Moved to High Wycombe 6 months ago for work and it's not for me. I moved from South Wales, and find the traffic here so bad that I've only been out on the bike once. I'm wondering where I can move to, with quiet country roads for cycling, and commute in.

Can't afford much in the villages around here. Aylesbury is looking the best option 20 miles away, which I suppose is possible by bike. Other places I can afford are too far to cycle; Bicester 33miles, Didcot/Abingdon 30 miles. Witney looks good for weekend rides but 36 miles is too much driving/petrol.

Are the roads good for cycling around Aylesbury? Any other options I should look at? Or should I just hand in my notice and head back to Wales? :?

Cheers if anyone can help.

sashmo

Sorry to hear you haven't settled in as well as you would want. I agree that the roads around here are a bit busy - I don't know what they are like in Wales though. However, there is loads of good cycling to be had around Wycombe - have a look at Lacey Green, Bradenham, Pinkneys End, Hampden, Speen, Missenden, etc. Lots of quiet country lanes and some good hills.

In terms of commuting, I am not sure I can be of much help. Most of the major routes are pretty busy. I commute by bike from Chesham to St Albans but have worked out a route that is pretty much single lanes. There isn't no traffic on them and you do have to be aware of Chelsea tractors coming the other way on the school run, but its better than the main roads. Not sure what it is like for where you live. The routes from Aylesbury can be quiet if you choose the right one but could be a bit much for a daily commute.

I hope that this helps, at least a bit.

thepainandsuffering

I live in Aylesbury and find that most of my rides head in the general direction of HW where there are plenty of quiet lanes to ride IMHO. If you have only been out once you may just need to get on your bike, get out of the town and go explore.

There are loads of routes here http://www.amershamrcc.com/rides/riders-diaries that all start and finish in Great Missenden only 6 miles away, they are mostly all on country lanes away from heavy traffic. I have ridden and enjoyed most over the last few years. Rides to Benson are a favorite of mine.

I assume you work in HW and whist I agree a rush hour commute in the town would be busy, riding form 20 miles away isn't really going to help you much if you hate the traffic as you would still have to deal with it on route and again as you head back into HW at the end of your ride.

robbo2011

All I can say is that if you haven't found any good cycling routes in the Wycombe area then you haven't been trying very hard. High Wycombe is slap bang in the middle of the Chiltern Hills and is one of my favourite areas in the UK. Get across the M40 to Christmas Common, Turville, Fingest, Marlow, Henley etc, etc. Fantastic cycling areas, albeit road surfaces can vary.

mroli

Mate - I grew up in that area and regularly head back to ride up and down the Chilterns - around Watlington/Aston/Kingston/Chinnor/Whiteleaf hills. There's some lush cycling there - head towards Henley for some good riding too - oddly enough the A40 after Stokenchurch is fairly quiet as everything takes the motorway. There is a good "race loop" round there - the Great Milton/Little Milton/Stadhampton/Tetsworth loop - the road through the Miltons is a bit grotty, but decent enough.

Some good clubs out that way too - High Wycombe and GS Henley spring to mind.

High Wycombe (I agree) isn't that lovely (my sister lives there, so I feel justified in saying that!), but I think some of the surrounds are beautiful. You can also hope on that Chiltern train and head further out for some good rides too. It ain't never gonna be Wales (I've done some of my most enjoyable riding there), but it can still be great.

shmo

Cheers guys, thanks very much for that information. You're right I haven't tried hard at all, literally cycled to work a few times, hated it, and bike hasn't come off the turbo since October.

I work over in the Cressex Business Park and currently live in Wycombe Marsh area. All my rides would start on the A40 London Road which seems quite manic. Currently in a 1-bed flat, so my other bikes and gear is all stored. I guess I'm hoping that an upsize combined with a location change will solve my problems, but don't want to shoot myself in the foot by increasing my commute without making the cycling any more appealing.

Jez mon

I'd say, High Wycombe is pretty much horrendous to cycle in. But a few minutes on some busy roads, and you can get out into some great countryside in no time, with some of the best hills in the South East.

Basically I recommend looking at a map of the area, picking an area and exploring some of the lanes.

If you really want to avoid the A40 (understandable) then IIRC there is a useful cut through, which my cycling club used to use when I lived there (probably still does) Look for Kingsmead road on Google Maps, it says there isn't a road over the river, but I'm fairly sure there is a cycle path from then on you should be able to find quieter roads. (Just realised depending on where you live, this might be completely useless info!)

As a member of a Maidenhead based cycling club, I'd say High Wycombe was the annoying bit of the ride which had to be completed to enjoy some of the best riding in the area.

shmo

Haha! I used to think Swansea was the annoying bit of all my rides, but it doesn't seem so bad now with the rose-tinted specs on.

Anyway, I need to man up and have a go at some of those routes posted. I still need to move in a few months when my tenancy is up but at least that will get me some familiarity with the area. Sitting in during the good weather this week was pretty depressing, felt like I was in prison, but I've probably made HW worse than it is in my mind.

Jez mon

Don't worry, the first time I cycled on the A40 was with my old club, and I wondered what on earth had got into the group leaders head, to think this was possibly worth it! Also, so long as you ride sensibly, the road is perfectly safe, it's just not especially pleasant.

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shmo

Thought Thame looked like a good location when I first started looking for property here. Didn't have much time before this job started, and rental properties were being let within a few hours of appearing on the market, so had jump on one of the first places I saw. Property looks quite expensive to buy there, but rental prices don't look too bad compared to what I'm paying now. I'll keep an eye out on Rightmove.

Been a while since I've done a chain gang but I'd be up for the club ride. I saw on the website that meet is at the guild hall?

Also, thanks for all the replies, feeling a lot more positive about the move here now.

Sesquepidilian

I cycle around Chesham and Amersham using the A416, A4154 and A404 on a circuit about 8 or 9 miles. The roads can be busy but I haven't had any problems with traffic generally. The condition of the local roads is absolutly awful, though.......which is why I'm binning a cheap mountain bike and getting a Raleigh racer.....go figure, eh ? :?

Jez mon

Personally, if I was to move back down South when I graduate I think I would find Thame a bit far away from the bigger towns/London. But, if you're not interested in that, I should imagine it's a great place to live!

I should imagine that while you're going to find that some of the roads down south are a bit busier than those in Wales, you will find some great country roads where cars are few and far between.