moving down to bournemouth from london, epping forest (was) at the end of my road, any recommendations for the area, don’t know anyone there so in at the deep end ! any replies appreciated. cheers

Ferry across from sandbanks to the purbecks, lots of great stuff there. Puddletown Forrest is good for some home made trails, wash am forest is ok if you know where to look. Also not far to the new forest, not sure if that will be you cup of tea though.

So plenty really. Check out Dorset Rough Riders, they seem to do quite a few group rides etc.

I live in Ringwood but don’t get to ride much other than c commuting.

There is mtbing about but non necessarily loads of singletrack in north downs St yle.

Perbecks is the best. Moors valley if you are near for a blast for an hour. Flat but twisty. New forest has nice rides but not exciting. Other area more to the west of Bournemouth but I don’t know that area.

As above purbecks great for xc/longer rides. Puddletown best riding in the area more techy/gravity focused. Wareham has loads of cheeky trails just a case of finding them.

All of the above, and if you look on an OS at the areas north of Bournemouth conurbation, there are lots of heaths/forests with bridleways crossing them.Especially around a triangle of Wimborne/Ferndown/Verwood. Unless you go West then it will pretty much all be flat and twisty/XC and nothing wrong with that.

St Catherines hill and Puddletown!

thanks for the replies guys, will be doing homework before the move !

Moors valley also has a little skills area – small pump track, some jumps/woodwork etc.
Bit off piste but not too hard to find and it adds a bit of variety as the trail (a single blue graded trail) isn’t massively interesting, good for winter training though as it holds up pretty well in bad weather.

The Moors Valley blue trail is so crap it needs to be used as a last resort. It’s an exercise in how to build a trail with no flow, fun or progression. I get its for family use, but still.

As said, you can still entertain yourself for a bit on the pump track, and short stretches of off piste nearby. Big sketchy jump line too.

When riding over to the chain ferry be sure to hammer along the sea front and ensure you set your strava times while battling those on foot!

Nice part of the world to be in really, ensure at least one ride takes in the Sqaure and Compass in Worth Matravers (spelling may be dubious).

Only sqaure 😀

Join the Dorset Rough Riders (£15 P/A) & get shown all the best trails,& how to link them together.Also a great social side.

thanks again for your input !