bath v bristol
fly4fun
Posts: 416
gotta pick one to go to uni at, whats teh riding like at each? i ride mainly 'hardcore' xc with a bit of freeride.
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ooohhh good shout. i think. i would... possibly go with bristol. ashton court etc and then its quicker over the bridge for a day out at cwmcarn.
mbr did an article a short while ago on the best places to work and ride and i think bristol was high up in it. bath is no bad place either, it's where mbuk is based so you could ask them directly, send an email or something.0 -
Bristol has some nice riding around it, there's also Churchill down the road and you're not too far from the Brecons and the like. Two points: buy a very good lock and some insurance and Bristol has some freaking big hills.Brought to you by:
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got a very good lock, got insurance, and im liking the sound of hills - i need to get fit!
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Oh god Bristol everytime!
Bike theft is as bad as it gets though and I'm speaking first hand, twice!0 -
Bath, i can say that as a member of its uni. Ashton court gets boring. there are more routes out of the back of bath uni then there is bristol as bath is surrounded an all sides by areas of outstanding natural beauty. plus bath uni is better then bristol uni. however don't make your choice of uni based on the riding around it.0
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ianpinder wrote:however don't make your choice of uni based on the riding around it.
why? either will end up with a possible degree that you wont use once finished anyway?
go with the big hills!
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Swansea FTW there's more riding than you can shake a pedal spanner at...it's EVERYWHERE and there's also the Brecons to the North and Afan to the East and the Gower peninsula to the west. plus the uni's practically on the beach and its a really good uni.Brought to you by:
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swansea, mmm, no!
bristol or bath please mayte!
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Bristol isn't just about ashton court, it's being so close (more so than bath) to the M4/M5 for Cwm Carn, Afan, Quantocks and more - plus, for weekday blast and training Ashton Court/Leigh Woods is brilliant.
The Bristol MTB community is far more active and it's been voted 2nd best city to own a bike. Bristol's a better city to live in anyway, the novelty of bath wears off pretty quick.
Consider this, I grew up halfway between Bath and Bristol, guess which city I chose...
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it takes 10mins on the motorway from bath to bristol, ashton court is 3 pound on the train. oh and the bath mtb club is more active then the bristol one0
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Bristol. Most def.
Bath is too twee and always full of tourists.0 -
They're so close (meaning you can easily get to the same trails from either by car or train) I wouldn't make the decision based on which has the better riding 0
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Which was voted first best city to own a bike?
Norwich, because it's flat?0 -
Bath is a much nicer place to live than Bristol.
But Bristol is closer to Cwmcarn and Afan.
Tough choice!0 -
I would go for Bristol (having lived there for 8 years and wife went to the Uni - the proper one :twisted: !)
Reasons:
Better night life - more clubs and pubs.
Easy access to the M5 and M4.
Easy access to Wales.
Ashton Court and Leigh woods are brilliant.
Bath is very pretty but not so fun for students I reckon.
Just get a very very good bike lock (or 3!)0 -
Bristol, get a 45min bus to Winscombe and you are at the foot of some of the best riding in the mendips, Cheddar gorge, crooks peak, rowberrow warren! loads!
Plus the night life is better plus there are loads of really posh birds that soon turn out to be far from posh, if you catch my meaning Carbon is a mans best freind0 -
an important point when choosing a unistrodey wrote:Plus the night life is better plus there are loads of really posh birds that soon turn out to be far from posh, if you catch my meaning 0 -
Edinburgh was the best place to live and bike...0
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yeah, but i dont want to go to uni in 'burgh!0
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Bath.
If you don't have a car at Uni, there's loads more riding around Bath that is within 10mins riding than Bristol.
If you have a car, then you can always drive to the mind-numbingly boring Ashton Court if you must, and the South Wales biking areas are only an additional 20mins up the A46 to the M4.
The riding areas in Bristol, including family trails like the Bristol-Bath path, attract thieving-chav-scum like wasps to jam too.
To it's credit, Bristol has loads more bike shops, and Bath Uni is a bit out in the sticks, however, the bike shops in Bath are very good, and within walking distance from eachother.
The trails around Bath, (most of which are strictly speaking out of bounds to bikes), are f*cking excellent, especially if you like fast, swoopy singletrack which actually goes downhill rather than hairpinning round trees to make a dull flat woodland more interesting (Ashton Court reference).
You will find steep, rocky descents, hidden quarries and jump spots, and a nice canal with some decent pubs along it......and then there's the legendary Thursday Night Rides from Bradford-on-Avon....Beer money essential!
Yeah, Bath has loads of annoying tourists in the summer, but you'll be back home then yeah?
Bath has a certain superiority complex embedded in it's residents, but none more so than the toffs of Clifton or Redland in Bristol.
The nightlife in Bristol is better, (more choice), but the clubs in Bath are cool, and less commercial than Bristol.
.....and if you fancy a night out in Bristol, it's a 12min train journey away....
(By the way, I live on the edge of Bristol, but used to live about 10 miles from Bath in Wiltshire, been MTBing/shopping/boozing in both areas since 1988, so have an established experience of both areas.....)0 -
the blender.
how accessible are these 'illegal' trails, and have you ever had any issues with landowners?
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easy access...Bath Uni campus is on Coombe Down/ Claverton Down, so you have loads of trails to choose from outside the doors of the Uni...they all lead DH into Bath itself or towards other trails either side of the Avon Valley.
The "illegal" aspect is that most of the trails are footpaths, rather than bridleways etc...you tend to see just as many bikers as ramblers though, and as long as you're polite and considerate, you rarely have any conflict.....the great thing about the trails being footpaths is ther's no bloody horses!
If you end up in Bristol, the trails in bath are a short train ride away, easy to drive to, or can be ridden to if you're in epic xc mode!
If you need a guided tour of trails around Bath, let us know.0 -
cheers, Will do!
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Bristol anyday, more diverse and closer to proper mountain riding in South Wales. Immediate areas are about the same for riding. Bristol is more exciting in every way.0
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theblender Corsham? it's 11 miles from where i live in corshamish to the train station
here's my two pennies!
bath is full of public school boys and girls and as such all the clubs/pubs cost alot on fri and sats! as for riding bristol does have the edge of being in the right direction for welsh trail centers which is a good thing. also getting from bath train station to bristol temple meads is cheap and you can take your bike which is then about 10/20 mins from leigh woods on yer bike0
