Where to live in Edinburgh?

neeb

... for road cycling.

Looks like I'm moving back to the UK from Finland and will be based in the Edinburgh area. I grew up there so know the geography, but haven't lived there since I got seriously into cycling.

Looking for somewhere with quick access to good roads (i.e. the possibility of short, fast 30 mile rides without half of it being in the city), and also good public transport connections to the centre.

I'm thinking Musselburgh. But the nice parts (near the racecourse) are 20mins walk from the train stations.

Any other ideas?

bill_gates

West Lothian would give you good access to the Bathgate Alps for cycling and plenty of a and b class roads but also good commuter options into the city centre via bus and trains. Most of West Lothian has became 'commuter towns' for people who wish to be in the Edinburgh area but need more space or larger property.

thefd

Fairmilehead way (Caiystane, Buckstone, Mortonhall) is awesome for getting out of town. 2 minutes and you are straight to the countryside. Handy for Midlothian (Dalkeith, Penicuik etc) also handy for East Lothian (Musselburgh, Haddington, Tranent, Gifford etc) and a handy gateway for West Lothian through Balerno.

There is a really good bus route straight into town also.

You don't mention it if it is just for you or with a family? The areas I have mentioned are more family houses - but Morningside is not far away with lots of flats to be found.

majormantra

To be honest, anywhere on the south side of the city is pretty quick, Edinburgh isn't really that big. The big road rides meet at the Commonwealth Pool and are out of the city in 20 minutes (or less).

thefd

MajorMantra wrote:

The big road rides meet at the Commonwealth Pool and are out of the city in 20 minutes (or less).

Those are on a Saturday. On a Sunday they meet at the Tusitala which is right by Fairmilehead.

neeb

TheFD wrote:

You don't mention it if it is just for you or with a family? The areas I have mentioned are more family houses - but Morningside is not far away with lots of flats to be found.

Good point. It's just me, and a small family of bikes..

I'd be renting to begin with until I get settled in. Hadn't really thought of Fairmilehead way, but yes, that could be a great location. But as mentioned, probably not much in the way of small flats, and if it is 20 or 30 mins to the centre by bus I could equally well live somewhere in East Lothian or West Lothian beside a train station...

MajorMantra wrote:

To be honest, anywhere on the south side of the city is pretty quick, Edinburgh isn't really that big. The big road rides meet at the Commonwealth Pool and are out of the city in 20 minutes (or less).

That's also a very good point. I was thinking of anywhere near the centre as being nightmare of busy junctions for miles before getting out of town, but now I think about it, once you are down the bottom of Morningside Road you are already most of the way out..

majormantra

TheFD wrote:

MajorMantra wrote:

The big road rides meet at the Commonwealth Pool and are out of the city in 20 minutes (or less).

Those are on a Saturday. On a Sunday they meet at the Tusitala which is right by Fairmilehead.

My point was you can get from somewhere relatively central to the countryside quite quickly. And the Tuesday night summer rides also go from CP, as do CTC rides, EUCC rides, and doubtless others.

smoggysteve

Try to find somewhere where there are as few heroin needles on the ground that are likely to cause punctures.