yehaaaa, had my first taste of the newly built tracks and HUGE HUGE berms today !!!! went over a hump thing then imediately there was a steep drop then huge Berms…hahahha oh my god how thrilling…. altho very wet n boggy today-pretty trecherous conditions- so i guess the berms will be perfect to get really high up on when its bone dry !!! there was one guy that walked the berms..he chickend out so i heard…. i enjoyed the roller coaster too ! but somehow and disapointed that i didnt come across that steep 'slab section and is there a playgound area for messing about on ? where abouts is the stone slab ?

the slab is right up at the top near that peak you can see from everywhere and i went upto the top of thre berms yesterday 😉 scary

Plenty of grip right up to the top of the big berms today. Just don't be grabbing on the brakes and make sure you know about body positioning.

Sounds like you had an ace time anyway :0)

Was a bit tricky to find the slab yesterday morning as the peak you can see from everywhere disappeared in the fog!
The berms were ace but you did need to get high and carry some speed through them…the bit afterwards with the drop off to the right was a bit dicey through that gooey mud.

lol albino…that goey mud nearly threw me down the banking,…. my tire decided to to a dance in the gooey mud but i just managed to sort it out seconds to going down the drop !!! ive never been down a drop like that before and as i said it was my first time on the newly built tracks so i didnt know what was coming up next…. sooo did like the roller coaster tho… there were lots of yeehaa,s and whooo hoooo,s coming out of me- much to the embaressment of my son… (is that my mother behind me …lol
eye the trail was better than i thort….. and kept seeing extra bits that are still being built…. oh loved the boardwalk stuff too – hope it doesnt become too green like Dalby, otherwise chicken wire mite have to be an option on that part of the track.

Elaine, Chicken wire is now considered too dangerous by FC, think cheese grater 😕
There are many solutions being tried, like these at Stainburn nr Otley, Yorks.

Hoping the Gisburn boardwalk will stay grippy as it's been split and so is very rough anyway. Time will tell.

sooo as it was foggy on my first attempt at gisburn, and ive only been the 'once' to the forest, is the 'slab' anywhere near the berms ?
i did see a 'black only' route on my travels but didnt go down it as i didnt know where it lead out to…is the 'slab' in this area ?
cheers

Went for the first time yesterday (since the red was opened anyway).

I think the trail pixies have done a wonderful job considering the lack of big hills around the area, lots of good forest single track and some nice little climbs.

One thing i did notice was the thread about Conti Mountain King tyres sprung to mind. At the weekend we were at Whinlatter in the wet, and my Kings were pretty slippy and i lost a bit of confidence. Conversely they were fantastic at Gisburn, easily cutting through the mud and firmly gripping on the local rock.

The berms are fun (not as big as Lee Quarry though) and the Slab looks a LOT steeper in the 'flesh' than it does on the photos!

Elaine – the Slab is directly above the berms at the top of the hill. As you are about to set off down the berms you may have seen a black route off to the right? That leads up to the slab above the berms.

The berms are fun (not as big as Lee Quarry though)

Are you sure you're not mixing up the two, the berms I saw @ Lee Q would fit in the first one at Gisburn!??

ok muddy dwarf, so on that 'black route' heading to the 'slab'… where does the 'black route' come out at ?…will it join to the red route agin ? cheers..

Yeah I wouild say that the big berm at Lee is nowhere near as big as the rollercoaster at Gisburn.

Elaine, the Slab route is only about 30yrds long – veers off to the right, over the Slab and back onto the beginning of the berms.

Rob – the first berms at Lee are far higher (IMHO) than the ones on the red at Gisburn. Admittedly i didn't take the signposted Black route as we were pressed for light and the g/f was very tired and 'nowty'.

Ah, perhaps the Gisburn ones are on the Black route – or I've completely missed something at Lee Q. SFBarnes had a belting photo of them up on here somewhere…

Hope you've not done the Gisburn ones MDwarf, 'cos you're in for a great surprise 🙂

Wait until the tree ride opens……

I must admit, i was wondering where the 'rollercoaster' section was!

I'm assuming it is part of the black signposted section after Whelpstone Crag?

Mind you, we followed the red signs all the way and found it rather poorly signed – especially after riding Whinlatter at the weekend. When you have a very tired g/f in tow, the light is failing and you are unsure of how far the route has to go it is annoying.
Too many signposts have markers missing as well.

Numbering the markers (ala Whinlatter) would help people to know how far around they are, plus they would be invaluable in an emergency for location purposes.

All in all the actual trail is excellent but the waymarking leaves a lot to be desired. It's fine for those who know the area but newbies like me & the g/f had potential trouble on our hands. We even met a couple of blokes who were unsure which way they were supposed to go.

on the signage, I think the head forester has been let down big time by a sign making company, the posts are in, but the waymarking signage to be attached, is 'pending'. Those red markers you followed are from the old red route, but in the meantime Martin had to do something re waymarking, so he's sort of had to make do with re using those old waymarkers.

The slab is on a black run off to the right but it comes off a fairly fast bit of track and to see the route marker you kind of have to look back over your shoulder a bit. As you come down the slab it joins the red route which comes from the right and after a few regular berms you can peel off to the left to the rollercoaster.
I've got to say that the Rollercoaster is a massive element of Gisburn and if I'd missed it I'd have come away with quite a different impression (what with it being a fairly crappy weather day). However, on the whole it's true….Gisburn ROCKS!

heading to gisburn tomorow. wheres the best place to park?

Apparently, bits of it, including the rollercoaster, are falling apart already. 🙁
We also spent some time this week, trying to stop people from riding around obsticals/features and dragging mud back onto the trail.

It appears i missed the rollercoaster then?

The signage was very confusing and haphazard to say the least. I have to say it made me concentrate more on routefinding than on ejoying the trail – although as i was leading my g/f around that had a lot to do with it.
Like i say, i'm impressed with the quality of the trails, just that actually accessing them is quite off-putting to newcomers to the site.

Heading over there for the first time myself tomorrow.

Should be a good 'un. Lets hope it lives up to the hype.

samcamsdad –

Park at the pub if you want to come back to a cafe / bar and the free bike wash. They can point you in the direction of the trails and have maps inside.

http://www.dogandpartridgetosside.co.uk/

Or go down to the Cocklet Hill car park

http://tinyurl.com/yzn427d

Yes, sorry about that muddydwarf 😳 . It does seem to be taking a long time to get the proper signage put in. The other thing is that the volunteers have been cracking on at a pace and a new bit is not sign posted at all yet, but still easily seen from the forest road, causing more confusion. Believe me, Martin Colledge, the head forester, is pulling his hair out over it.

cheers ed-o, looking forward to riding, after all ive heard about the place.

It's fun. I think some of it takes a few goes before it makes sense. When you get it, and start to get your lines right it is ace.

Good point B.A. We did come across some section(s) of red trail that came out onto the fireroad as we passed, added to the confusion as to which way we were supposed to go!.

How exactly did i miss the rollercoaster then?

Is it on the signposted 'black' section downhill on the left after the crag?

Muddy,

From the crag, you will drop down on the red cutting through a wall then into the forest where you will hit a set of berms, these aren't the rollercoster but ace none the less. When you hit the fire road turn right and go up hill. Follow this round to the right until the road levels out. You will find on your left a large flat area where the top of the roller coaster is, two boulders mark the start.

I'm confused now, 2hottie, I think there is a whole section inbetween which you don't mention?. But, cetainly it's a right turn on the forest road at the end of all these bits. Then, at the bottom of the rollercoaster you go left.

Gisburn Rolercoaster

This is the 'Coaster for those who may have missed it. Lay off the brakes and you'll fly, quite literally! Ace 😆

Went today. It's great place. Massive thumbs up!

BA I don't think I missed anything out, if so I Missed it too!

one word for gisburn. FUN!
just had a grin on my face all the way round, really enjoyed the multi lines up near the slab, and the tight burmed section near the start. cant wait to go back, and its only an just over an hours drive from my house. 🙂