Viewing 27 posts - 1 through 27 (of 27 total)
  • Riding in new forest
  • wayne66
    Free Member

    I’m heading down to new forest for family holiday but have a couple of free days to go riding has anyone got any routes I could download please am staying nr Fordingbridge but can travel cheers

    slowster
    Free Member

    1. For a start you could have a look for previous threads on this site, e.g. this one.

    2. You could give people some idea about what sort of routes, distance etc.

    wayne66
    Free Member

    Thank you, looking at a couple of morning rides 30=40km then a longer ride with a pub lunch stop

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    n0b0dy0ftheg0at
    Free Member

    If you haven’t visited them before, a trip to the South Downs around Warnford is great on bike, loads of cat4 hills with amazing views.

    slowster
    Free Member

    In that case I would refer you again to the previous thread I linked to, whether you are referring to road or off-road, since

    a. There aren’t many roads in the New Forest, and once you exclude the A31 and A35 your options are limited and fairly self evident when you look at the map. On the plus side they are very nice roads with a good mix of nice scenary, and the 40mph limit and good visibility (e.g. mostly no hedges) makes riding them very relaxed and safer than a lot of country roads.

    b. (Permitted) off road is wide gravel tracks, which with limited exceptions (see the previous thread again) do not link well for extended rides.

    wayne66
    Free Member

    Looking at as much off road as possible I have an Os map of area but doesn’t show the hidden singletrack

    wayne66
    Free Member

    Bez
    Full Member

    If you haven’t visited them before, a trip to the South Downs around Warnford is great on bike, loads of cat4 hills with amazing views.

    Or you could try the Mendips; they’re not near Fordingbridge either 😉

    wayne66
    Free Member

    Will take a look on map cheers

    slowster
    Free Member

    I have an Os map of area but doesn’t show the hidden singletrack

    I can’t help you there I’m afraid. Maybe others more knowledgeable can point you in the direction of some hidden singletrack in the New Forest, but I doubt that there’s much. If your normal riding area includes a lot of good singletrack, then whatever the New Forest has is probably going to seem poor and not worthwhile in comparison.

    jonm81
    Full Member

    I can email you a few GPX routes in the region of 20-50 miles but they are all xc gravel track stuff with little to no singletrack.

    Let me know if you want the routes.

    Edit: If you plan a route that drops down on the Castleman Trail to the west of Ringwood/south of Verwood there is an MTB blue route at Moor Valley Country Park which is a good laugh if you ride it as fast as possible.

    lucien
    Full Member

    wayne66 – Member
    Looking at as much off road as possible I have an Os map of area but doesn’t show the hidden singletrack

    A clue in the word errrm, “hidden”

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    there’s little in the way of fast technical singletrack in the NF – actually, as jonm81 suggests, moors valley’s not bad for that (if you pick a time when it’s deserted – nights are good, or midweek out of holiday season). Very “trailcentre-sanitised” and no real scenery to see but good fun all the same

    I could do you some scenic ride GPXs on less-used trails in the NF. You’d have to get a map out and stitch one or two together if you want a long ride though – ours are under 2hr generally

    burko73
    Full Member

    Bring a cross bike if you’re coming to the nf. Some nice scenic longish cross bike friendly routes – look at the new forest gravel series website/ blog –

    Cycle new forest gravel cat

    Good riding in the purbecks west of Bournemouth, only 40 mins from Fordingbridge if you avoid the traffic. Plenty of bridleways in Dorset west of Fordingbridge. The moors valley singletrack is a good little loop if you hit it when it’s quiet and can keep up some speed. It’s designed to keep you slow – it’s a blue trail after all and gets busy at the weekends and school hols. Jump spot half way round at watchmoor.

    Very few cheeky trails in the nf as riding off the network is technically out of bounds due to a load of reasons that take a while to explain.

    deadkenny
    Free Member

    You’re pretty much limited to wide gravel stuff, with many obstacles in the form of walkers and ponies (though the ponies are pleasant).

    NF is a big NIMBY area and many would rather bikes weren’t there. Storming around in their Range Rovers is however perfectly fine. See also stories about roadies constantly being sabotaged with tacks.

    (generalisation going on here, but there’s some truth in it. Didn’t feel welcome riding there myself).

    Bruce
    Full Member

    Last time we were in the New Forest we cycled to Lymington and got the ferry to the Isle of white. There is lots of nice ridding there and good for a day trip.

    slowster
    Free Member

    with many obstacles in the form of walkers and ponies (though the ponies are pleasant).

    The suggestion that walkers and ponies are ‘obstacles’ on the gravel tracks is absurd. If anything, there is far far less antagonism between cyclists and walkers in the New Forest, compared with bridleways in other tourist areas, not least because the tracks are so wide there is no need or temptation to squeeze past walkers or for either party to have to stop or make way for the other. In addition to which my experience is that I might encounter only at most a few other cyclists or walkers per mile of track. It might be busier at weekends, but even so the usual rule of thumb applies that only a minority of people visiting the New Forest ever stray more than 50 yards from their car.

    Also it’s best to give the ponies a wide berth: they are not all pleasant, they can suddenly start/spook without warning even though they have seen you coming on a bike well in advance, and it’s not that unusual for people to end up in hospital after being kicked by a pony that they got too close to because they assumed it was good natured.

    NF is a big NIMBY area and many would rather bikes weren’t there. Storming around in their Range Rovers is however perfectly fine. See also stories about roadies constantly being sabotaged with tacks.

    (generalisation going on here, but there’s some truth in it. Didn’t feel welcome riding there myself).

    I don’t think this bears any relation to the reality for solo riders, small groups or club rides. From what I have read, the main focus of the objections are the commercial mass participation rides organised by the likes of UK Cycling Events, which is probably similar to the objections voiced by residents affected by the sportives using Box Hill in Surrey. I cannot recall such objections to the events in the Forest organised by the local clubs, such as the New Forest Gridiron, and I think that that may reflect a) the actions of commercial organisations like UK Cycling Events who will want to attract as many riders as possible (profit motive), rather than cap the event at a much lower and less intrusive/disruptive number of riders, and b) the behaviour of some sportive riders compared with those who ride the cycling club organised events (there’s obviously an overlap, but anyone who behaves like a jerk on club events is more likely to be told to change their behaviour by the other riders).

    Didn’t feel welcome riding there myself).

    I’m sorry to hear that, but I think it’s mainly in your head. I saw plenty of cyclists on the road in the New Forest today, ranging from ordinary people, solo and couple road riders, a club ride/chain gang and some doing a time trial. They all seemed to be having a good time, and the roads were probably more pleasant, safer and less trafficked than many other Hampshire country roads.

    mattbee
    Full Member

    Never had any issues as a cyclist in the NF myself.
    If you have one, take a cx/gravel type bike. Otherwise pump your tyres and suspension up a bit and bash out some miles on the forest tracks.

    kerley
    Free Member

    LIved in forest for 17 years. Very limited single track but it does exist but not easy to say where as it is all over the place and linked by fire roads or roads. You are also not supposed to ride on it.

    The fact that I use a fixed gear brakeless bike to ride off road )and get my fastest times) tells you how challenging it is.

    Just stay off the roads if you want a stress free time as there are a lot of impatient drivers who will always overtake you on blind corners, narrow gaps, brows of hills etc,.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    As above, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced genuine hostility towards me as a lone/small group cyclist – on road or off, including off the permitted paths

    Off road, sure I’ve had a few comments about off-track riding but only ever one who continued it into a series (and who was, at the time, letting his dog shit all over the common without him having a bag to pick it up into). The VAST majority are friendly and appear totally untroubled by cycling in the NF. Also as said above, get more than 100m from a car park dogshit-zone and there’s almost nobody using the forest at all.

    I’d describe the non-authorised riding as gentle xc – course you can smash it pace-wise but virtually no technical demands at all, pretty much anywhere. DOesn’t mean it’s not good riding, as long as you know what you’re in for. Oh, and much of it is boggy in winter. Explore all you like – it’s pretty much impossible to get lost or be in danger and nobody cares you’re there apart from a tiny minority and they’re protecting their interests rather than any sacred environment

    On road, well, the roads are narrow and they are busy with livestock and there are quite a lot of cyclists so locals probably do struggle to “make progress”. I guess the stoopid ones fail to learn from this and so are always running late. Tourists are a bigger hazard; crap parking/stopping at roadsides to feed/watch the animals and haphazard driving whilst simultaneously lost and sightseeing make for a lively combination. I don’t think eiher group is trying to hurt us but I rarely ride on the forest roads any more – the B roads just outside it are better-surfaced, quieter and thus safer, despite the higher speed limits.

    I think they could allow cyclist access across the entirety of the forest and there still wouldn’t be appreciable use of most of it – nobody would come here for the riding, and the locals are already doing all the trails they want to anyway

    deadkenny
    Free Member

    slowster – Member 
    The suggestion that walkers and ponies are ‘obstacles’ on the gravel tracks is absurd.

    Though my post was in jest, it’s not totally absurd.

    They are lovely, but I was stopping a fair bit for herds. That’s not a complaint for the riding I was doing as it was very much a bimble and nice day.

    Though they kept taking an interest in my bike.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    yeah, they’re a bit funny about tyre choice

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    NF is a big NIMBY area and many would rather bikes weren’t there. Storming around in their Range Rovers is however perfectly fine. See also stories about roadies constantly being sabotaged with tacks.

    (generalisation going on here, but there’s some truth in it. Didn’t feel welcome riding there myself).

    it’s much more nuanced than that: the verderers want it to themselves. the national park authority are pretty pro bike. the district council are stuck in the middle. the local paper is a typical, parocial, anti-cycling shit rag stiring it all up.

    on the road/ trail you’re very unlikely to be involved in any of this and it’ll be a nice day out on the bike.

    IMO it’s like worrying about the troubles whilst on the Guinness factory tour.

    This is the map for permitted off road stuff.

    http://mediafiles.thedms.co.uk/Publication/NF/cms/pdf/Cycle_routes_in_the_New_Forest_National_Park.pdf

    i take the opinion that if it’s surfaced like a cycle track then why not use it. some of it is completley nonsense.

    For a long day out the castleman trail runs from ringwood to poole. but you can link it up across the forest. pretty much flat gravel all the way.

    or old scool XC head NNW from fordingbridge towards the oxdrove (runs from downton to shaftsbury) link it to the other oxdrove (runs from salsisbury to shaftsbury) and come back – epic views on a clear day.

    also see this

    sorry for the brain dump!!

    slowster
    Free Member

    kerley – Member

    Just stay off the roads if you want a stress free time as there are a lot of impatient drivers who will always overtake you on blind corners, narrow gaps, brows of hills etc,.

    I think it’s often a matter of route choice (as with as all road cycling). Because there are relatively few roads through the Forest, some B roads that elsewhere would be little used by vehicles are a lot busier in the Forest.

    For example, the B road between Beaulieu and Lymington seems to attract a lot of traffic, so I almost invariably ride the back country lanes instead via East Boldre, Sowley Pond and South Baddesley, which have very little traffic.

    Because there are relatively few roads in the Forest, and because some of them are not very suitable for (leisure) cycling, the choice of cycling routes is more limited compared with outside the Forest. However, the quality of those routes goes a long way to make up for their limited number and lack of alternative options.

    scaredypants – Member

    On road, well, the roads are narrow and they are busy with livestock and there are quite a lot of cyclists so locals probably do struggle to “make progress”.

    Occasionally a few ponies will stand in the road, forcing cars to slow down and sometimes stop and wait. Forest residents are used to it and for the tourists it’s a novelty which is part of the experience of visting the Forest. The levels of traffic are generally so low that it’s unusual to see more than a few cars being held up for longer than a few minutes. The main exception I can think of is around Beaulieu (especially the busier section of road between Bealieau and Hatchet Pond) because the land adjacent to the roads is private and not FC land, and so is fenced off or has hedges. Consequently the ponies and cattle have to use the roads to move around that area, but again in my experience most drivers are accustomed to this.

    slowster
    Free Member

    or old scool XC head NNW from fordingbridge towards the oxdrove (runs from downton to shaftsbury) link it to the other oxdrove (runs from salsisbury to shaftsbury) and come back – epic views on a clear day.

    The last time I did that ride XC did not exist and we called it ‘roughstuff’.

    It was so long ago that I cannot recall what the tracks were like. What sort of bike did you do the route on, and what sort of bike would you recommend for it?

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    It was so long ago that I cannot recall what the tracks were like. What sort of bike did you do the route on, and what sort of bike would you recommend for it?

    i have ridden it on a rigid 29er and a gravel bike. gravel/ CX is probably the quicker choice. if you start dropping off the steeper sides (cranbourne chase etc) then an XC bike is probably a bit more suitable.

    you could get away with 28c road tyres for lots of it but there are short sections of muddy/ wet stuff particulary in the winter.

    slowster
    Free Member

    Thank you. I did a preliminary recce of the first couple of miles of track east of Downton on my Tripster with 35c tyres a few weeks ago, and it was OK, but I wasn’t sure how representative that would be of the rest of the route.

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