- Masham has 23 biker cafes serving just 1,200 people – a ratio of 1 biker café to every 52 people
- Bakewell (Derbyshire) and Barmouth (Gwynedd) were the 2nd and 3rd most biker-friendly towns
- Remote locations are the most biker-friendly, when compared against population size and no. of biker cafes in towns
- Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Manchester are the best for bikers in urban city locales
- When just regions were analysed, southern areas (except for Greater London) hold the torch as the ‘most biker-friendly’ swathe of the UK
Vertu Motorcycles have analysed the locations of over 1,200 biker cafes to find that Masham, a small town in Harrogate, is the biker capital of the UK.
The research using UKbikercafes.co.uk data was analysed as a proportion of regional population; areas with a greater ratio of biker cafes to number of people were therefore ‘more biker-friendly’ than those with a lower ratio.
Overall, remote locations were revealed as the most biker-friendly, according to the Vertu Motorcycles research.
Masham was found to be the unequivocal leading biker-friendly town, with 23 biker cafes serving just 1,200 people – a ratio of 1 biker café to every 52 people!
For bikers who live in this area, along with Bakewell and Barmouth, finding a local biker café with like-minded individuals is easy to come by, likely helped by the biker-friendly wide open roads and quieter country/coastal surroundings.
Despite being numbers #13, #14, and #15 in the list, Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Manchester are the most biker-friendly out of all the urban, densely populated cities across the UK.
Ranked – most biker-friendly | Location | No. biker cafés | Population | Ratio – biker cafès per person |
#1 | Masham | 23 | 1,205 | 1:52 |
#2 | Bakewell | 31 | 3,695 | 1:119 |
#3 | Barmouth | 21 | 2,522 | 1:120 |
#4 | Brigg | 24 | 5,626 | 1:234 |
#5 | Mowbray | 33 | 27,670 | 1:838 |
#6 | Lancaster | 29 | 52,234 | 1:1801 |
#7 | Burton upon Trent | 25 | 72,299 | 1:2892 |
#8 | Chelmsford | 38 | 112,000 | 1:2947 |
#9 | Chester | 25 | 79,645 | 1:3186 |
#10 | Bath | 21 | 88,859 | 1:4231 |
#11 | Bedford | 24 | 106,940 | 1:4456 |
#12 | Oxford | 31 | 152,450 | 1:4918 |
#13 | Bournemouth | 26 | 183,491 | 1:7057 |
#14 | Portsmouth | 30 | 238,800 | 1:7960 |
#15 | Manchester | 21 | 547,627 | 1:26077 |
Southern regions were also more predominantly ‘biker-friendly’, according to the data.
In particular, the South West and the South East were found to have the most biker cafés in the UK, with 177 and 171 biker cafés, respectively. In total, that’s almost 350 biker cafés in the country’s most southern regions alone.
The only exception is Greater London which, with its urban landscape and gridlocked roads, has just 19 biker cafes – the least amount of biker cafés in the UK.
Open roads, again, clearly define the most biker-friendly areas when viewed regionally.
For example, the East Midlands (154 biker cafes), which has greater access to coastal routes and stunning countryside roads than the West Midlands (97 biker cafes), has 58 per cent more biker cafés than its more westerly cousin.
Ranking – most biker-friendly | Region | No. biker cafés |
#1 | South West | 177 |
#2 | South East | 171 |
#3 | East Midlands | 154 |
#4 | North West | 143 |
#5 | East of England | 134 |
#6 | Wales | 106 |
#7 | Yorkshire and the Humber | 105 |
#8 | Scotland | 103 |
#9 | West Midlands | 97 |
#10 | North East | 32 |
#11 | Greater London | 19 |
Best biker-friendly locations: Top cafes by town/city
Masham
- Fat Monkey, Unit 5b Plews Way, Leeming Bar, Northallerton DL7 9UL
- Platform 1, Bedale Station, Bedale Rd, Aiskew, Bedale DL8 1AW, UK
- The Old Granary, 17 High St, Pateley Bridge, Harrogate HG3 5AP, UK
Bakewell
- Wetton Village Hall, 5 Holiday Cottages, Wetton, Ashbourne DE6 2AF, UK
- Insomnia Coffee Company & Café, Kingsgate Hope Valley S32 3XU
- Route 66, 134 N Parade, Matlock DE4 3NS, UK
Barmouth
- Bath House Café, The Quay Barmouth LL42 1HB
- Caffi Cymunedol, Bethania Nant Gwynant Caernarfon LL55 4NH
- Red Kite Café, Silver-Lead Mine Museum, Aberystwyth SY23 3AB, UK
Brigg
- Choppersbar, 80 Goulton St, Hull HU3 4DL
- River View Cafe Beverly, 7 Riverview Rd, Beverley HU17 0LD, UK
- Seven Districts – Coffee Roasters – Lincoln, Farmers Arms, Market Rasen Rd, Lincoln LN2 3RD
Melton Mowbray
- A1 Stadium Diner, A151, Colsterworth, Grantham NG33 5JN
- Fatknacks Roadside Diner, A43, Stamford PE9 3QL
- The Coffee Shot, 17 Main St Stathern Melton Mowbray LE14 4HW
Lancaster
- Bridge House Farm, 81 Main St, Wray, Lancaster LA2 8QB, UK
- Goat Gap Café, Lane End, Lancaster LA2 8HS, UK
- PiTTstop Café, First Floor Irving House White Lund Ind Est Morecambe LA3 3AY
Burton upon Trent
- Canalside Farm Shop, 5 Mill Ln, Great Haywood, Stafford ST18 0RJ, UK
- Hunger Hanger, 33 Dakota Rd, Derby DE74 2TL, UK
- Truckers Rest Café, Tollgate Cottage, Watling St, Four Crosses, Cannock WS11 1SF, UK
Chelmsford
- Cafe on the Water & Gift Shop, Giffords Ln Downham Chelmsford CM3 8HX
- The Blue Egg, Unnamed Road, Braintree CM7 4PY, UK
- The Cabin Dairy Café, 17 High St, Burnham-on-Crouch CM0 8AG, UK
Chester
- Biker’s Food Emporium, 2 Picow Farm Rd, Runcorn WA7 4UB, UK
- Coffee 500, St Michaels Industrial Estate, 17 St Michael’s Cl, Widnes WA8 8TL, UK
- Fourway Café, Harrington Caravans, Northwich CW8 2HG, UK
Bath
- No 10 Tea Garden, Unnamed Road, Bradford-on-Avon BA15 2HB, UK
- Farrington’s Farm Shop, Manor Farm, Farrington Gurney, Bristol BS39 6UT, UK
- Willoughby Hedge Café, West Knoyle, UK, Warminster BA12 6AQ
Bedford
- Hog Roast Kitchen, 24 Stirling Rd Longstanton Cambridge CB24 1BD
- Metal Monkey, 19C Market St, Kettering NN16 0AH, UK
- The Pumphouse Café, 6 Nene Court the Embankment Wellingborough NN8 1LD
Oxford
- Brackley Central Café, Station House, Top Station Rd, Brackley NN13 7UG, UK
- On Yer Bike Café, A41 Bicester Rd Westcott Bicester Aylesbury HP18 0JX
- The Old Prison Café, A429 Fosse Way Northleach Cheltenham GL54 3JH
Bournemouth
- Bashley Manor, B3055, New Milton BH25 5TQ, UK
- Coffee & Drift Café, Quay View Admirals Court Quay Rd Lymington SO41 3ET
- The Waterfront Bar & Café, The Beach Madeira Rd Totland Bay PO39 0BQ
Portsmouth
- Boat House Café, 19 Blakes Rd Bognor Regis PO22 7EE
- Good Wood Aerodrome Café, Goodwood Aerodrome, Goodwood, Chichester PO18 0PH, UK
- The Chocolate Frog Company & Café, Oakhanger Bordon GU35 9JA
Manchester
- Fork in the Road, 5 Bradnor Rd, Wythenshawe, Manchester M22 4TS, UK
- Relics ‘n’ Rust Lifestyle Shop and Café, Commercial Brow Hyde SK14 2JW
- Tuck Inn, 186-196, A5004, Whaley Bridge, High Peak SK23 7JX
A Vertu Motorcycles spokesperson commented:
“Biker-friendly communities are a fantastic way for like-minded bikers to share their passion, pick up tips, and join a group of other motorcycle-lovers on the open road.
“While biker cafes aren’t for everyone, they are a great resource to dip into, should you be looking to expand your biking community.
“This is something we are looking to bring to more people across the UK with our Vertu Motorcycle Club, which hosts biker-friendly events in Grantham and Nottingham, with more locations soon to be announced.”
For further insights from Vertu Motorcycles, visit the Vertu Motorcycles blog.