In reply to freerangecat:
> (In reply to Flashy)
>
> I... think hopelessness is sometimes in the eye of the beholder (to completely mangle a phrase but you get the idea). there have been arguments made for and against most of the places mentioned on this thread from what I can see, and I don't think Cambridge is much better than most (although I agree if you head further east things are worse)
Cambridge is certainly fairly crap - I'd put it at "just about tenable if you don't mind spending half your time in cars". Move half an hour or so further east, though, and you wouldn't be able to climb on a day trip regularly and your weekend venues would be more circumscribed and things would really start getting bleak. If I lived in Lowestoft I'd probably start looking for another hobby.
That said, I do sometimes fantasize about how nice it'd be to be able to nip out for a climb after work, or have a lie-in and go climbing on the same day, or go for a pint after work on friday and climb mountain rock in the same weekend rather than having to spend friday night in the car... and I can't imagine living here with other Serious Commitments (young kids, say) and getting much done.