I`m up in Peak district next weekend for a sportive, but day after hope to do a day MTB ride; so what would be best intro to joys of riding in dark Peak area? I have my eye on riding the Edale >Hayfield>Jacobs ladder loop (http://www.mountainbikerides.co.uk/routes/1-the-peak-district/15-jacobs-ladder.html), but any other suggestions? Not too far (ie less than 4 hr riding) as also have 3 hr drive back home. And is above loop shortcuttable at Hayfield, map seems to show bridleway back direct to Jacobs ladder but is it a decent route?
ta

yes, its a good route, might be a bit muddy now, I think it took me about 4 hours when I tried it

I take it you’re doing the Tour of the Peak – you doing the full length or the 65 miler? I’ll be doing it as well…

The route you mention (although the link doesn’t work) is probably one of the all time Peaks classics. It’s best done starting from Hayfield, going over Mt Famine, South Head, Roych Clough then over Rushup, down to Edale, back over Jacobs and down to Hayfield. There’s not really any way of cutting it short though, especially once you’re down in Edale. Bear in mind the clocks will have gone back then as well.

Even now it should be easily doable in 4hrs, conditions aren’t that bad and the route (except Rushup Edge) is mostly rocky anyway.

Yep down for Tour of peak, long / short to be decided on day but erring towards short to leave me soem energy and legs for a spot of MTBing; thanks both above for info on route and doability in 4 hr; crazy-legs I take it that direction is climbing Jacobs Ladder?? so do you reckon its not a great descent route?
James

I hate descending Jacobs – it’s a rubbish descent anyway, neither particularly technical nor particularly fast and the rest of the route is better the other way round (ie anticlockwise) too.
Whichever way you do Jacobs (either from Edale or from Hayfield) you’ll be off and walking at some point.

Edit: tell you what, depending on weather/how I feel after the Sportive, I might show you round, either on that route or what might be termed “local” stuff. 😉

I kind of prefer the route that way round as well – up Jacob’s – did half of it today and it’s fine, even the top of Rushup isn’t bad, I only dabbed once in the morass section and that was poor line choice. Nice ride and some typical Peak gritstone rubble on the descent into Hayfield.

I did the Tour of the Peak last year – the weather was awful and I opted to do the short route at the top of Winnatts. Might be worth taking some small lights with you, a mate was driving back from Huddersfield way over Holme Moss and there were riders still limping back towards Glossop in the dark with no lights. Tough old route in bad conditions, but great riding.

weather sadly looks very wild at latest forecast, windy, wet, mild! Certainly taking some lights

Sadly, both Crazy legs and Badly wired dog are mildly insane, and thus giving you incorrect advice: Although the descent to Hayfield from the top of Jacob’s ladder is great, the loop is far better ridden clockwise so you go DOWN Jacob’s Ladder into Edale, then you also get to to the sunekn road off Lord’s Seat as a descent, you get the better descent into Roych Clough and finish with the campsite descent into Hayfield

Surely no one has ridden up Jacob’s from the Edale direction without dabbing!?

nbt, we’ve been through this before – you’re both wrong and outvoted!

Surely no one has ridden up Jacob’s from the Edale direction without dabbing!?

It has been done, Nick Craig and a couple of other (extremely good) riders did it for a feature in WMB a little while ago and I was there to witness it. On the other hand, Jacobs is one of those climbs that everyone seems to have done “back in the day” or knows someone who did it etc – bottom line is if anyone claims it, it needs to be backed up with video evidence or they need to be prepared to demonstrate it.

Even Nick has only managed half a dozen times in 10 years.

jamesb – hopefully see you at the Sportive on Sat, I’ll be on a red S-Works road bike (retro aluminium no less!)

Ah I thought it was from the other (Hayfield) side that was the WMB challenge

The other side is just a rock staircase?

crazy legs; thanks & may well take you up on offer of guide , Ill be riding a Ti Van Nic Yukon with mudguards, and lights !! When I get my race entry details Ill let you know my number too; staying near Monyash in bunkhouse Fri / Sat nights
James

Ah I thought it was from the other (Hayfield) side that was the WMB challenge
The other side is just a rock staircase?

Both sides are very very difficult to climb, whichever way you do it, you’ll be off and walking. Jacobs from the Edale side is shorter and it’s only the top part that’s actually a proper packed stone staircase.

jamesb – see you in Chapel on Saturday.

Another vote for ‘down the Ladder’.

In the past I’ve done it both ways on consecutive days – clockwise is best.

jamesgarbett – Member

Ah I thought it was from the other (Hayfield) side that was the WMB challenge

The other side is just a rock staircase?

The ladder itself is a staircase. The challenge is to ride the bridleway.

So James,you really believe that the rather pedestrian descent into Roych clough fro Mt Famine,climbing the subken road (a great challenge) and the descent of oaken clough (which I’ll give you is a great descent) outweighs descending the ladder, descending the sunken road (far more fun than the climb!) and then riding the slabby descent into roych clough? I’ve permitted you your little foibles to date as you’ve kept them private, it’s time for you to publicly justify your choice in terms of the whole route.

Another vote for ‘down the Ladder’.

Same goes for me. I’ve done it on a full sus and a hardtail without dabbing or getting off. I’m not exactly a great rider either. Just dont let the usual small crowd of walkers that congregate at the top put you off. They’re just there for the crashes, oh and the view.

Sadly, both Crazy legs and Badly wired dog are mildly insane,

Says you with your weird tandem fetish… To be fair, it’s a good route either way round. If you go up the Ladder, you get a long, long, rocky descent with optional ace singletrack down to Kinder Res – though it’ll be a quagmire at the moment – plus at the Rushup end of things, you can always add a bonus descent of Chapel Gate’s interesting alpine boulder field…

Roych heading down towards Hayfield is getting more interesting again btw, lots of 4×4-created destruction appearing and it’ll only get better over winter, plus with some ingenuity and effort you can add a couple of neat loops over the Hayfield side of things.

Going up the Ladder, even pushing, has the merit of letting you see just how hard it would be to ride it cleanly going up, especially the steep top section.

Anyway, whichever way you go, Rosie’s cafe, the new-ish place on Kinder Road at the village end of things, serves lovely cake and doesn’t mind gritty mountain bikers at all.

Would offer to join you on Sunday, but we’re off on a ‘Not The Tour of the Peak’ cafe road ride – aim is to spend the £27 each entry fee we’ve saved by not doing the Tour of the Peak on cake, taking in as many Peak District caffs as possible.

Ah OK it’s the bridleway from the packhorse bridge in Edale I’m thinking of – do people actually ride up that?

Ah OK it’s the bridleway from the packhorse bridge in Edale I’m thinking of – do people actually ride up that?

Yes, but not usually in one, uninterrupted, go. All the individual sections are doable, but doing them all is something different altogether, and the steep, stepped stuff at the very top is brutal – I can’t do it, but I’m a distinctly average climber. As James – Crazylegs – says above, it’s been done, with witnesses etc.

Down Jacobs ! Down Jacobs ! Down Jacobs !

Anyway, whichever way you go, Rosie’s cafe, the new-ish place on Kinder Road at the village end of things, serves lovely cake and doesn’t mind gritty mountain bikers at all.

Rosie’s Cafe is indeed excellent, good coffee and cake plus home made jams and chutney.

I can still spend £27 on cake cos my entry for TotP was free. 🙂

Got a new dog Scruff?

No, Im going crackers.

IGMC.

Rosie’s Cafe is indeed excellent, good coffee and cake plus home made jams and chutney.

I can still spend £27 on cake cos my entry for TotP was free.

crazy legs>>> sounds very good but I reckon tea and cakes will be my treat if you`re showing me the way around, beats a GPS me reckons!:)