If anyone was hoping to use the ” weather proof ” Burrator sector this weekend, I have news. Princetown – Eyelsbarrow ridge trail is still snow bound for large sections. Progress is impossible in places. Some folks have been riding on the peat to get around the snow and are cutting it up badly in places. Some sections of the trail have been all but destroyed by the weather with a large fissure running down the middle in some areas. Places that have no snow are so incredibly wet,. that you can feel the floating top surface spring under your feet. In short, it’s a mess and we really won’t be helping things by riding up there until it’s had a good chance to dry out.
The railway is wet but rideable and doesn’t seem too damaged.
The widowmaker is still snowed under at the top and I didn’t attempt to make it down any further.
The scout hut descent is clear from top to bottom but obviously, you need the ridge trail to access it, unless you climb up through Drizzle Coombe and I wouldn’t attempt that without snorkel and flippers.
Didn’t ride too much around the reservoir but the lower trails in the area are obviously quite wet.

I dread to think what state the eastern moor will be in.

yuk.
haldon was as good as you’d expect. lot’s of branches down, some of which we cleared, but some need a saw. smelly ring ring is clear now. the rat has some trees down lower down but for the most part is as rideable as it was. didn’t go down the berms – it was a large group last night and we were clearing as we went.
teapot needs work but is rideable, mostly. st. andrew’s has a tree down in the top woody section, and another not far from where the big one came down last time, still very wet and muddy.

Bugger- I’m down for a week on Saturday too.
Is it rideable around Manaton to Grimspound via Jays Grave etc .
Also I was going to do the BW from Postbridge to Fernworthy Resevoir- Is that bad too ?
I’ve plotted loads on MM .

that will be gopping all unless it freezes. sorry. if you’re coming down this way anyway there’s riding to be had on haldon ( as above ) or the quantocks? someone will sort you out.

Am booked in at cottage in Manaton with BW’s on the door step; so it was the early 6am rides I’d be doing before kids are up 🙄

Is Haldon for DH riders mainly or XC as I’m after XC really – trying to get fit for summer 😉

haldon is fine for xc; there is a waymarked ‘red’ route and lots of other unmarked bits. I’m sure someone here will point you towards them.

BTW its still pretty much night time here at 6am!

😀 Dinotte’s on the bars . Thanks Julian – may take a trip over to Haldon during the week if riding is impossible from the door.

there are a few bits that will be fine there, but i wouldn’t want to go over to grimspound myself. leon, houndtor, jay’s grave, bowerman’s nose will be good. then down to water, and left on down into the bottom of the lustleigh valley will be wet wet wet but the trail is firm under. then climb back out on the rupp from hisley (sp?) bridge back to manaton ( or turn left at the bridge and head down the road, reddaford, lower down, loop over to the haytor road, then cut back to the right on bridlepath back towards black hill for a couple of extra miles out and around yarner wood ). that’d be a pretty decent ride.
haldon’s good riding ( my local trails ), tends to be techy downhills with fire road climbs back up to the ridge, but you need a local to show you the good stuff. it’s a good workout ( 1200 – 1500m is doable in 4 hours or so ) but obviously the trails aren’t in the best shape it has to be said.

Cheers Del – I’ll plot that when I get home . I may have already plotted it – most names sound familiar. Despite living in Torqauy until I was 20 I paid little attention when my Dad was driving us to the moors – Oh how I wish I had now 🙄

Postbridge to Fernworthy Resevoir- Is that bad too

I met a guy in Princetown CP yesterday, who had attempted that trail but had just given up and drove over to Princetown to ride the railway instead.

I’ve been back onto the moor today and everything is pretty much as was. There has been no further thawing but the temp has dropped a little and the snow is a little more rideable as it’s a lot firmer.
Still pretty crappy though and not a lot of fun.

Trail monkey- where abouts is the bit you call the widowmaker, is it a techy section?

Widowmaker runs down East to West past Crazy well pool here
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=259911&y=70633&z=120&sv=259911,70633&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=860&ax=259911&ay=70633&lm=0

Trailmonkeys video of it here

ahhh thanks, yeah i know it, not a bad little descent, can imagine it will be packed up with snow for a little while yet!

Trailmonkey: Thanks for confirming what we all feared – wet and impassable!
Looking at the measows into work – stil a lot of lying water, I suspect there’s little around at the moment that isn’t a sodden mass/mess.
Ho hum

Brownpants: Yes at 6am it’s still dark, but the mornings are pulling out and particularly noticable this week. Starting work at ~ 7.15am and it’s almost light, startingf to feel like winter’s over the hill….or is it me that’s over the hill?????
anyway, light is nice!
cheers all
Q

lol Christowkid , i know what you mean, its good to have light in the morn / eve it means summer is coming mate.was gonna give dartmoor a blast this weekend , dont think i will bother now , till it dries out a bit.

wahoooo- Dels ride route is exactly as I’d plotted and by the sounds of it’s rideable – YES – right from my door .

Thanks all for the info – maybe see you out over the week . Will be on a white Titus Motolite 😀

not at oh christ hundred hours you won’t! 🙂

have a good one.

Just an update as back in gloomy Manchester now from sunny Dartmoor.

Had a few good rides around Houndtor , Yarner, Lustleigh cleave, Manaton and a sneaky one over Haytor that I wasn’t supposed to be on but I’d missed the BW – came back on the old granite railway over to Houndtor .
You Devonians certainly must be good riders because the granite is unforgiving and numerous lumps stick out at odd places. I rode the Foxworthy BW in Houndtor woods at night – great but butt clenching as deep mud with boulders looking at me !, then carried my bike up the first bit towards Water .

Ah well enough of the sun. Am off to ride WHW friday/saturday in very heavy rain – can’t wait :-))

Bellever rocks…

which way do you guys ride it.. A or B.. or none of the above (if so please give details!)

I was looking at getting up there this weekend… but I bet it is still mucky.

Neil.

You Devonians certainly must be good riders because the granite is unforgiving and numerous lumps stick out at odd places.

Nah its the relocated midlanders that have all the skillz 😉

hm’k. i saw that tree you hit the other night BTW 😉

Neil, i think the answer to your question would be ‘c’. what are you trying to do?

Del.

Link this up with the burrator ride…

up plym vally, railway to princetown, bellever (havent riddent the rock garden yet and want to get it the right way round), down widdow maker / ridge trail back to b&q.

Do you know Gary (drives a transit connest / rides an orange marin) he rides haldon on a wed … keep meaning to get up there for a ride…

Neil.

Ha ha, its all drying out nicely on the Quantocks, it was dusty in places up there a few days ago. 🙂

Bellever rock garden drops in west to east, at SX647764. There are many ways to approach the top, but personally, I’d avoid coming in from the south across the open moor. That section will be horrid. There’s a trail that runs onto the head of the rock garden from N to S. It’s adjacent to that FP thats shown on the map and IIRC is waymarked by the yellow chevrons. Just out of interest, there is a trail that we’ve often looked at, that drops on to the garden from the lofty heights of Bellever tor itself. In other words, as you stand at the top of the garden, it’s the trail that comes down directly behind you. I’ve only walked up about 50m of it away from the garden but it looks pretty challenging 😯

Boggy coming up from Postbridge to Bellever – walked it with kids – Past the YHA the BW looked good – I was tempted to go to the Firing range but thought better of it .

FWIW, I was at Burrator at the weekend and it was very dry and riding well 8)

sorry Dibbs – this thread originated 2 weeks ago 🙂

Neil, you could try coming in along the BW from the LHS, though i have never ridden it ( let us know what it’s like! ), across the B3212, to ‘cairn and cist’ (?), then turn south towards bellever tor. obvious trail, bearing to the east of the tor. the rock garden descent is under ‘443’. bear left up the track afterwards, back to the xroads, then bear right and follow BW to bellever village itself through two gates. ( if you’re in a group spread out so the first one can get the first gate, the second the second – makes a nice little descent ).
then go via road, then left towards pizwell farm via permissive BW.
then either go into soussons down woods and go as high as you can, then find trail out onto the ridge and follow across to warren house inn, then maybe over around birch tor, OR challacombe down, around to headland warren farm, then bear east up onto the ridge.

aye – i know ‘the russian’ 🙂 . rode up the hill last night. it’s drying out a treat and is riding fast. it’d be nice to go up there tonight, but i’ve got to help one of those relocated northerners midlanders hit his bike with a hammer… 🙄 🙂

FWIW, I was at Burrator at the weekend and it was very dry and riding well

or is this a smoke screen so we all go get stuck in a sh@t fest on the moor, while you soak up some dry, traffic free trails somewhere else! 😆

Trailmonkey – I’ve walked all the way from the top of the rock garden to the top of the Tor. Its very nice but would only take 30 seconds or so, only the lower 50m or so would be tricky i.e. impossible even for a relocated midlander with rad skillz 😯 . Worth a look next time we’re there I reckon, there maybe another line somewhere.

Neil – we know Gary aka ‘The Russian’.

or is this a smoke screen so we all go get stuck in a sh@t fest on the moor, while you soak up some dry, traffic free trails somewhere else!

Bah, rumbled 👿

Just while we’re all here, anyone got any ideas for the weekend ?

-edit-

dibbs, trailmonkey. Thanks.

Will give both sujested trails a ride… will let you know How I get on.

Also.. dibbs where do you ride from on a wed, Kenn? … will tag along next week (if you dont mind!) email me at neilforrow @ hotmail.com if you want

Looks like the moor is a go for the weekend.

-edit-

if people want to role out for a ride on the moors this weekend… thats where I will be…

Think i’ll be on the Q’s again, have an orange 5 to try out whilst mine gets sorted. Sunday would be good for me as im rallying saturday.

What have you done to the Whyte now Charlie?

If it stays dry, shinythings and I are riding from Hound tor at 10.30 Sunday. All welcome.

If it stays dry, shinythings and I are riding from Hound tor at 10.30 Sunday. All welcome.

I think I’ll be up for that. Which car park are you starting from?

Hound tor CP

del, sorry I called you Dibbs, so … thanks for the trail info..

neilforrow, I doubt that we’ll make it over to the rock garden but we’ll be doing lots of good stuff if you care to join us.

Just a quick note but we always approach Bellever from the east rather than from Princetown/Burrator.

trailmonkey – sold to the man at the back.

Would love to. thanks for the invite. will see you there at 10.30.

Neil.