I’m off to Nottingham with the girlfriend and her family tomorrow for 5 days and the bike is coming with me so as these 2 seem to be the closest places to ride i was just wondering what they were like and if there was any particular trails to head for?

I usually ride the Quantocks as its on my doorstep with the odd ride at Haldon, how do these compare? Any local knowledge would be much appreciated 😀

I used to be a Quantocks regular, and am now a Sherwood regular. Prepare yourself. It’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced.

No idea how it compares with the Quantocks but Sherwood Pines is super dull if you at slightly in to the descent side of riding – it’s flat.

Wharncliffe has some good downhilly sections but you’ll struggle to find flow without local knowledge.

You’d be better off doing Cannock IMO…

Thanks for the info, sounds like Sherwood could be a bit boring then if its flat 😆 I ride a hardtail but quite happy chucking it down downhill runs as long as theres no stupidly big drops/jumps.

Will have a look at Cannock, I don’t mind driving 30-40 miles if anyone can suggest any better places.

Sherwood is fast flowing singletrack with very few technical trail features.( I think there’s a couple of berms, a couple of whoops, and errrr, I think that’s about it.) It is graded red through sheer optimism, but having said that it can be an engaging ride on a hardtail as long as you simply pagger it for swooping’s sake.

I’d avoid sherwood unless you get really really bored or need to entertain the family etc. Wharncliffe is great for gravity based stuff, had a good day today there on my hardtail today. I would usually ride it on my full sus but its totally doable with a hardtail and still good fun!

Wharncliffe is north Sheffield so not that close to Nottingham and very little is waymarked so you’ll not find the good stuff without a local. Worth the trip if you can get someone to show you round.

I find Sherwood lots of fun but since it’s flat you have to pedal hard to get much out of it.

Sherwood is better than you think it will be as long as your prepared to pedal in search of flow and aren’t a total DH-head. In context even the jumps area and ‘DH’ park are good fun to session for a while.

Two complete ends of the spectrum !

They aren’t that far apart either as the Pines are on the North notts border with South Yorkshire,

First of all it’s only 8 miles at the Pines so go there with the intention of riding two laps and I guarantee you will be foooooked, it literally is as said above like nothing you have ever ridden, it’s flat as but some how it destroys my lungs, admittedly I ride it flat out as do many others that ride there and it’s great on a hard tail, I ignore the bike park as the run down the side is good fun but too short, the trail uses the ground as best it can in such a flat low lying area but if you’re in the area don’t dismiss it as it truly is a great little trail as long as you’re not expecting huwge muhassiveness then enjoy !

Wharny, again not that long but a great place to ride and back in the day if you could ride there the saying was you could ride anywhere ! There’s a lot of natural features that have been linked in to make some truly impressive riding, lots of these thread their way from a top fire road to a bottom one, I agree with the above local knowledge is key and if some one on here is local and can meet you up there this place will give you more than any black graded trail could ever imagine ! There is a decent loop which takes in some great riding and the run across the crags is one of my favourite bits of trail in the country,

Across the other side there’s some DH stuff “Grenoside” this is worth a visit, worth a push up and definitely worth riding down.

Just go ride, and if you go to either please let us know,

One is flat. One is steep. I know which I prefer.

You could could also go to the Peak District if you want the feeling of being ‘out there’.

Pines is surprisingly far from Nottingham on crappy roads. It always seemed soul destroying and flat when I bothered going there.

According to google maps:

Matlock is about the same time to get to as Pines and has hills and decent riding.

Hathersage is about the same time to get to as Cannock and only 20 minutes more than Pines, and Hathersage has amazing massive Dark Peak rides that are classic rides for a reason. If you’re up on holiday, I’d head there.

+1 to the peaks. Or if you do go to wharny, look up parkwood springs too in Sheffield

Sherwood is ok if you fly round it, it needs to be ridden quick to make it fun, but then after 40 mins its done.

Wharncliffe is no where near Nottingham, and you could get to much better riding in the Peaks in much less time.

You can easily ride round sherwood for two hours and not use the way marked trails. Just outside the pines there is some interesting stuff as well.

Having said all that if i was on holiday i’d head to the peak.

Sherwood is ok if you fly round it, it needs to be ridden quick

This^

The 1st time I was there I didn’t really enjoy it but the second time I went I was a lot fitter and went at it full pelt and came away smiling. Decent cafe (and kids play area) so can always take a break and then do another sprint lap. I wouldn’t travel far to get to it but if in the area it’s good enough.

It occurs to me that it also depends on where in Nottingham you’re staying – if you’re right up the top of Nottingham, Arnold or somewhere then Sherwood Pines is not all that far. If you’re further South or West, then there is very little difference if any compared to going to the Peak District. Certainly when I lived in Beeston, it took blooming ages to get to Sherwood Pines.

Thanks for all the replies. The place we’re staying is actually nearer Mansfield than Nottingham 😳

After a quick look on Google maps Sherwood pines is 7 miles, Wharnciffe 35 miles and Cannock about 60 miles. I’m fit enough to do xc races but not that fast at them without finishing last if that makes sense so sounds like Sherwood is worth it for a quick blast.

I don’t reckon Sherwood Pines is quite as bad as some people make out – yep it’s not very challenging, but does flow and twist quite nicely. Fun and fast on a hardtail, and almost entirely singletrack. If you want to get some easy distance, follow the NCN up to Clumber and then over to Creswell crags – very scenic.

Wharncliffe and Greno Woods are a complete contrast – mostly downhill routes ranging from the challenging to the downright ridiculous – much of it can be done on a hardtail, but body armour, DH rigs and pushing uphill are pretty common. There is a red run in Wharncliffe, but it’s very hard to follow and much of it is a boggy mess

Sherwood Pines is fun if you ride it in XC race mode, pushing it to the point where your lungs hurt. I think it’s very rewarding when ridden like that. Put in less effort and you might as well plod along the fire tracks.

Wharncliffe is great fun (and running uncharacteristically dry at the moment too) if you can actually find enough of the trails. Which is, I’m afraid to say, unlikely.

The riding at sherwood is as hard as you make it. If youre unfit, unskilled, unimaginative, then i can see how it could be boring.

If youre into making the bike do stuff, pumping, turns, manuals, hop lines etc, sherwood can be very, very rewarding, especially if youre fit enough to stay on the gas out of the saddle for extended amounts of time

If you’re only 7 miles from Pines, you’re only 90 mins at most from the dark peak. Plenty of classic routes downloadable on tinterweb. And this is coming from a Pines regular.

As above it’s good fun when ridden enthusiastically. It’s very nice on a singlespeed, bit grown up at the minute, rode it on Saturday. Only problem I found was people stopping between sections smack across the trail, you wouldn’t have a picnic on the dual carriageway so why do a similar thing at a trail centre?

Sherwood is ok if you fly round it, it needs to be ridden quick

After riding the Kitchener trail today I can see why, if you just rode around it steady it wouldn’t have been half as much fun. I messed up the 1st attempt by going straight on at a left turn around 1/3 of the way round and only realized when I was back to the carpark in under 20mins 😳 Did the next lap in 48 mins.

If I get time I’m going to head to greno woods tomorrow and have a look at the d/h trails.