Planning my first MTB day in the Peaks somewhere next week.

What routes would you all recommend? Not too fussed on actual location, but needs to be 2-3 hours long, have at least one proper fun descent and be doable on a HT (150mm BFe).

slainte ❓ rob

Depends on how fit you are, as your comment:

but needs to be 2-3 hours long, have at least one proper fun descent and be doable on a HT (150mm BFe).

Gives the impression, not very…

But here goes:

Hayfield to New Mills (old railway track)
New Mills to Chinley Churn
Chunley Churn to Mount Famine/Pennine Bridleway
Follow PB to Rushup Edge
Rushup Edge to Edale via descent to Greenlands
Edale (cafe at Station) – if knackered you could bail here, get train
Edale to Hayfield via Jacobs Ladder

Hayfield to New Mills (old railway track)
New Mills to Chinley Churn

Why would you do that?

And fwiw, I’d buy a copy of the V-Publishing Dark Peak guide and take your pick based on where’s most convenient for you to travel to.

Cut Gate
If its mid week you can park near slippery stones, steady 3 hrs

I would probably go with:
Hope and up onto Hope Brink via Aston
down to Hope cross
Along to Blackley Hay
Up to Rowlee farm
Down Lockerbrook/Nabs wood
Up the slab climb on to Whinston Lee Tor and down to cut throat bridge
Down to the Reservoir and over the dam wall
Back to Hope on the Railway line thru Thornhill

Gives the impression, not very…

Why does it?

What CruzHeckler said, it’s a good route with some great descents in there, as said get the vgraphics book on the dark peak, so many routes you can put together!

You will be fine on the bFe

Ladybower classic is always a good intro to Peaks I think, offering a bit of everything

Ladybower classic is always a good intro to Peaks I think, offering a bit of everything

+1

Ladybower classic is always a good intro to Peaks I think, offering a bit of everything

+1

That’s an ace route to be recommending after all the snow, rain and the fact that the peak is now swimming in mud.

Has that trail not had enough of a battering over the last few years (as its now 10 foot wider than what it used to be and so much more boggy), that people might actually avoid it till it is in a good condition (dry!) and actually worth riding.

There are so, so many people in Sheffield who wouldn’t even dream of riding near Whinstone Lee Tor in the winter or after weather like we’ve had in the last few days!

We’re doing a loop round Ladybower(ish, but avoiding WLT and possibly dropping down to Hope Valley – we will, as usual, make it up on the day) on Tuesday if you want to come along… You’ll have to wait for us a lot though probably 😉

Email is in profile.

There’s some pretty poor comments on here!!

Welcome to the north.

FWIW I’d stay on Edale/castleton side of things. Happy to plan a route for you – email in profile.

I’d have to recommend..

Start Edale
Up Mam Tor
Rushup Edge
Pennine BW / Mount Famine into Hayfield
out of Hayfield via Snake Path
Past Kinder Res to Oaken Clough
Down Jacobs Ladder back into Edale

About 18 miles, but will take you AT LEAST 3 hours I’d suggest. This is pretty much a classic Peaks loop and a number of sources would advise you to do it the other way climbing Jacobs Ladder first – I’d disagree though, but that’s a debate for another thread!

That’s an ace route to be recommending after all the snow, rain and the fact that the peak is now swimming in mud.

Has that trail not had enough of a battering over the last few years (as its now 10 foot wider than what it used to be and so much more boggy), that people might actually avoid it till it is in a good condition (dry!) and actually worth riding.

There are so, so many people in Sheffield who wouldn’t even dream of riding near Whinstone Lee Tor in the winter or after weather like we’ve had in the last few days!

Unfortunately living over 2 hrs drive south from the area I don’t have the benefit of local weather knowledge so I can’t comment on current conditions.

What I can say is that the first time I went to the Peaks I was recommended this route by the lads at 18 Bikes and it thoroughly entertained me from the testing climbs up Whinstone Lee Tor, to the awesome descents from WLT down to Cutthroat Bridge and Haggs Farm section etc.

Sure there are probably many more classic rides for consideration, all I know is that for an all round bit of everything the Dark Peak can offer I rated this classic route highly, so still worth doing when conditions improve IMO.

Thanks for the (helpful) responses so far.

It’s a BFe since LTHT is what I like to ride, and the 3 hours is a time thing rather than a fitness thing (admittedly I’m a bit of a porky non-racing snake but wouldn’t blink at a longer ride if I had the time).

Good call on the paying heed to conditions in choosing a suitable route (and looks like the weather might scupper my plans anyway).

Some good sounding suggestions – time to get the maps out.

slainte ➡ rob

Flyingmonkeyetc. thanks for the offer, but Tuesday I’m stuck in Skegvegas on in-law duty.

slainte 😥 rob

BWD

Why would you do that?

As a warm up, and the ride around and across CC is decent – plus gets you to the top of Mt Famine.

Any of the classic Peak routes are easily doable on a hardtail. My favourite has to be the classic Edale up to Hollins Cross, Mam Tor, Rushup Edge etc etc and then descend jacobs ladder. Its always great to get to the bottom to see someone on a full susser sorting a puncture and you have made it down without a dab or a flat.
Did Cut Gate the other week and was sad to see how bad the state of some of it was on way. I for one will not go up there again if its wet as I felt guilty just for being there and being partially responsible. Its not the ride it was before it was sanitised and the trail developed into a wide bit of double track!

Any of the classic Peak routes are easily doable on a hardtail

True.

Jacobs is not a descent though. Better push/climb then get the longer descent off towards Hayfield. But that’s another debate, as someone has already said… Its also well over 3 hours, especially if you’ve not been before.

As a reasonably weather-proof route, and for a first-time in the Peak, look in the Dark Peak guide, and have a look at the Buxton circuit, which heads out over the Goyt valley. Good quiet trails that drain well, and have plenty of fun for a first fling in the Peak 😉

As a warm up, and the ride around and across CC is decent – plus gets you to the top of Mt Famine.

Oh I see. You probably know the area better than I do. I thought Chinley Churn could be reached directly from Hayfield rather than by riding all the way over to New Mills?

I thought Chinley Churn could be reached directly from Hayfield rather than by riding all the way over to New Mills?

It can, but using that logic you’d never leave home 🙂

It can, but using that logic you’d never leave home

I tend to keep rides on the short side as I’m not as fit as most on here I guess.

I suggest the SW Peak – Macc Forest and Wildboar Clough area. bikemaps.co.uk have good maps of the area.

The core route is:

Trentabank Car Ranger Station – Forest Bridleway (waymarked) in clockwise direction to Forest Chapel (as featured in League of Gentleman Christmas special – turn off to Bottom of the Oven – climb to Cat and Fiddle – don’t be tempted by the old buxton road now a footpath even though it was a road and is very well surfaced and even has a milestone half way along it from Peak View Cafe car park – do take life in hands and follow the A537 round the blind hair pin bend – at Cat and Fiddle take bridleway to Dane Bower Hollow (named after the boy band member) – follow A54 and turn off to Sparbent after 800m ish – drop to Clough House – follow road N through Wildboar Clough – turn left and climb cruel hill into Macc Forest – re-join forest bridleway and flow clockwise back to Ranger Station.

If you don’t mind either a technical climb of a boggy push – since its a bit wet at the moment. Its worth dropping into Three Shires Head. North to South from Holt to Cut-thorn you get a bit of bog / soft going through the field down to the river then a bit of singletrack / braided lines. Rocky climb out. South to North Cut-thorn to Holt you get rock descent with a bit of a boggy push for a few hundred m through the field upto the farm.

The other variation on this route is to turn left at first ruined farm house (Dimples), about 2.5km to 3km into the ride as you climb through forest to Charity Lane. Drop down past Hardingland – past reservoirs into Langley – climb steeply up the minor road W of Ward’s Knob and Tegg’s Nose – go straight on at cross roads at top (blind with fast cars) – take land leading up to Windyway – right left at end into Tegg’s Nose car park – take bridleway (shows as footpath but is bridleway) – now either climb on road upto Walker Barn and then up to Charity Lane or reverse the Hacked Way.

I’d personally start in Hayfield and ride up past Kinder and on to Jacobs Ladder and down into Edale, up to Hollins Cross, along Rushop Edge and up the PB up to Mount Famine before descending into Hayfield again.
Each to their own and that, but why on earth would you recommend pushing up Jacobs and say it isn’t a descent? The climb from Hayfield is a more practical route and Jacobs is a fantastic descent so the OP will spend his limited time actually riding his bike rather than dragging it up Jacobs.

Definitely ever go down Jacobs ladder but whilst I wouldn’t say it’s difficult it’s a bumpy old bounce for a first timer … You wouldn’t want your first OTB in the peaks to be there… But equally it’s all doable…

why on earth would you recommend pushing up Jacobs

As I said, that’s another debate, and should possibly have prefaced that remark with IME/IMO/YVMV or something. Both are good fun, but my preference is for east-west, as otherwise you climb forever, for a dull descent, littered with tutting red-socks.

Plus, the OP said that his time limit was 3 hours, so unless this guy has special STW powers, he’s unlikely to do the full Jacobs loop in that (whichever way he pushes/pedals).

150mm on a BFe sounds more new to area not new to riding.