Following some recent good advice from here on another part of the country I thought I'd ask again. This time I'm working in Newcastle and will take the bike. Am up Tuesday and Wednesday eves and would like to get some off road riding in. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance
Dave.
Chopwell is prob your beat bet if you have a car. Check this site out, a guy posted it here earlier this week http://www.nemountainbikeroutes.co.uk/ there is a chopwell route there. It's about 15 mins drive from city centre if you time the traffic right.
Your also only an hour from Hamsterly Forest.
Your [sic] also only an hour from Hamsterly Forest.
Only worth it for dirty roadies, in my opinion.
+1 for Chopwell if you're limited for time, I haven't been down for a couple of months, but it's generally pretty good for a smaller forest with no parking charges. Hamsterley seems to have relly come into it's own in the last year or two, it is a fair drive out from Newcastle as previously stated. Don't park in the main section of the car park if You'll be staying much past6 pm as they get locked. Drive past the tearooms and park in the smaller area on the right. Hamsterley trailblazers may have an evening ride on, look them up. For Chopwell, try http://mtbnortheast.ning.com/
Failing all of the above..
take a road bike and get up into otterburn and places.
Chopwell isn't too bad Hamsterley is dull as dishwater.
Yeah, I'll be there Tuesday evening. How far do you fancy going? I've got a ride out to Morpeth planned but I'm happy to show you the ride round up to gateshead, past the angel, under the A1 and then right up to STanley with a long, long descent back down to the A1 with a crazy assed ride through some of the dogiest estates you've ever seen before heading back towards the city. if you like. About 40 miles or so.
And lets just check, who are you working for? The government per-chance?
Chopwell was on fire last week.. Not sure what happened though, be worth looking into before you go.
I'm glad i'm not the only one who thinks Hamsterley is poor. Chopwell is great for an evening ride, but the best stuff isn't marked and can be hard to find.
chopwell for closeness and ease of use. the best bridleways etc are around Hexham IMO. there's a loop around hexhamshire common which will be quite dry at the moment, thats a classic, also edmundbyers, slaley and blanchland common, but a bit of local knowledge is required, I would come out with you and show you the ropes, but my 2 day old son (and wife) may have something to say about that!
the kielderr lads are riding from hexham racecourse wednesday night if you want to do some natural stuff Kielder site
Oh aye Thrunton is good but you do need a guide really, I might be able to escape Tuesday night too come to think of it.
Chopwell is great for a small wood, to get the best out of it though you need a guide as nothing is sign posted, alternatively you could just follow your nose and get hope to get lucky. Thrunton is excellent but again you need a guide. Hamsterley has some great trails but as with most places the best stuff is off the beaten track. Keilder is poor in my opinion.
Natural stuff like Hexham common, Blanchland moor and Bolts Law are all good.
I can get up on Tuesday, we should have a STW Thrunton evening.
Aye good plan carbon.
So is this on *this* Tuesday? i.e. tomorrow?
yep ok by me - can be there any time between 5:45 - 6
Chopwell is great easy riding distance of central Newcastle as well, and the best part of that can be done on reasonable cycle paths.
Hamsterley not worth bothering with really my folks live very close and I tend to ride Tees Valley moorland stuff rather than Hamsterley.
I don't understand why so many people dislike Hamsterley - Yes if you go there all the time it gets a bit tedious, but if your visiting the area for a short time it has about the best riding we have to offer. I much prefer it to Kielder.
Thrunton seems to have had a recent surge in popularity - I'll have to take a look up next time I'm home.
Come out with us!
I don't understand why so many people dislike Hamsterley...
It's all relatively subjective, of course, but nothing really happens at Hamsterley. The DH trails are decent enough, but the "red" route is almost devoid of features. It's like you ride out, see a load of fire roads, a little bit of shoddy singletrack, some more fire road, then back along a dull little groomed trail to where you started. Quite how it got a Red grade is beyond me. The whole place just feels like tiny bits of singletrack joined up by tedious fire roads. There are one or two good sections, but nothing, in my opinion, worth the drive from Newcastle.
Kielder at least has some interesting singletrack. Even with its huge fire road climb, the singletrack on the new Lonesome Pine route is more interesting and more challenging than anything at Hamsterley. Quite what it'll be like come the end of the year is another matter; they've ran out of money and there's (virtually) nobody around to repair the trails any more. Deadwater is already starting to look rough around the edges and we're not even into the summer season.
Like I said, what people like about trails comes down to what people like about riding. I can see the appeal of Hamsterley for people who just like a nice, contained pootle around and enjoy being outdoors on a bike - the dirty roadie types; but in terms of a technical challenge I don't think it offers much at all.
Hamsterley an hour in the car to ride generally pretty dull way marked trails or Chopwell probably an hour bike bike from Newcastle, I know what I'd be doing if I was still up North.
Shit forgot swimming lessons for eldest on tuesdays can't get out of it this week either.
As geordiepaul says get yersel along to the Shepherd and Shepherdess on Wednesday night before 7pm and go for a spin with the oddsox they know some excellent stuff around the area, great singletrack and good crack 
the "red" route is almost devoid of features
get yourself around the black route then, there's the odd bit of hidden stuff too. Section 13 was briefly the most grin inducing big boys bmx course for miles (before the weather got to it). Keilder seems bigger than it is thanks to the energy sapping nature of the rough dolomite, I reckon Hamsters has more features per mile too.
There is loads of natural stuff to explore locally, obviouslly, but If I were an out of towner, I'd like to go somewhere that I didn't need the OS maps for...
All of the above.
Why not register on midaircris.co.uk (aka Newcastle mountain bike club). We ride on Thursdays which is of little use to you but they will offer advice and the occasional "Chopwell Chuesday".
Beyond Hamsterley has a good Chopwell Route in it. Hamsterley is Ok. Hell, we can string 3 hours of decent riding without really leaving Newcastle so they must be better than that. Just don't go expecting Glentress style riding (section 13 is way better 
)
get yourself around the black route then, there's the odd bit of hidden stuff too.
I've ridden the black but was making a comparison with Kielder's red graded route, so it wouldn't be fair to use the black for that. The Hamsterley red has a miniscule 15% singletack; the black is, granted, over three times better at 50%, but it's not exactly what I'd call a decent proportion. The hidden stuff may well be exceptional, but that's something of a moot point. I'm not going to argue that you and numerous other people find Hamsterly an enjoyable trip, it's different strokes for different folks; but that doesn't alter the fact that I am bored out of my mind by it.
<camp> I'm freeeeee </camp> (tomorrow night) and could be tempted by Thrunton or Chopwell (or anything really).
Some people haven't been to Hamsterley for a while, have they?
(The Red is graded red because of it's length, remoteness and climbing, rather than any technical riding. I agree that it's not great, which is why I've never ridden all of it in one go.)
If you do the Black route, you get the better stuff. The new stuff from the DH car park is now (badly) signposted from the DH cabins, but basically head up the hill to the DH car park and then ride through that and you get to the start of Section 13.
Friends I ride with went recently. Their review of it was enough not to make ever want to go back. So many natural trails so very close to me that why spoil a day out. GT is about the same time for me if I wanted a trail centre.
Sorry guys. The hire car my company has given me is way too small to fit a bike into. No chance.
Bloody hell how small is it. If your having problems again or have the Kaffenback and want to ride the hills I can get hold of one for you.
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