Cheers for all the input guys...
Got up a touch late this morning (GF turned the alarm off when it went off!) so got stuck in traffic getting there, and turned up a touch later than I wanted... Anyway...
What perfect dusty trails! Shame the rain decided to come along and join the party... 
Seriously though, we got absolutely soaked through to the bone, but it was great.
Started off on the "Italian Job" section (where yes, the rock drop and root at the end did cause her to have to get off an walk it, but was very slippy too), then upto the road junction. Only me being an idiot, hadn't worked out my directions properly, and we ended up cutting the whole thing very short by essentially riding straight up to the last 2 sections... So we were back at the car in under an hour! Oooops!
Fortunately though the GF was still up for doing some proper riding. So we set off again, this time having looked at a map to work out where we needed to go. We decided to still have a go at the Summit Trail as we still had plenty of time left, so off we set. 2nd time round on the Italian Job she was much better, having worked out the bits to be wary of first time round. Up to the road junction, then to the lake. Down the farm tracks, til we got to "The Mark of Zorro" which quite frankly was worth the trip on its own. What a brilliant bit of trail, we both loved it!
Only problem is that once that was finished, it was time for the Leg Burner! Well... Not short is it! Fair play though, my GF rode the whole thing without stopping, she just gritted her teeth and went! Managed a good portion of it in the middle ring too. I know for a fact she'd have beaten several guys I ride with regularly up the hill, I wasn't really having to hang around for her! Got no worried about her uphill ability anyway...
Right, now the bit of trail "Emmanuelle"... Errrr, how pointless? Got us both thinking that we were going back off the beaten track for a bit again, not to be spat back out onto the Leg Burner 30 seconds later! A bit demoralising... But on to the Drunken Druid, where once again she surprised me by clearing the short sharp climb again, then the last section "High as a Kite" which she absolutely loved... In her words "Can we just ride that bit over and over again".
Checked the time when we got back and having been told a "quick" time round the Summit trail is about 2hrs by one of the wardens, and it can take up to 3.5hrs according to the website, we got round in just over 2 hours! With quite a few stops and faffing about, and someone on only their 4th offroad ride! Quite surprised with that.
Anyhow, can't wait to go back there again! Perhaps in the dry though, and maybe earlier in the day to perhaps have a go at tackling the Syfydrin trail. The only downer to the whole day really was the bloody traffic on the A44, and the almost total lack of passing places. The rain was less of an issue than I had imagined, it just made the rocks a bit slippy which my GF wasn't used to, but she's getting there...
, sorry!! 
