hi. mates coming down from scotland to norfolk with his bike and we fancy a day trip to either one of these two trail centres. so the question is which one has the best fun/wow factor?

Not been to cannock but Swinley is great XC, really make the best of he terrain, nice flowing st with switchbacks and tight tree sections. You’ll be passing Surrey hills if you go south on the m25, some great riding to be had around dorking area, plenty of route suggestions on stw.

Assume you ride thetford anyway.

Never been to Swinley, so can only spare a few lines on Cannock…

Not sure if its still closed, but a bit of the Monkey Trail was closed, & a bit of the Follow the Dog is certainly still closed. If your after 1.5 – 2.5 hrs of well sign-posted trails the Chase is pretty good. Its fun, but not sure about the Wow factor… 😕

No doubt someone will be on waffling about braking bumps & needing a permit etc.

Visited Cannock for the first time a couple of weekends ago and was hugely impressed by the majority of it. Yes, there are braking bumps in places, yes some if it was closed when we were there, but for a busy trail centre that’s effectively free to ride (£3 parking, I think?) it was great fun, quieter on the trails and far, far better than I thought it would be.

I can only compare it to some of the north wales trail centres and Lee Quarry – no experience of Swinley, sorry – but I thought it stood up really well, and one section of it was one of the most enjoyable bits of singletrack I’ve had the pleasure of riding.

I’ll certainly be back there sometime soon – and I’m much more of a fan of riding natural trails from the door than rocking up at a trail centre in a car, if that gives you an insight?

Neither?

Swinley is good but you’d need a good guide as it’s a maze of trails and the good stuff can be well hidden.

Cannock is good fun, but not worth a drive from norfolk really.

Different type of rides…..Swinley is more ‘aerobic’ 🙂

Peaslake is supposed to pretty good but I have not been there though…..

Not much further to the edge of the Peaks…….

If you go to Swinley you can get a day pass at the Gorrick site.

Cannock – Swinley is great, but it will take 3 or 4 visits to find the good stuff and put together a good route. Cannock you can just turn up and ride.

Neither. Cannock is alright, great trails but sketchy trail surface.
Can’t see what people like about swinley. I’ve done all the good bits and it’s still not that good

Peak district?

I rode Cannock the other weekend and found it a little boring with the closed trails

I ride Swinley regularly so know the area very well and really enjoy it – but it is not marked in any way – so get a good map and check it regularly

In my humble opinion, you’d be crazy to go to either of the above as you are much closer to the Peaks – 100 times more fun than the above

But before i get shot down by an angry STW member – thats just my opinion and it cannot be taken as gospel!!

😀

so im thinking cannock.. but with the closed bits, im thinking it will maybe put a dampner on the trip! peaks sound good but neither own a garmin and our map reading skills are non existant. dalby then?? 4hr trip or should we just have a day in the pub and get shit faced ;-(

Ref closed bits of Cannock. As far as i’m aware its only the last 2 minutes or so of Follow Your Dad which are being improved and due to open soon. Then a small section of the Monkey and fireroad due to harvesting.

Apparently the “sketchy” trail surface is being tarmaced soon 😉

There are some great trail books available for the Peaks. Really easy to follow – no need for a Garmain

I picked one up in the bikeshop in Hope

Swinley is not technically a trail centre and you won’t find a single trail marked. There are loads of them there, but it’s a crown estate forest first, wildlife and preservation second, making money from families third and bikes are down the bottom in priority and there with reservations from the estate. You won’t be able to get a map of the trails officially either, though there are plenty unofficial ones about.

You should have a permit to ride Swinley. Can be bought there or online.

Note that from July-ish you’ll have to pay to park at The Lookout also (£4 a day I think).

handybendyhendo – Member
Peaslake is supposed to pretty good but I have not been there though…..

Different kettle of fish entirely. Peaslake is just one tiny fraction of the Surrey Hills. Many hills, tonnes of trails, vast area to cover it all, and something for everyone. XC, climbs, singletrack, DH, jumps, drops, big and small. There’s enough for a gentle family pootle or to throw yourself off 20ft drops in an attempt to kill yourself.

*But*, worse than Swinley, you really need a guide to show you where the trails are. Though you can easily find the official and most popular trails.

Gets very busy now.

I really can’t recommend driving from Norfolk to cannock

Swinley is great if you are guided and ride round it at some pace, but you would be better off going to Peaslake and riding round that area.

There are some routes on bikely that are worth following, take in most of the good stuff – best if you have a gps.

What Surrey Hills and thereabouts has to offer…

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/259996

No help for someone coming down looking for a trail centre, but just to say there is some good stuff down here in the south, and there are some hills.

If you go to swinley, just find someone who looks like they know where they are going and follow them… and your sorted. 🙂

Peak District is probably the same amount of time to drive to as Cannock, and I’m around next week if you need a guide. Will be slow on monday though, and slightly less slow from monday onwards.