UKC

Hi, So today I accepted a job down in the Alfreton area. I'll be moving down in February. I know nothing about the area and was wondering where's nice, where;s to avoid. I dont mind a shortish commute in the morning (nothing over 45mins ) but want to live fairly close to a decent wall, or one I can take a short detour to on the way home.

Wondering if people had any advice on where was best, which climbing walls they prefer and why. I currently mainly boulder indoor with the odd trip to a lead wall to practise for summer.

Also if anyone knows of a room to rent give me a shout! thanks in advance

In reply to BAdhoc:

I live in Matlock and use the Climbing Works and Awesome walls in Sheffield. There's a wall in Wirksworth but it's not very big and a couple in Derby which would probably be nearest from Alfreton but i've not yet been to them so can't comment.

In reply to BAdhoc:
if you lived in the south of sheffield you would close to your 45mins commute give or take and right next to the climbing works. plenty of accomodation, house shares with other climbers etc, infact you could probably tee something up on here. i grew up quite close to alferton and would say either sheffield (if you want city life) or west into the peak villages (if you want rural) would your best bets. you ll find lots of very cheap rentals in the towns east of alferton, make sure to take a drive around there and see if its really where you want to live.

In reply to BAdhoc:

If you mainly boulder the options are the Climbing Works in Sheffield, The Climbing Unit in Derby and The Depot in Nottingham.

All very good, the Climbing Works the more lively though (if you want to meet more people). But all of them are associated with some of the best boulderers in the country.

Where to live depends on what you like doing. 45 minutes is quite a large area, Sheffield and Nottingham both possible, the Peak District. If you like shopping and nightlife go to Nottingham, Sheffield is better for sports, of lots of flavours not just climbing but a study done a couple of decades ago found that Sheffielders had the least sex of anywhere in the country. That could be because it's a bit grey and depressing but the study was also linked to condom use, as it was part of an Aids project and alternative theories were that Yorkshiremen didn't like having to pay out to buy them and perhaps they found that the standard UK sizing was too generous for them.

Alfreton can be a bit of a swine to get to, if you are on Cotes Park, the A38 gets stuffed and the M1 is regularly broken, jtn 28 (for Alfreton) amongst the worst in the area.

If you don't fancy the cities and want something more rural. Wirksworth would be doable and full of creative types, Matlock very nice but don't even think about the small villages like Selston, go West for the Peak District.

In reply to BAdhoc:

I would avoid living in Alfreton itself. There are walls in Nottingham Derby and Wirksworth. There are plenty of places you can climb outside not far from there.

Are you wanting city or rural life?

In reply to BAdhoc:

Live in Belper. Boulder outside if you must.

In reply to BAdhoc:

Thanks for the advice. No idea if I want to be rural or city yet. Hoping to get a room for 3-6months so I can get to know the area. South Sheffield sounds good, avoiding alfreton noted! I'm more of a sports than a nightclub person so will put Nottingham to the bottom of the list on that account.

Cheers, had no idea how much there was to sort out when moving my life 100miles.

In reply to Turdus torquatus:


The Amber Valley, and that's just the high street on a Saturday night.

In reply to BAdhoc:
Only today me and Mrs diluted were saying how easy and pleasant it is to live in Chesterfield. From my house just off Chatsworth Rd, with no traffic I can get to; Alfreton 25m, Climbing Works 25m, Wildcat 20m, Birchens 8m, Curbar gap 15m, Chesterfield market (with Cheese shop) 6m, Stoney Middleton 22m, M1 j29 10m, Chatsworth house 12m, Centertainment/meadowhell 30m. Nottingham, Buxton, Derby all approx 35m

Easiest climbing wall is The Works, but others are not too far, the wall at Staveley is small but convenient, as is Wirksworth. That said, to live here and not take full advantage of the grit options would be a travesty.

I'd give it major consideration, only ever gets real traffic jams going past the retail park, (if you live in South Sheffield then Woodseats may just make you go mad) Barlow and Brampton breweries, Lots of independent shops, well sited for the Peak and Sheffield but also Alfreton, Mansfield, Buxton, Matlock, Bakewell, etc. And, I reckon about 25% more brick for your buck when buying a house compared to Sheffield.

In reply to winhill:

The beauty of being in Chessie is that to get to Alfreton you just nip down the A61 through Clay Cross, I had to get to Monks Rd Ind Est this week for 8.30 and planned on going M1 j29-j28-A38 but got to the roundabout and saw the M1 southbound was standing still, a quick diversion through Tibshelf/Newton and I was still early.

Wirksworth is nice, and easy to get to Alfreton. Would probably be my second choice. Good call on avoiding the small villages round Alfteton, they had the rug pulled from under them with the pit closures and never really got back standing.

In reply to DerwentDiluted:

Thanks, I've just seen a few places to rent there, seems pretty central which is nice!

Don't worry I'm fully committed to inproving my grit skills when the weather improves slightly (I don't do well in the freezing cold!).

In reply to DerwentDiluted: stick to west of the a61: much nicer. South wingfield, crich etc are nice, tibshelf, pinxton, not nice! Wirksworth is lovely, 25 mins drive to Alfreton, but the further west you go, the more expensive it gets. Climbing works derby has good bouldering.

In reply to BAdhoc:

You could look at the Loughborough area if you fancy a sporting uni town.

The Station is a good bouldering venue.