Been off the bike for a few months so am now trying to get some fitness back. Really fancy riding in the Peaks and Cut Gate looks good from the pics I gave seen. How long is it (if indeed it is a route) and how fit do you need to be? Would it be possible to ride without an os map?

check out Dark Peak Mountain Biking it will answer all your questions.

It's a great ride, but is a bit wild this time of year, and the section down to North America will be boggy

its a great little trail but as said above will be pretty dire in places now, there lots more weather proof trails in that area which are also easier to build a good loop from.

You need to be biblically fit. It is possible to ride without an OS map, yes. But why would you want to do that?

I would question heading out on a high, exposed trail without an OS map.
Can I ask the reason – ie because you don't have a map or because your map reading skills are not good enough?
Although the turns / junctions are simple, there is ample opportunity to go waaay wrong without a map – and some of the point of a map is if it goes wrong for some reason you can call for help with accurate grid reference.
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It is a great trail, but it is not as 'massive' as some would make out IMO – certainly not compared to Lakes and Scottish offerings of big days out. It is fun though – lots of varied singletrack, steep rocky bits and flat out blasts. One of my favourite Peaks days out, especially on a balmy summers day… 8)

Great when frozen solid and in the snow too. I'm not sure anyone would call it 'massive', but it's high moorland gnarl, techy enough but still fast and exposed enough that when it's wet and windy, it can can be quite unpleasant.

I think it's got a bit of all that's good about Peak District riding and a gentle hint of wilderness even though in reality it's very accessible. Best trail in the Peak imo anyway.

You can buy an OS map at Fairholmes, along with the Dark Peak VG book.

At which point I would consider doing one of the other loops in the area instead, at this time of year, after all the rain, especially if I was on my own and / or not very bike fit and didn't know the area…

Don't eat too much when you stop at the cafe, I seem to get the munchies and insist on large chip butty or jacket potato/etc, then getting back on the bike is difficult as my body seems to just want to rest and digest the huge quantity of food!!

other than that, if a fat-knacker like me can do it, albeit a bit slower on the way back to hope, then i'm sure anyone could do it.

Haven't ridden that way for ages, my thoughts about last time were seeing a man that looked "Dog the bounty hunter – rides MTB" (who stopped to chat to rob and his busted mech) and some other dude with a flat-cap and what looked like plus-fours… retro chic indeed.

As an out and back ride, which is the best way IMHO, it a couple of hours and about 15 miles. Start at the Langsett side to save 5 extra road/fireroad miles from fairholmes.

The new surfacing has improved it a lot if you stay on the "main" path and don't use north america. It is very exposed though so I'd avoid it if there's a lot of wind/rain around.

Grim if there is any kind of bad weather in my humble opinion.
Did an out and back recently, uphill slog, turned round and came back down at 2mph thanks to 50mph head wind full of sleet. Thought my face was going to get torn off…

Plenty of beautiful sheltered rides in a similar location…