I’m looking for tips on a decent off road route from Manchester city centre to edale area
Are there any secret ( to me) riding spots I should fit in?
Or any hidden gems of single track I could detour for

I’m thinking it would be nice to ride all the way from home in the centre next to the Hilton to the inlaws in edale mill.. Ideally finishing down Jacobs ladder!

Did I dream an article on this a while back?

ooh this is a challenge. Email me and i’ll try to reply with a GPS.

Email on it’s way! I’m sure there was a magazine article from sale to the peaks but I’ve thrown it out!

Not ALL off-road but there are a lot of canal towpaths, cycle routes and parkland cut-throughs that I use on my regular commute.

Once you get out to Romiley/Marple it’s dead easy but the navigation before that is quite complicated in places.

I can show you it at some point if you want, like I say it’s my usual commute route although I tend to avoid it in wet weather as the towpaths are a nightmare, just a mudbath.

Where do you ride to? That’d be great though yeh, maybe once the snow is gone and I get some lights sorted?

Manc velodrome. Towpath from there then into the cycle paths round the back of various estates and eventually down to the Country Park at Brinnington between Reddish and Bredbury. There’s various ways back from there but they all bring you out at Marple then it’s towpath to New Mills where you pick up the Sett Valley Trail to Hayfield. From there you go out towards Kinder Res then turn off R and climb (long climb!) up to Edale Cross and drop down Jacobs Ladder to Edale. It’d be approx 3 – 3.5 hrs maybe in total.

nbt and monksie on here will also have route suggestions I’m sure, in fact monksie has ridden several variatons of out and back Manc – Sheffield in the past and nbt knows the trails round Marple/Romiley like the back of his hand.

Do we perhaps already know each other? I’ll drop you an email. Thanks

I’ve shown James every route he knows. I’ve not shown him all those I know yet, though 😀

Sale to the peaks is trans-pennine trail to Reddish Vale then south to Marple and onwards to Hayfield 🙂

Bridgewater canal from castlefield towards Sale. Then
1. Sale to Tiviot Dale (Stockport) or
2. Sale to Chorlton to Reddish Vale via Manchester cycleway to Reddish Vale.

When at Reddish Vale you have 2 options
1. Woodbank Park – Chadkirk – Marple
2. Haughton Green – Werneth Low – Compstall – Marple

Once in Marple do what you like.

It can be tricky to navigate even with a map but i’d be happy to guide one weekend.

Mark

This will get you to New Mills where you can head across to Hayfield and then Jacob’s Ladder to Edale. Probably v similar to what crazy-legs described. Or continue to Buxton and Nottingham…

http://www.justgoride.co.uk/Content/Routes/Viewer.aspx?id=457

There is two reasonably nice routes out of the city centre but even those involve i) tow path as far as Hyde and then urban woodland to North Reddish. After that it’s the cycle path to Reddish centre, Reddish Vale Country Park and on to Offerton, Chadkirk, Marple, Mellor etc. or ii) some flat but not unpleasant singletrack that goes out under the M60 and back round, eventually to the towpath at Hyde. Depends how many miles you want to make it
The woods (well, more like field edges with trees) and tracks linking Hyde to North Reddish are as much fun as Offerton to Chadkirk. Singletrack with drops and roots to have a go at. Other than that, it’s as above, make the best of what there is and get it over with.
Manchester to Sheffield or vice versa is a nice day out but it isn’t great at the city end of things. I’ve particularly struggled to find off road stuff to get into/out of the very close to Sheffield section but as you’re not going that far, it’s not going to be an issue for you.

I’d be tempted to get to Roman Lakes at the other side of Marple using the most straight forward way possible. No matter which option you take to get to Roman Lakes, you’d need to divert off the main route to make it interesting and you’d need local knowledge cos they’re like rabbit warrens when you’re off say the TPT or whatever. A lot is off piste in woods on tracks not marked on maps. And compared with proper Peaks riding, it’s not especially interesting, it’ll just add time to the journey for little payback.

Once you’re at Roman Lakes it gets interesting. Loads of options for the detail, next stop Hayfield, via Lantern Pike and possibly Chinley, then finally on to Jacob’s Ladder. Are you familiar with this bit of detail?

simon 1975: that route is very similar to mine although I’ve got a better cut through once you turn off Stockport Road West. Better in the sense that it’s quicker on a commute, your route is better for getting the distance and a bit of variety in. 🙂

If you go R onto Stockport Road West instead of left as shown in your route, you can then turn L into Vernon Park, then into Woodbank Park, it eventually brings you out at Chadkirk Chapel as your route does. there’s several cheeky ways through the woods there too!

Once you’re at Roman Lakes it gets interesting. Loads of options for the detail, next stop Hayfield, via Lantern Pike and possibly Chinley, then finally on to Jacob’s Ladder. Are you familiar with this bit of detail?

Yeah, Sett Valley Trail is the quick/boring way from New Mills to Hayfield, there’s loads of options to add in some off-road. I’d go over Chinley Churn then drop down the Far Phoside descent personally but Rowarth/Lantern Pike way is equally valid too. Some great descents into Hayfield (not all of them legal…) 😉

And compared with proper Peaks riding, it’s not especially interesting
Other than the above noted cycleways and towpaths, the singletrack sections are very interesting and in parts on occasion much more technical than the majority of the straight at it with speed and conviction, rocky bridleways of the Dark Peak area.
I’ve just noticed this as well, which confuses me.
then it’s towpath to New Mills where you pick up the Sett Valley Trail to Hayfield.
No mention of Rowarth, Robin Hoods Picking Rods, Lantern Pike, Pennine Bridleway, Brookbottom et.al. James? Even through Lyme Park and by the side of the Moorside, skim above Whaley Bridge, past the caravan estate, Furness Vale and onto Birch Vale would be better than the Peak Forest canal.
Whoops, pipped by the faster typer

my regular route to the Peaks is join MTL at Rochdale, join up with PBW and follow it south 🙂
It’s flipping miles and miles and miles!

You can pick up the bridgewater canal at Castlefield and get off and join the Mersey at Sale. This takes you to Stockport and you can do the Vernon Park, Woodbank, Chadkirk route into Marple that has already been mentioned in this thread. Alternatively you can pick up the Fallowfield loop by Sainsbury’s on Wilmslow Road, take the third exit after levenshulme for a short stretch of road to Reddish Vale. Out of the vale on the track that crosses over the motorway, through Haughton Dale park and Haughton Green and up Werneth Low. Instead of taking the golf course descent back towards Manchester, take the lane opposite which eventually spits you out into Etherow country park. Out of Etherow and into Brabyns park which drops you into Marple Bridge. Then its the bridleway via either Roman Lakes or Linnet Clough and you’re in the peaks.

Crazylegs..we are acquainted..I knew it!
I will take you up on the offer one Friday soon, though I realize you get the bc. Early dart on a Friday

Now..can you guess my identity? I give you some clues
I am lanky..though not as much as your good self
I am a sprinter..of the track variety
I have pink hubs

Your guess?

lots of ways into the peaks as stated above, pretty flat and boring until you get beyond Stockport, but as jase says lots and lots of miles

Now..can you guess my identity? I give you some clues
I am lanky..though not as much as your good self
I am a sprinter..of the track variety
I have pink hubs

Hi Oli!
By the way, if you think I’m riding off-road in this weather you’re very much mistaken – it’ll be a total mud-fest now. I’ll do it in the snow though.