This coming weekend I’m going to be stuck in Northampton fron Saturday night (I live here currently Mon – Fri due to work but we’re also working Sat night, CBA driving home to Cheshire after work on Sunday Morning)

I was wondering if Chick sands is worth a visit for the XC loops and maybe for a bit of a play round the shore etc Sunday afternoon, or will it be mega busy.

If not any recomendations in the area?

I used to ride in the ‘firs when I lived in ‘hampton.

map

It’s shite! Went to visit a mate in Bedfordshire last year and it bored the shit out of me. XC loop takes about 20 mins and the Shore stuff became very tedious very quickly. It’s pretty good if you like that kind of thing though. The jump trails and 4X course also looked quite impressive.

If your a strict wheels on the ground man then it might not be your cup of tea, if you like being airborne then its ace. We regularly drive down from Bham for the Dual and 4x tracks as well as the ‘freeride area’ there are some nice DJ’s and some more just down the road in Woburn.

It does get fairly bust on the DJ/4x side of things but never unrideable and the atmosphere is always good.

Spong – nice contradiction there “It’s shite, but some of it’s impressive” 😆

Is it worth the effort of driving there to play on the shore? When it says body armour, are knee pads sufficient or will I get frowned upon if I don;t where elbow & shin stuff too?

I would head to Woburn Sands

Similar terrain to Chick sands but alot more single track, its a bigger area. Its closer to the M1 as well

it bored me to be honest.

havent been for a while but don’t go for the XC. If you’re up for a play and increasing a few technical skills (i.e watching da kidz show you how it’s done) then go along, it’s worth a day out. I only ever wore a helmet in terms of protection and was never frowned at, I’d probably have felt silly if I’d have ended up bloody though.

ampthill – Member
I would head to Woburn Sands

Similar terrain to Chick sands but alot more single track, its a bigger area. Its closer to the M1 as well

Looks good, and it’s only 20 miles from where I’m living