just looking for a little inspiration regarding off road routs in my local area, seem to be stuck in a rut. dont mind physical rides but nothing to technical or extreme, advice greatly appreciated

Head down to the Cyclery in Uppermill, between them and Saddleworth Clarion there’s a weekly night ride on a Wednesday and they’ll be able to point you in the right direction. Or try the Clarion website/forum.

Got a nice route starting from Ogden Reservoir, shortish (8 or 9 miles) not technical, but nice – can send you the .gpx file if you want?

Most of the trails in and around Saddleworth feature the Pennine Bridleway – tough but not technical. Diggle Jiggle’s a good loop – Google it. Cheeky stuff in woods at Dovestone 🙂 Try Crompton Moor above Shaw – a great XC playground. Exploring the North Peak & South Pennines is a recently published guidebook that has rides in the Saddleworth area – Google it. Ogden/Piethorne Valley is a fave of mine. Hope this helps a bit.

I moved to Uppermill in October so am in a similar situation. Been riding a couple of times with a group of locals but some of the stuff they do is a bit techy for me at the moment especially given the mud/ice. I’m hoping to build up the skills over the summer. I’d be happy to show you some of the less gnarly stuff i’ve discovered so far. Tried to ride today but everywhere is covered in sheet ice. Drop me a message.

Rode up to Ogden yesterday (from Lightcliffe), frozen solid!
I usually cross the dam and then ride up alongside the golf course (nice climb, bumpy all the way up!).
You can then take the road past the sailing club etc and then pick up one of the bridleways from there. Nothing too technical although there’s a very rocky climb that’s great practice for a relative novice like myself. Some of the lower tracks get completely flooded (as I found out to my cost before Christmas)after a bit of rain.

I have ridden a couple of tracks up that way. down from crompton moor, or down from windy hill, think I will pass today though. the delph donky was like a glacier. Ice riding isnt for me.