Best place for a cyclist to live in the Bristol area?

IShaggy

I'm moving to the Bristol area in a few weeks time. I'm currently living in SW London, and have had enough of the smoke. I'm looking for an area that has good job opportunities, easy access to the countryside, and friendly people. Bristol fits the bill nicely.

I don't want to live in the city. Instead I'd like to be outside the city in a village/small town. I want peace and quiet. But it's also got to be great for cycling. I'm mostly a roadie, but also do some MTB'ing and will definitely do more if there's some good off-road routes close by. Cycling is my passion, and the rest of my life revolves around it.

I haven't got a job yet, but I'm working on that. So in addition, it's got to be a cycle commutable distance from the city centre and industry in Bristol. I work in IT and have a wealth of currently relevant experience so do not expect to take long finding a job. When I say commutable, I'd say a maximum of 10 miles each way.

I will initially be renting, and will look to rent a small house - max budget is £1000 per month, which is what I'm currently paying for a tired 2 bed flat. I will look to buy as soon as I've found my feet in Bristol. I don't have kids and so I'm not concerned with access to schools, etc.

So where's the best place for a cyclist to live outside the city?

sloppyschleckonds

Bath

frisbee

Or Clifton/Redland in Bristol, quick nip across the suspension bridge and its country-ish. Pretty good access to Wales as well.

undapressure

Portishead.

Only a 10 mile commute to Bristol, 5 miles to Ashton Court and on the fringes of the country

Skeets

i would choose chew magna . the lakes, hills of the mendips , cheddar , weston, clevedon .

Bordersroadie

IShaggy wrote:

So where's the best place for a cyclist to live outside the city?

Scotland

Greenbeetle

Look at places along the Bristol-Bath Bike Path. It's a good commuting route to both cities.

de_sisti

Centre for the Cotswolds.

bobmcstuff

undapressure wrote:

Portishead.

Only a 10 mile commute to Bristol, 5 miles to Ashton Court and on the fringes of the country

I grew up there and my parents still live there so I go back quite often, the company I work for has an office in Bristol so I make frequent excuses to get free trips. It is a pretty good place for cycling and there's some good local mtb trails but I'm not sure I'd live there. It may only be ten miles to Bristol but it can be a nightmare with traffic and accidents on the motorway etc. and there's naff all public transport.

I'd love to move back one day, might consider Clifton as it has good access in and out of Bristol, but it's really pricey. Not too well up on other good places to live in Bristol these days, Redlands maybe?

Bath is really nice but again, very expensive.

Greenbeetle

If you're moving from London, Bath and Clifton won't seem quite so expensive, surely?

bobmcstuff

Greenbeetle wrote:

If you're moving from London, Bath and Clifton won't seem quite so expensive, surely?

Possibly not, but I'm sure there's plenty of other nice areas in and around Bristol you could look at.

whoof

Try somewhere to the East of Bristol between Bristol and Bath. You can then use the Bath Bristol railway path to get to either Bristol or Bath when you have job. £1000 is plenty for renting in the area.
The riding is great in all directions around Bristol. Cotwolds, Somerset levels, Wells and Cheddar, South Wales. Bath on the other hand is not so great. It's nice to visit for the day and see the sights but extremely packed with traffic and tourists.

Pross

I'd say out in North Somerset where there's easy access to the Mendips and loads of countryside. Failing that, South Gloucestershire but avoiding the hole that is Yate. Pretty easy cycle commute into the city from there which is probably quicker than driving or public transport! Alternatively you could live just over the bridge in the Chepstow area, 15 mile each way commute and not the best cycle routes but access to really good cycling countryside.

craker

PM me your CV we're recruiting software engineers at the moment. We're at Aztec West, which is a great rural commute from South Wales over the bridge. If you do come and live in Wales there's a load of MTB trails to be had too. Other cycling folk come down from the Cotswolds, or from nearer the city centre (commuting up the A38 ... uuughhh).

TBH you'll be fine anywhere around here, we're spoilt for choice. Get a place that's a nice commute to your work that'll keep you motivated through Winter.

cheddarpaul

I would def agree to move south of Bristol, towards Chew Magna, Churchill, Langford, etc..

You get more for your money, access to both the Levels and the Mendips with some great roads across both, AND, a very active cycling scene in quite a few of the smaller towns and villages

I ride in from Wells regularly, just over an hour to cycle but just under an hour to drive in with all the hassle and traffic and parking woes that entails, its a no-brainer

term1te

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Bath

+1, but not cheap. Although I'd move back there at a drop of a hat.

nferrar

I'm in Bradley Stoke myself, wouldn't actually recommend there if you're looking for a village (or somewhere with any character or soul...) but for road cycling I much prefer North Bristol to South, especially as going across the bridge into Wales is much easier. Plenty of villages dotted around North Bristol and some new developments springing up to. I work on Aztec West so an easy commute and only about 8 miles into the city centre if you end up working there (although getting there by bike is a bit crap assuming you don't want to go down the A38). MTBing is more of an issue assuming you don't want to drive somewhere, until you get closer to Wotton there's not really anything so you'd have lots of on road stuff first. If you're willing to drive though then Ashton Court & Leigh Woods are 20ish mins away and the South Wales trail centres aren't too far either.

Grill

Wotton.

Oxo

Grill wrote:

Wotton.

As a resident, I would agree. Some great MTB stuff on the doorstep (so I'm reliably informed) and fantastic, varied road routes in and around the Cotswolds. Easy access to M5 for commuting to Bristol or Gloucester too, but will be outside your 10 mile range (nearer to 20).

Grill

Ain't no thing. I live in Wotton too and my office is in central Bristol. Takes an hour to ride in.

Gotta love the easy access to hill repeats around Dursley.