Am taking my little one up to see the Northern part of her (not my) family at the weekend. Which is another way of saying: instead of 2 days kicking my heels at the in-laws, where should I go riding?

I know about Hamsterley.

I could even swing an overnight and go up to Glentress.

Owt else?

XC, ST, trail riding. Not full on gnarrrr DH. Hope to make my trailsy 29er HT with me, otherwise I’m renting.

There’s Chopwell, but it’s tiny (may be cheeky stuff about but never bothered to explore further than the short bit of official trail). Or Kielder if you want to go a bit further afield

Blanchland or Waskerley way? High cup nick?

If you want an alternative to Glentress, the Gypsy glen descent is a fab XC ride, one of the tweed valley classics.

Swaledale?

Yep – Swaledale is about an hour away.

That would be my pick.

I can give you a GPX of a route that pretty much starts in Chester Le Street and takes the best bits of off road in the area. It’s about 50 mile so it’s not for the faint hearted.

In fact here it is….
Clicky

Ooh, gonna pinch that for next time I’m up north. Is that best ridden clockwise or anti-clockwise?

Gypsy Glen from Peebles is a 2.5 hour route, so best to add GT Red also.

Or for XC plenty of loops around Selkirk.

If Glentress is on the cards then you might as well go to the Lakes, closer and better.

That gpx route is good, but it’s missed out the best bit – the woods in going from Waldridge to Pelton fell!

Looks a decent loop though. I’d do Waldridge fell/Cong Burn woods and then have a quick blast up the old railway from Pelton Fell and blast around Beamish woods, can easy do 20 odd mile that way.

There are many variations on that route I’ll see if I’ve still got them.
Follow it the way it’s plotted.

thx all, lots to look at there, plenty to make me think I’ll stay local and rest the car

am actually staying up the hill at Great Lumley but can link it all in

If you could post some more routes that would be great!

I’m over in Lanchester, but don’t know the area very well at the moment.

There’s plenty of trails in Chopwell. Should be there on Sat to do some of the trails us Tumblers ride on a Thursday night.

I’d vote Hamsterley over Chopwell in terms of distance, but if you are happy to travel then deffo Glentress!

Would offer to show you Hamsterley but our weekends taken up with weddings!

Hello fellow Lanchester person 😀
Happy to show you area if you don’t know it (just not next weekend!)

We have just had a long weekend at GT and inners…I climbed inners…my first time ever up there…front brake failure at top…rolled back down fireroad…d’oh

jump on the railway line next to The Wheatsheaf pub at the Birtley end of CLS and run up the line to the woods at Beamish museum, plenty of nice little trails & bridleways around there. Its part of the coast to coast route but the woods are just all made up trail by local riders and dog walkers. Not around this weekend otherwise I would be up there myself.

White – wouldn’t mind a guided tour myself another weekend. Loads of people rave about Beamish and I’ve walked around there a lot with a friends dog but don’t know good MTB trails.

I need to head up towards Beamish for a mooch on the bike, not done enough exploring since moving up this way

Let us know how you get on mattjg.

jump on the railway line next to The Wheatsheaf pub at the Birtley end of CLS and run up the line to the woods at Beamish museum, plenty of nice little trails & bridleways around there.

going to do this.

actually no, I have all day and use of the car so will go up into the Pennines.

Allenheads.

Smile if you see a Dorking Cock.

mattjg, pleased you didn’t take my suggestion. I was on that route today and from the pub I suggested for about 10 miles the whole trail west has turned into some kind of motorway. 12 feet wide tarmac motorway, its only waiting for costa and starbucks to pitch up in some kind of service station style rest area. Couldn’t believe how bland and boring the track has become. To think it used to be a proper railway line, now it has just become another blandathon cycle ride.

Still plenty to do up in the woods, but the ride up there is only missing traffic lights and a white line up the middle to turn it into a B road.

I drove out to Allenheads, the moment I got there the heavens opened with no prospect of it blowing through. I thought “I’m not bloody going up there in that on my own: and turned around.

Softie southerner me.

Next time! Thanks all, all the same.