What is England's finest county?

[Kestevan]

[quote name='swee'pea99']Yes it is. It's flatter than they make out. It's really reeeeeally flat. Nice place, but...flat.[/QUOTE]

And windy...... dont forget windy.... and flat.

 

[craigwend]

Right. Listen to me. Listen VERY BLOODY CAREFULLY! YORKSHIRE is NOT ALLOWED. Know why? THERE'S. NO. SUCH. PLACE!!!

You can nominate NORTH Yorkshire. WEST Yorkshire. SOUTH Yorkshire (alright, maybe you won't) or even EAST Yorkshire but make your minds up will ya? One or the others, not ALL of them. It's not bloody fair, right?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as a geographical territory and cultural region. The name is familiar and well understood across the United Kingdom and is in common use in the media and the militaryand also features in the titles of current areas of civil administration, such as Yorkshire and the Humber and West Yorkshire.

Within the borders of the historic county of Yorkshire are areas which are widely considered to be among the greenest in England, due to the vast stretches of unspoiled countryside in the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors and to the open aspect of some of the major cities. Yorkshire has sometimes been nicknamed God's Own County ...
The emblem of Yorkshire is the white rose of the English royal House of York, and the most commonly used flag representative of Yorkshire is the White Rose on a dark blue background, which after years of use, was recognised by the Flag Institute on 29 July 2008. Yorkshire Day, held on 1 August, is a celebration of the general culture of Yorkshire, ranging from its history to its own language.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England...Yorkshire Day, held on 1 August, is a celebration of the general culture of Yorkshire, ranging from its history to its own language.

So can I put you down as another vote for Oxfordshire then craig?

 

[Cascad]

Suffolk gets my vote, big sky county, beautiful coast and endless back roads (that I know well)

Lancashire was strangely captivating, but I kept up a good speed through Blackburn and Burnley so wasn't captured...

 

[blockend]

Avoiding the obviously picturesque places, the Lincolnshire Wolds can be a marvel on a summer evening, Shropshire/Wales borders are as fine cycling country as can be conceived, bits of Northants and Rutland, Northumberland is rather special, Cheshire has its moments.

OTOH I can't think of any county that is nice all over, they all have horrible bits.

 

[PaulB]

Yorkshire has sometimes been nicknamed God's Own County ...

Yes and sometimes, Yorkshiremen are spoken of in the same breath as God. People see one coming and go, "Oh God, it's a bloody Yorkshireman.' It's in the Bible that, I think. And Shakespeare. Somewhere.

 

[lukesdad]

Yorkshiremen as usual full of sh*te !

 

[slowmotion]

Yorkshiremen as usual full of sh*te !

The strangest thing is that a lot of them regard Geof Boycott as some kind of demi-god. Rum bunch.....

 

[Muddyfox]

My vote goes to Devon (because im born and bred here) and second place would be Norfolk

Simon

 

[Fnaar]

Thumberland, obviously. I cycled round a nice aprt of it this afternoon.

 

[Speicher]

I nominate Worcestershire. Partly because of the great network of rural roads for cycling (and the pubs) but mainly because it is right in the middle of the country. The best part about England is that all the counties are great and offer a huge variety of different scenary. To exploit this to the full, you are best to be right in the middle.

Yes, I agree.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

I've never read such a load of unadulterated claptrap.

There is only one contender.....Lincolnshire of course. It has a beautiful coastline, miles and miles of quiet cage free roads, hills (yes really), fenland, incredibly varied wildlife, history a-plenty (John Harrison built H1 in my very village (excuse me while I genuflect at the mention of the Great Man's name), Lincolnshire plumbread and Tom Woods bitter. What more could any cyclist want? Mind you, Norfolk is ace too.

 

[accountantpete]

South Cheshire and North Shropshire are just purrfect.

 

[jonesy]

So can I put you down as another vote for Oxfordshire then craig?

I would vote for Oxfordshire, as I live there and quite like it really, but I do miss proper hills like I grew up with in Mid Wales...

 

[User482]

It's beautiful to be sure, but Cumbria isn't a county in the traditional sense though is it? It's an administrative convenience made up from Cumberland, Westmorland and north Lancashire. I note that the residents of Appleby changed the name of their town to "Appleby in Westmorland" after Westmorland had been abolished...I doubt they feel particularly Cumbrian.

Seeing as part of the Lake District used to be in Lancashire, I'm tempted to vote for that, but there are also some godforsaken old mill towns too. A bit of ying for the yang, I suppose.

So I shall vote for Bristol instead, as it is both a city and a county. Fantastic mountain biking and road riding is available in the city's doorstep. Wonderful.