UKC

I live up in Staveley South Lakes, which I think is a great location but it rains quite a lot so getting out climbing is hit and miss.
I am lucky as I'm retired so can just about cope with it or I go abroad if prolonged rain.
What do other people think.

In reply to keith sanders:

Central London*

You can travel to the south coast, west country, or peak in 2-3 hours, have many cheap flight options to europe and all other international destinations. There are weekly climbing events, lectures etc, many indoor wall options, and a big community.


* note there are also drawbacks.

In reply to keith sanders:

Tremp or Vic Catalunya

In reply to keith sanders:
Manchester is the middle of the land.

Peak 45mins
Wales 2hrs
Lakes 2
Yorkshire 2
South 5/6
Scotland 5/6

Airport 20mins and well served by public transport, relatively cheap taxis.

Ps No bias involved

In reply to greylag:


But it is still Manchester.

In reply to keith sanders:

Staveley's ideal Keith, or are you just gloating?

Shame about the odd neighbours BTW

In reply to keith sanders:
In our van, Keith!
H x

In reply to greylag:


It's better to live outside Manchester and be able to get in when necessary, than live in it and have to get out.

In reply to keith sanders:

I used to live in Wolverhampton. Possibly the most central place in the UK. Good rail and road links everywhere and 3 decent Airports within 75 minutes.

Glasgow a mere 4 hour 15 minute drive.
North Wales Betws Y Coed 1 hour 45 minutes
South Wales Tenby 3 hours 30 minutes
The Roaches 80 minutes
The Peak District less than 2 hours
Devon Exeter 3 hours
Lake District - Wasdale 3 hours
London 2 hours 30 minutes

And home of the mighty Wanderers!!

I now live in the Cotswolds and am further away from just about everywhere!

In reply to keith sanders:

Gatwick.

In reply to keith sanders:

I've just moved up to Kendal, and I'm finding that quality of life here is much better than where I lived in Sheffield.

But the relentless rain this summer has been unbearable, as for me it's been coupled with bad luck. Every time there's a good day, either I'm working, or my partner bails, or my car dies, or I've got some commitment, so I can literally count the decent days climbing out of a whole summer on one hand. Which is pathetic given that I work 4 days and don't have a family nor any other hobbies or commitments except stuff like going to people's weddings or whatever. Appalling.

On balance though, I wouldn't live anywhere else. Sheffield is OK, but I've climbed too much in the Peak and there's nothing there to excite me. Yorkshire has great bouldering and sport, for a trad climber I think it's pretty shite IMO (both lime and grit). Lived there for a bit and liked it, but for trad climbing I would drive to the Lakes or Wales. North Wales has the best variety of climbing, but it's not somewhere I want to live and work.

Here, the rain is an enormous disadvantage, but on balance, with the scenery, the walking, the variety of climbing, the people, the access to other places, etc etc, I can't think of anywhere in the UK I'd rather be.

In reply to Gone for good:


Have you looked at a map ? Midway between Lands End & John O'groats would be somewhere like Kendal or Penrith, & that's ignoring Orkney & Shetland which would move the midpoint even further north (although maybe partly off set by the Isles of Scilly ?)

In reply to Doug:

Well yes.. but I was referring to the places I had listed rather making a geographically accurate statement.

In reply to Doug:

In terms of distance from the sea I believe Meriden is the centre of England.

In reply to keith sanders:

I've lived in most corners of the UK, except the SW, and now live in the Lowther Valley in the Lakes. No better place to be. I can be in most parts of the Lakes within 45 mins (except Wasdale, obviously), the Yorkshire Dales in a similar time. NYMoors, Lancashire, and SW Scotland in just over an hour, Snowdonia in 3 hrs, and the Cairngorms or Lochaber in 4 hrs. I have a great multi-pitch crag 5 mins from the house. Nowhere I'd rather be.

In reply to Doug:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_points_of_the_United_Kingdom

In reply to keith sanders:

Staveley's a quality location. You're a lucky man. We're not far away in Kendal, which is still pretty damn fine.

Pleased we don't live in Staveley though, as I'd be about 3 stone heavier, what with More, Wilfs, Hawkshead Brewery and The Eagle in such close proximity!

Quality of life up here is tremendous come rain or shine (not withstanding the floods, of course!).

In reply to keith sanders:

used to live in Penrith, absolutely loved it - its a nice place to live, and everywhere around it is a nice place to play.

if i wanted to go elsewhere Glencoe was 4.5 hours away, Edinburgh 2 hours, Newcastle an hour, Glasgow 1.5 hours on the train. however, truth be told, i went to Edinburgh a couple of times, had a couple of beach weekends on the Northumberland coast, and never wanted to go anywhere else...

now on the Herefordshire-Shropshire border - south, west and mid-Wales is easy, North Wales is a bit of a pain but a day trip is possible if a long day. getting to anywhere else is an utter pig. lovely place to live, schools are good, house prices pretty good, dark skies, peace, quiet, easy to walk out of the door and have a pleasant walk in the country.

having also lived in Maryhill in Glasgow, i can say with some authority that there, in fact, worst places to live in the world...

In reply to keith sanders:

Of all the places I've lived in the UK, the best placed was Stirling - Glencoe & Cairngorms as day trips, Lakes only a couple of hours away, Northumberland just about possible as a day trip. Maybe not the best for after work climbing but better than many places. But Cornwall was a long drive

In reply to keith sanders:

I'd quite fancy living in Bend, Oregon. Silly name, lovely place.

T.

In reply to keith sanders:

I'm quite fond of Langdale

In reply to John Kelly:

Yeah, up here it is a little bit spoilt brat to complain about the weather, considering what a fantastic place it is.

But oh my gosh the rain has done my head in. I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it. I HATE IT. WHEN WILL IT STOP???

In reply to Jon Stewart:

When will it stop?? Where were you on Saturday??? It was absolutely stunning up here.

Anyway, don't worry, Cumbrindian Summer on its way...

In reply to Jon Stewart:

There is quite a bit to do in wet, body board down langdale beck, cycle over the passes, bit fell walking, scrambling is good and the occasional wet rock climb can be fun, just knock a few grades off.

In reply to plyometrics:
I wish it had rained Saturday, spat off a vs, bloody limestone

In reply to keith sanders:
West Chesterfield.

Birchen 8 minutes
Curbar gap or Wildcat 12 minutes
Horseshoe 22 minutes
Stanage 30 minutes
Kinder 45 minutes
North Wales 3hrs
Lakes 2.5 hrs
Everywhere in mainland UK doable for a weekend.

No particular traffic problems, just 10 minutes from M1.

In reply to plyometrics:


Well, since it was a nice day and I wasn't working (I usually work saturdays), then obviously I had a social commitment to attend. This is the cast-iron guarantee.


Believe it when I see it. Got the week off work, it's going to be abysmal as ever, so I'm off down to Pembroke where it will hopefully be a bit better.

In reply to DerwentDiluted:


End of thread

In reply to ballsac:

Shropshire is a fine county - probably the best place I've lived on balance.

Enjoying Somerset a lot at the moment though, great to live, just a pig to get to proper hills.

In reply to John Kelly:


My mum came up to go walking and scrambling the other day. We walked up to Sty Head and started the Climber's Traverse which my mum has wanted to do for years, I was really excited to do it with her because it's such a tremendous route. As we pulled up, it started raining (it always does), I had a bit of a tantrum, we set off in the rain, the footpath a river, and we agreed that if we could see Lingmell then we'd do the traverse, if not we'd sack it. Got to Sty Head, and it was good, the cloud was just topping Great End and the Scafells, and just a tiny bit of drizzle. We started along the traverse but before we even rounded Kern Knotts my Mum found that she couldn't cope with the wetness. Not just wet, but horrible slimy wet where everything's coated in some sort of licheny stuff that you only get when everything has been soaked for weeks (I think of the rock along there as grippy and nice, even when wet, but it wasn't, it was pure foul, slimey horror). So we turned back. Went up to Sprinkling Tarn with the intention of going back over Glaramara, but by then the drizzle had intensified to thick wet clag and rain, so we sacked it and went back to the car with faces akin to slapped arses.

A typical day in the Lakes, summer 2017.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

That sounds like quite a good day out , it is slippery along there, I tried to thread the needle wet day earlier this year soon gave that up

In reply to John Kelly:


In some ways, it was a good day. The view from the start of the traverse is incredible, with the cloud swirling over the peaks it's fantastically atmospheric. Some people are wired psychologically to ignore the fact that there is an enormous deficit between what they want (the traverse, the top of the mountain, not being wet though, having memories of a fantastic day) and what they get (trudging through the rain back to the car having done essentially nothing). I can't do it. The gulf between what I want and what I get just stares me right in the eyeballs and it won't disappear.

In reply to Sam Beaton:

I included that for balance, to give an honest, warts an' all, description.

In reply to keith sanders:
I grew up in the Yorkshire Dales, went to uni in Buxton, and spent 8 years in The Lakes. I now live 25 miles south of Edinburgh. On balance, The Lakes was by far and away the best of the lot.

We're about to move to Dunkeld though, and I'm hoping that'll trump them all!

In reply to keith sanders:

UK only perspective.....it depends entirely on your favoured form of climbing. I am Ilkley based and like limestone bolt-clipping. As someone who can only climb at weekends and can't take advantage of windows of good weather, living 30-35 minutes from Malham and Kilnsey suits me fine. From March/April to October/November there is almost always some dry rock (even if sampling it can sometimes feel like a bit of a mission). And during the handful of dry winter days, in this damp country Almsliff and Caley are less than half and hour away. That said, if I was into trad mountain routes I would be pretty miserable.

In reply to Jon Stewart:


Many moons ago, I lived in Glencoe for three and bit years. A big chunk of my heart is still there, but whenever the longing gets too much, I remind myself of how the not uncommon three or so weeks of incessant thick clag and drizzle with the occasional couple of days of proper heavy rain thrown in would eventually send me a bit mental.

I did used to look at visiting kayakers and think that they were on to something.

In reply to Jon Stewart:
I don't think I would go into the mountains if I always got up them, I like the fact the weather, the angle, the lack of pro, etc etc occasionally defeats me, I like the uncertainty and weather plays a big part in that

Where would you have preferred to have been?

In reply to DerwentDiluted:











Good shout, I live in Froggatt. 50 crags within 10 km, walk to Stoney, Froggatt and Curbar. 20 minute drive into the ClimbingWorks. Two and a half hours to N Wales at the weekend.
if we ever sell up, a Cottage in Snowdonia and a shed in Font would be perfect.

In reply to John Kelly:


Obviously I checked the forecast and it looked promising (I think that MWIS is actually worse than useless - I tend to make decisions based on it, when the fact of the matter is that in low pressure the weather's unpredictable, so no information would be better than MWIS).

Had I known it was going to be crap, I'd have gone for a walk in the Dales if it looked better there, or if it was blanket wetness everywhere, I'd have done nowt. Unlike you, I would much rather be indoors listening to music, drinking tea, etc than be out in vile weather.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

MWIS - you just wouldn't go out - good for safety but I generally skip it.

In reply to keith sanders:

Sheffield.
Loads of crags, great indoor if the weather is crap and the city has a lot of work. I just wish Lakes and Wales were nearer so maybe Manchester has it.

In reply to olddirtydoggy:

Thing about Sheffield versus Manchester is that the after work climbing in Sheffield is much better, but the weekend climbing from Manchester is better (nearer). I think that soloing at Stanage on a spring evening can be one of the most fantastic experiences that climbing has to offer. OK, it's not headpointing new E10 in the Hebrides or whatever, but in the context of normal life, being able to spend an hour between work and home climbing those routes, enjoying the feel of every hold and the flow of every move is something quite unique and beautiful.

Here's a good little film about what I mean, you might have seen it before:

vimeo.com/73642459

In reply to keith sanders:

Liguria.

U.K. is utterly gash.

Especially this morning in Bolton. F F.S.

D

In reply to ballsac:


Oi! Maryhill's great! As friendly as the best of Glasgow, good gym, library, tescos, down the canal to the banks of the Kelvin, the most beautiful place in Glasgow, that Indian which is bring your own, and the Viking bar. Only thing last let's it down is students with no manners...

In reply to keith sanders:

Lived in Roundhay, North leeds for 8 years. Otley Chevin and Almscliff 20 mins. Ilkley 30 mins. Brimham, Goredale, malham all within an hour's 'brisk' drive. lakes a couple of hours or so. Same for the North York moors. haven't climbed as much or as hard since

In reply to keith sanders:
Birkenhead. - Lakes, N. Wales, Peak District, all an easy drive. All the advantages of big city living with none of the disadvantages.

In reply to keith sanders:

Surprised nobody's said Bristol yet. I guess they must be too busy climbing...

For those of us who are still working, I'd say any big city on the edge of a climbing area, and as a bonus, next door to your place of work.

In reply to keith sanders:

For me it's the Ashbourne-Buxton corridor. Much drier then the west, cheap houses, week night cragging and caving, easy access to Wales, Lakes, Scotland for the weekend, easy access to MAN, LPL, BHX and EMA airports to get away, easy access to London for culture and food.

But it depends what you want. Glasgow has most of it but the weather gets you down after 15 years. Cragging isn't great but climbing Ben Ime after work on a Friday beats almost anything. If winter climbing or walking is your thing you have to live in Scotland. One of the friendliest cities in the UK (unlike Edinburgh).

Manchester is just about as wet but with none of the culture or food (in fact a desert on both counts). Cragging isn't great (slithering around in greasy holes in Lancashire doesn't even count) and, although physically close to places, you'll spend a lot of time in traffic. Super people though.

Sheffield is great for cragging but getting to the hills is a pain. Great place to live (cheap) and a lot going on, albeit low-brow. If you like single pitching, this is the place to be.

Cornwall is idiosyncratic. You need to be able to cope with long, wet winters and being interested in other sports is essential. A pain in the backside to get anywhere.

Cambridge. No.

London. Best for weekend warriors - you can fly or drive to the Alps or anywhere in Britain. The only international city in the UK and an amazing place to live. Houses a bit on the pricey side...

In reply to keith sanders:

It has to be WIGAN, one and half hours to Wales. Lakes, Peak, Man and Liv airports and also the best Pies in the country!

In reply to jonnie3430:

i'm afraid i just found Maryhill dirty, dispirited and hopeless.

for some bizaare reason it even seemed to rain more than in Hillhead or Shawlands... moving to Hillhead gave me the revelation that i wanted to live in Glasgow forever, living in Maryhill gave me the revelation that it was time to leave.

In reply to keith sanders:

Plymouth: incredible variety and lots of year round climbing...
Dartmoor 20-40 mins
Torbay limestone (inc DWS) 50 mins
Sharpnose 1.5 hrs
Bosigran 1hr 50
Cheddar 2 hrs
Portland 2hrs

In reply to keith sanders:

How about Clitheroe, 10 mls from the centre of Britain(ie Dunsop Bridge telephone box by the way)

3/4 hrs to the yorkshire dales (summer evenings on the Yorkshire big 3 and more if you want)
1.5 hrs to Langdale
2 hrs Borrowdale
1.5 hrs to Hathersage
2 hrs to Llandudno
2.5 hrs to Llanberis
Lancashire quarrys on the doorstep

Burnley F.C. just 10miles up the road

1 hr to Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool airports, if you want to get cheap flights abroad.

Plus lots of Mountain biking and climbing walls nearby

Could never understand why climbers think Sheffield is where 'its all happening'.

Al

ps By the way I don't work for the Clitheroe tourist agency either

In reply to keith sanders:

A lot of these centrally places towns are not near anything as in under an hour.

In reply to olddirtydoggy:

Sorry old chap, don't understand your banter at all.

T.

In reply to keith sanders:

I think it has to be a case of living in lots of different places and experiencing the highs and lows of those places. I don't think there is a "best place," at least not for me. During the last 10 years I have lived in China, Oman, Kuwait, Thailand and France. They all had their pros and cons. Admittedly, Kuwait had more cons that many other places, but Oman had more pros than I would ever have imagined. I am now in France and for now it's great in a lot of ways - but I can't see myself being here forever. It helps that I have a much healthier, less obsessive relationship with climbing than I had previously, so I actually experience the other elements of the places I live in.

In reply to J1234:

Then why not buy a house over there then ?

In reply to heleno:

Has crossed my mind as I spend a lot of time in it anyway

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Then maybe we should meet up and do a few routes together

In reply to keith sanders:

Would love to. I'm often free on Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays I quite often climb with Katy F who you might know - good climber! I'll PM you my number. Free this week, but the forecast is terrible.

In reply to 1234None:


Have you gone mental?

In reply to keith sanders:
Kirkbymoorside 7 minutes to Ravenswick quarry, why would you live anywhere else.

In reply to keith sanders:

Please tell me, enthusiastic supporters of Clitheroe, Kendal, Cumbria, Warrington and similar environs, how these places rate for:

attractive members of the opposite sex
sushi
dosas
cinemas that show more than the emoji movie

oh and of course jobs that don't involve the public sector...

Because, you know, one needs to live a little.

In reply to keith sanders:
That's easy, Groombridge





Okay, okay, just kidding!

In reply to Jon Stewart:


No...I was mental previously

In reply to keith sanders:

here: https://tinyurl.com/yc725pl7

In reply to GarethSL:


Stinks of fish and is cold and dark 9 months a year, sounds great.

In reply to DerwentDiluted:

But you could have said Stoney instead?!

In reply to seankenny:

Kendal's got nice restaurants. It's an hour to Manchester if you want to go to a city.

Edit: granted, Kendal's not the place I would choose to go out on the pull (and I'm not looking for attractive members of the opposite sex).

In reply to keith sanders:
This is always going to be a hugely personal question and based on what our personal priorities and our life experiences. As this is UK Climbing, climbing is going to be an important priority, but for many possible not the most important, even then the type of climbing will have a significant impact on location. Then we have to look at other interests outside of climbing in addition to the need to work and issues around affordability of the lifestyles that different places might offer and finally and perhaps for many most personally, the need to be near friends and family. I’m also keeping things to a British perspective, basically because that is what I know.

I’m in to trad climbing and a bit of mountaineering, so my ideal location would have a range of lowland and mountain crags, alpine peaks, perfect summers and cold crisp winters; obviously that place also has extensive formal gardens fertilised with unicorn shit, so I will settle for lots of evening cragging options, mountains within an easy drive and easy access to an international airport.

I’m also in to running, both road and fell, so somewhere with lots of local clubs and a good racing scene as well as being able to run out of my front door and in to the hills is important; I do a bit of road biking as well, so again a few hills and ideally roads where drivers are used to seeing bikers. Finally, I still need to work, which for me means being in or close to a major metropolitan area, I also love cities for their bustle, history, architecture and culture (both high and low) so whilst being in the city isn’t essential, being relatively close is.

I have often thought about what it would be like to live in the west of Scotland, particularly on Skye, the Lake District and in Cornwall, but for me, all of them only offer very small pieces in the jigsaw.

Maybe in time, when work considerations are less of an issue and the draw of the city may have reduced a little, somewhere just south of the Lakes may appeal; Silverdale or Cartmel perhaps.

For now, living at the foot of the Pennines, but a 12 minute train ride in to the centre of Manchester works perfectly. From a climbing perspective, I have half a dozen crags I can get to on foot, dozens within half an hour in the cars and hundreds within an hour; the Lakes and North Wales are between an hour and a half and two hours away and the west of Scotland is doable for the weekend; the convenience of Manchester airport also means that a long weekend in the Alps is also an option.

I could choose from one of a dozen or more local running clubs, I could race almost every day of the year, both road and fell, hardly travelling, but also with easy access to those climbing locations, which are often also great running locations. The Tour de France passed a few miles from my house on 2014 and I have many routes of 50-100 miles that give me wonderful riding.

I had to laugh at the poster who described Manchester as a food and culture black hole, the city is famous for its lack of Michelin stars, having eaten in quite a few Michelin stared restaurants, I would say that was an oversight by the Michelin Guide rather than any real criticism of the culinary offer of the city, which is great, not only in terms of the fairly narrow parameters of what Michelin judge, but also premium casual dining and street food. Even that ignores the Michelin stars and other brilliant culinary experiences within pretty close proximity. As for a cultural black hole, the poster is clearly a complete moron. Whatever your cultural references are, the city has something to offer.

That is a very long winded way of saying, where I live works for me. It’s the best place for me to live, it might not be for anyone else.

In reply to keith sanders: Gib ain't bad 5min from some very good dws a two hour drive to el chorro with dozens of crags inbetween and a 30 min ferry to Morocco .Portugal has so ok climbing to!

In reply to keith sanders:

Keith,

Just jump in the camper and follow the sun. Granted, that probably means the continent, but even the dog would appreciate better weather!

Cheers, David

In reply to keith sanders:
You're also close enough to the permadry big Yorkshire sport crags. Unless they're seeping...

I like Birmingham as it's not too far from anywhere south of the Border for a weekend hit. Even Scotland is doable for a weekend if you're keen, though the Friday night M6 traffic is a pain. So it's easy to follow the best weather / tides. There's also a fair bit to do within a 2 hour drive radius (including some fairly reliable crags in terms of weather / conditions), so plenty of day trip options.

The main disadvantage is there's no easily accessible evening cragging. The Peak is an option for weekday evenings if you're keen and can get away from work early but it's always a mission due to the traffic and so I usually only do a handful of evenings a year (in fact none at all this year). On the other hand, the fact that I always have to drive at least an hour and a half to get to a decent crag means I'm used to travelling for climbing, so I'm not phased by the idea of a long weekebd trip and don't end just end up at the same local crags all the time.

The other important point is the job market is pretty good but without the crazy property prices you get in the South, so you can actually afford to live here and get out climbing. Birmingham is in the Midlands - mid way in all senses, occupying a happy medium between North and South!

To be fair, I think Manchester would be similar but with better access to a lot of climbing, apart from Pembroke and the South East.

What we don't really have is a decent local scene like in Sheffield, Bristol and so on. There simply aren't that many really keen climbers here, as far as I know. We do have some decent walls though. A good bouldering wall and a good lead wall within walking distance of where I live (with the Depot coming soon as well), plus a large (but not as good) lead / bouldering wall a 10 minute cycle ride away. There are a few other walls in the wider West Midland area but I never feel the need to visit them as there's plenty in Birmingham itself.

Visions of hoardes of climbers heading this way soon...

In reply to Misha:

I love your optimism about living in Birmingham.


The fact that you can see not having a single climbable bit of rock anywhere even remotely close to home *as a positive* is truly wonderful! And a positive mental attitude so strong that it makes Birmingham look like a great place to live for a climber will, I reckon, bring great outcomes in life (even if, to the pessimist, it looks to be completely contrary to the objective reality).

In reply to keith sanders:
You deserted Tarn. End of story.

In reply to keith sanders:

Staveley en Languedoc, right?

In reply to Jon Stewart:
It's nice to get out in the evenings but for me it's not essential. Being stuck in the city keeps the psyche high for weekends. With my job which can involve long hours and my preference for late starts and finishes (I'm rarely at work before 10am), a lot of the time I wouldn't be able to get out in the evenings anyway. Travelling at weekends isn't normally an issue. I'd rather travel to different places than keep going to the same old crags locally. The other issue is jobs. You're lucky enough to be able to work pretty much anywhere there's a town (if there are vacancies), whereas I need to be in a large city (unless I take a lower level job but I'd rather be able to save money to have some meaningful time off later on).

In reply to guy127917:


This is where I'm coming from as well but I'd say London's two main disadvantages compared to say Birmingham is it's significantly further away from all the climbing north of the M4 and the cost of living is way higher (whereas salaries are not higher by the same order of magnitude).

In reply to Gone for good:
Wolverhampton is that little bit closer to some climbing areas compared to Birmingham. Not unusual to be coming back after a full on weekend, counting down junctions on the M54 / M6 and wishing there wasn't that last bit to go! I'd say Birmingham is a nicer place to live now that they've bulldozed a lot of the old concrete in the city centre and replaced it with new concrete and glass and there are generally more jobs. Nothing like a bit of Midlands rivalry!

In reply to Jon Stewart:
Unfortunately I suspect the relentless rain this summer isn't that unusual in the Lakes... The Lakes must come from somewhere, after all! Not looked at the stats but suspect the rainfall is about the same as in the mountainous areas of North Wales. The difference is there's no Gogarth, Tremadog or Llandudno for iffy weather days (St Bees doesn't really compare) and a lot of the crags are high up and out of condition and/or dirty a lot of the time. So given the choice I'd opt for North Wales. Plus it would be interesting to learn some Welsh.

In reply to Misha:


When I weighed up the pros and cons, I reaslised that I could test the eyes of 18 Cumbrians or 18 North Welsh every working day...

In reply to Misha:


For me it's totally essential. The thought of a working week that isn't punctuated regularly with climbing (real climbing, in a beautiful location, on aesthetic rock, providing some kind of actual nourishment for the soul) is...unthinkable.

Oh hang on, it's going to be winter soon... F*ck!


I retrained for precisely that reason. When I was a civil servant, the restriction that placed on where I could live made me unable to contemplate the future. No exaggeration, the fact that I can now live where I want to (and I can go somewhere else whenever I choose to) has been a big factor in changing my outlook from bleak to bearable.

In reply to guy127917:




I'd say London is probably the worst place to live from a climbing perspective. Trying to drive out of London on a Friday night was often soul destroying. Just trying to reach the M25 was a mission. Plus I found nobody owned a bloody car, which meant I did a disproportionate amount of driving for me. Lower Wye Valley was probably the closest area but that was still a five hour round trip. Then there's the environmental impact and expense of needing to do so much driving just to fuel my hobby. I'd like to say I had a decent paid job but I didn't! Only good things about London was the indoor climbing, although many walls were too crowded for me in the evenings. I liked the south coast chalk climbing for winter training but the Scotland was of course around eight hours away. Trying to find good winter partners in London was like trying to form a bobsleigh team. I'm sure someone on here will say Mick Fowler managed it - Mick Fowler is not normal

In reply to Mr. Lee:

Haha yes I can see why people may not agree with me!!

I have worked around a lot of the issues you had-
1) I dont work on fridays, thursday night is much more civil for driving, this also gives 3 days at the weekend which makes it more worth driving 4 hours.
2) I predominantly climb with my girlfriend and we share the driving.

Environment impact of humping a van 3-400 miles most weekends and/or doing short haul flights does worry me a bit. The trade off is I cycle to work, but that's not a good enough answer.

In reply to keith sanders:

New Mills. The entire Peak within 45 minutes reach, north Wales and the Lakes 1hr 45.. if only Scotland was that bit nearer!

In reply to seankenny:

I lived in Warrington for 21 years. It's one of those places which, like a lot of others mentioned here, some people living there think is good because it's easy to get to other places. And Warrington is a great place from that point of view; it's one of the best places in northern England for connections to the motorway network, with the M56, M6 and M62 to the south, east and north of the town, and so it's easy to get to north Wales, the peak, Yorkshire and the lake district. It's on the west coast main line too if you want to get the train. There are train services and (relatively) easy car access to Manchester and Liverpool and all the cultural delights they contain as well.

But, and this is the point, being able to escape easily from a place and travel quickly to somewhere else does not make a place good to live; it rather emphasises that the place itself is not somewhere to linger and enjoy. Now, fans of Warrington and other post-industrial northern towns may grumble about this and point out the range of delights they contain; places for music, museums, good pubs and so forth. But amongst all this there is not much to distinguish one from the other, the offerings from one place become much like those from somewhere equally jejune in a cultural buffet of beige brown dullness (one of the heartiest and most immediate laughs I've had in years came when I read that Warrington was bidding to become the city of culture). I cannot defend the claims of a place as being the best spot to live on the grounds that it could be worse and it's easy to get out of.

So, where then? Where you are for now, make the most of what it offers and if you're unhappy then start planning to leave. And then go where you wish; and that will be your answer.

T.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:


although there is the saying - happiness is a state of mind not a place!

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Great place Tarn but done everything I can for 60m radius.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:
You make a good point that if the main advantage of a place is that it's easy to get to other places, that rather suggests that the place itself isn't much good. However the reality is that most of us have to work for about five days of the week anyway, so where you live is more about jobs, house prices / rents, access to shops and services and so on, than local after work climbing opportunities (more of a nice to have). It's great to have good climbing nearby for one day hits but if you can generally make both days at the weekend, travel time is less of an issue anyway. Plus with good access to a variety of areas you have more options weather-wise (a key consideration in our rainy land!) and more variety generally. So there's a lot to be said for living somewhere with good access to other places.

In reply to Misha:
As I think has already been said, everyone's priorities are different because everyone's lives are different. There's a Londoner upthread who doesn't understand how you can live without instant access to high quality sushi, which is something I absolutely could not give a f*ck about! How often do I want to eat out? Every now and then. How often do I want to go climbing? Every day.

When I was in my 20s it was important for me to live in the same city as my friends so we could all go out on a weekend and dance to some properly good techno. Now, I'm bothered about whether my commute to work is an uplifting experience of driving fast through the mountains, drinking in the scenery and the subtle changes with the weather, the light, the seasons; or whether it's drudgery from which I can't wait to escape. Not so bothered about the club scene now I'm pushing 40...


Edit. When I say "drinking in the scenery" I mean metaphorically. I don't have a sneaky little drinkie on the drive into work! Not yet, anyway...

In reply to Jon Stewart:



Bragg Creek near Calgary - evening ice climbing whenever you want, an hour from the door (not to mention the Rockies, Bugs for a weekend, Squamish `days drive away, skiing, cheap flights to US hot rock.....).

In reply to George Ormerod:

I was planning to move to Canada at one stage. I'd have to do a bit more training to make my qualification valid so it would be a bit of a project but perfectly reasonable. Now, I don't think I can be arsed. I'll do a few winters here and see how well I survive.

In reply to Jon Stewart:
You are right re priorities. My point though is that the reality for many people is having to work 5 days a week, sometimes long hours, perhaps then looking after kids in the evening, so after work cragging (when it's possible in the first place) isn't a major consideration. On the other hand, being able to pick the best area for weather at the weekend (or whenever people have time off) and get there within 2-3-4 hours is important because with limited time for climbing you can't afford to lose days to the weather. So yes, it's all about priorities and different people will differ but I think a lot of people will be in the circumstances I've described. Don't care about sushi or indeed techno either but would hate to have to drive to work - my commute is a 10 minute walk, albeit in central Birmingham. Walking to work in Kendal would be nice but I wouldn't find suitable level work there...

In reply to Misha:

Yes, I totally see that those priorities, especially having work dictate your location, are much more the norm. Everyone here assumes that I came to live up here *for* work, rather than moving just 'cause I like the scenery and the rocks. And going back to the weather thing, when it comes to actually getting stuff done you're obviously much better off with your 'chasing the sun' approach, than living somewhere where it rains every day. There's a decent amount of stuff do from here that's not nearly as wet as the Lakes (including some great rainproof training places, sport, Eden sandstone etc) but you're always going to be in the North West, and that means it's more than likely going to be pissing down...

In reply to keith sanders:

Wow! Never knew you'd ticked all the big routes at Dovestones Main.

In reply to keith sanders:

Taunton / Wellington, Somerset, is pretty good.

Cheddar 35 - 45m
Avon 45 - 55m
Brean 40m
Torbryan 50m
Torbay /Ansteys / Daddyhole etc 50m
Berry head 60m
Portland 75m - 90m
Dartmoor 60m
DWS @ Torbay / Berry Head + Portland.
Fairy cave quarry 1hr
The Quay 35m
Redpoint 50m

Haven't felt like travelling further yet, but Wye Valley + South Wales nearish, Cornwall too.

This times could be cut another 5 or 10mins if i swap my "commuter" bike for a sports, but i seem to be sticking my neck out enough already on the commuter filtering through holiday traffic etc.

In reply to Jon Stewart:
So what you're saying is you need to move to Bristol next!

In reply to Misha:

And climb limestone?

Sorry, not a philistine

In reply to keith sanders:

Spain, here you can find what you want: kindly climate with many sunny days, a lot of climbing pahts with pi?turesque places. I can recommended Calpe, it is a wonderful place to live and to climb.