I’m off on my holidays and have permission to take one bike with me and have never visited the area before. I would be looking to ride for 3 hours ish and don’t want to drive to ride. Is there any local MTB off road trails ( if there is plenty of bridleways I’ll buy a local OS map) if no MTB type stuff any good scenic road rides suggestions please.

Sorry on hol crap internet and crashing kindle whoch just lost my long vesion
From southwold over exrailway to walberswick and then dunwich then eastbridge then car park n of leiston on bridle we did tbat with different out coast via nat res paths and back routes – inland straightish bit
Looks like you could extend s of leiston

Sorry i hate bleeding tablets gets os and check out bridles you clan sort of loop

Apolgies for syntax,grammar,spelling …

Suffolk = flat. Lots of bridle ways though, go for distance rather than gnar. There is always they ford forest, never been myself but the only way marked trails in the area I understand.

Nearest waymarked route is in Tunstall but it’s bit of a stretch away. With care (not a Saturday) cheeky alternate bridleways can be utilised with little fuss from the natives. (Ride you steady boi). There’s a fair smattering of bridleways over Dunwich way.

Great thanks for the replies, I’ll take the MTB SS then and just enjoy the flat spin on some varied bridleways 🙂 if it all gets too much with the extended family I could run away to Thetford , been there so know it’s pedal fest flat apart of course from the odd bomb hole and ‘ the beast of the east’ 😆

I’ve got some GPX route files for Southwold,Dunwich,Walberswick,Blythburgh,Eastbridge areas if it’s any use to you.

Tunstall is worth a visit – we were there last week 🙂 It is 10km of twisty, rooty singletrack, although I think we worked out that the ‘summit’ of the route was 30m…Don’t be put off though, it is all a good giggle, and well made. Total opposite of the riding we normally do, but we had a great time.
Well worth an evenings speederbike attempt.
There is also the UFO trail at Rendlesham, with ‘bike park’ – wider tracks again, but with some fun bits. Bike park is rubbish/borderline dangerous.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/ovKQjo]Suffolk Hols 2014[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/ovW4pj]Suffolk Hols 2014[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/oetdTL]Suffolk Hols 2014[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/otVUem]Suffolk Hols 2014[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/ovFDpT]Suffolk Hols 2014[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/ovVYrJ]Suffolk Hols 2014[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/ovVVAU]Suffolk Hols 2014[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/oet3fG]Suffolk Hols 2014[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

As said above, Tunstall is well worth a visit, 45mins my my home makes it one of my regular rides and i love it, very tight twisty singletrack and never ridden anywhere else like it, (trail not too beaten up either) fit some fast rolling tyres and enyoy. the faster you go the more technical it gets.

ive ridden many uk trail centers and just done the megavalanche this year but Tunstall still has lots to offer for me.

Rendlesham marked routes are much tamer/wider but i have found a few good bits there too just not enough to put a loop together yet.

From Walberswick there are a variety of bridleways (occasionally footpaths, but just be nice and polite to walkers) which lead you towards Dunwich. There you have the Forest and the Heath, and lots of tracks and trails. Not waymarked just natural – but all the better for that. 2 or 3 hours fun to be had, and try and end up taking the path along the crumbling cliff edge behind the ruined priory – lovely gully which spits you out almost on the beach!

As others have said, Tunstall and Rendlesham Forests are a bit further, and both have lots of trails. Look at the TROG website.

Then Thetford, approx. an hour and a quarter away, but with all the waymarked trails you have heard of, plus a whole range of other more secret twisty routes through the trees.

And I haven’t even mentioned places like Knettishall Heath and Alton Water.

So no absence of off road riding, and the twisty turny uppy downy makes up for the lack of absolute elevation IMO.

Enjoy!

Cheers for the offer switchbacktrog but I don’t do GPX routes yet, I’m only just mastering recording routes on my Garmin 200 and primarily actually use it for speed and distance covered etc.
I’ve made a note of the names of the places the other contributors have made and description of trails and have now decided to take geared MTB as I can get further faster that way without swapping out chainrings or rear cogs and chains etc 😆
I’m really looking forward to it now despite a slightly iffy forecast!

Suggsey……….this map shows a route for you to follow if it prints off with enough detail Dunwich ride. I think it’s about 25 miles.If you let me have your email address I can send you a PDF of this route and the 10 mile Viking Trail at Tunstall.

You can extend the route in a southerly direction using OS map. Go through Eastbridge, BW to Upper Abbey, Leiston Common, Broom Covert, Sandy Lane out to Sizewell Beach then south along the cliffs to Thorpeness (not weekends as it’s too busy and dodgy),carry on down the coast to Aldeburgh then return north using the Permissive Path along the old railway line behind the caravan park at Aldeburgh then Byway back to Sizewell and the beach. Carry on north in front of the power stations to “The Sluice” then head inland back to Eastbridge and the “Eels Foot” pub. The best places to eat are at Bridge Farm tea room at Dunwich and the tea room at Thorpeness Mere, and the tea room at Walberswick (bit expensive IMO). Some of this route is on FPs so please be sensible about how and when you ride them. Not sure when you’re going, but I might be able to act as a guide if you want as I do shift-work so could be around depending on what I’m working.

Nice pictures Matt, this is the same bombhole being repaired last winter…….