Looking for an afternoon ride when the weather quietens down. Is Swinley ok/open or are Leith and Holmbury hills my best bet in these conditions? My local North Downs routes are pretty grim so looking for a bit less mud.

Did Swinley last weekend and it has seen some abuse during the winter months. They have shut a few sections due to flooding and erosion. Most rides well at the minute but there are a few boggy sections that will just get worse!
Personally I would head for Leith and Holmebury but they will just be as muddy but you can probably find some drier sections.

poor last week and lots of rain since then. best avoided at the moment imo.

not an “all weather” track!!!

OK – I’ll save it for a dry day. I know Holmbury better and so will probably do less damage and have a better ride there. Thanks

yep, I’d say avoid Swinley for a while too.

I’d say you’re far better off sticking to a ‘tracks and trails’ sort of ride locally than heading to Swinley at the moment. As others have said, it’s taken a hell of a beating over the winter, and lots of it is closed/diverted. It’s a shame, as they’ve done some great work on it overall, but it really can’t seem to stand up to the combination of massive use and massive rain.

It’s not just the weather that’s been closing the trails at Swinley. Some of the Trail Team Swinley bunch went on a course on how to inspect trails. During the afternoons practical inspection session they had to close some of the Swinley trails for safety reasons that were evident during the inspection 😥