Should I head up to Devil’s Dyke and buy a map from Bike 360 for one of their rides, or head up to Stanmer Park and have a look around. I have not ridden at either so no real idea where to go.

Thanks in advance for any advice

how long were you planning on going out for?

do you prefer South Downs Way type stuff or wooded singletrack?

tbh, you could do Stanmer and the Downs East of Ditchling Beacon if you were out for a couple of hours or so.

Not too fussed, just want to get out! The Mrs is off out to lunch with her NCT group and has given me a pass for “a few hours”

I would head to stanmer. Plenty of fun twisty trails to find. Have a look on the BrightonMTB site.

If you;re heading out from Central Brighton then I’d head up Ditchling Road and get access to Stanmer at the end of there.

Keep heading North once you’re in there – you go through some woodland and then through the field and into the far woods and then have a look around in there (just follow the ‘made’ paths and keep an eye oiut for side trails) – lots to do. If the weather’s nice and you fancy some views then you’ll only be 10 minutes south of the SDW and can head up there for a look round.

Stanmer+1, also Wild Park if you fancy some descending. If you are local and don’t know the trails in Stanmer there are many for you to unearth. Some of the trees have tiny reflective markers on for some night time fun!

Ditchling=open terrain xc,
Stanmer=paths, windy singletrack (also leads to Ditchling Beacon), some jumps, technical singletrack
Wild Park=mild DH (steep in parts but not fully DH bike worthy), jumps, little bit of north shore, berms etc.

It’s no Glentress, but we’re pretty lucky to have a diverse range to choose from round ‘ere.

stanmers is a bugger to ride unless you know exactly where the trails are. i still get disorientated and i’ve been riding there for years. WP is easier to find the trails.

im free wednesday evening if you fancy an evening ride at either location – dont mind showing you trails and routes around either?

email in profile….

DD is easier for me to get too, but dont mind either.

Email not in profile!

Don’t have lights and only really have time off around lunch while MrsP is out with Jnr, sorry

email fail! * goes off to update his profilw! *

shame, maybe next time!

Umm, where is wild park? Sounds interesting…..

wild park is next to stamner park, on the way out of Brighton on the a270

it has some singletrack as well as decendy trails. EP is lovely if the bushes have disappeared a bit

Infidel:

its on the left of lewes road, heading towards sussex uni and lewes, funnily enough.

go past brighton uni, keeping going at the lights under the viaduct and its the big green bit on your left 🙂

Where the travellers were for a while last year? Often ride past it on my way home from work (to Lewes!) and have wondered about riding there. Are the trails easy to find?

Put there by riders? Why? That’s just litter IMO

at WP head up the steps near the truning head bit at th front of the park and you’ll see stuff to the left and a shore wallride (this needs fixing and i’ll do this soon – i need to remember where the wood is! – as well as the drop/jump thing into it). follow trails up hill. there are quite a few differnet lines jumps, berms and stuff some old and some new.

get to the dew pond and there is another line dropping into the trees (to the right of the main drop in) that ends up at the back of brighton uni/moulsecombe station that has some old shore on it (not sure if its safe tbh – there is a straight line through that is rideable) a decent sized drop with some nice berms up top. (affectionaltly known as Ken). head left after the drop for some twisty berms (there is scope for a killer gap to fence ride round a tree at the bottom of this line – one day) straight on for a more singletracky trail.

head up from the dewpond and right a bit and there are some very steep/off camber trails dropping into teh bowl. one is more natural and covered in leaves so almost invisible (badgers) but can be linked in to the fort at the top for extra fun. its extra sketchy and my fave trail. the other is being worked on/extended and should be easily visible (minicham).

EP is on the opposite side of the park to the dew pond. you can see it from the dew pond. head up and right from the dew pond and follow the trail around the top of the bowl. you cant really miss it (or head up the steps to the right of the park entrance and branch off left before the estate)

jonathan – Member

Herman Shake » Some of the trees have tiny reflective markers on for some night time fun!

Put there by riders? Why? That’s just litter IMO

unless you know where you are going hte trails at stanmer at night are almost impossible to find/follow. these help alot and i thought they were a genius idea. too easy to miss a fork in the path without em.

The odd tweaked branch/twig, or a pile of stones, is the usual method round my way. If you miss them then you need to learn the trail better!

Reflectors are the sort of thing I tidy up when I’m riding (along with used gels, lucozade bottles etc etc) 😉

Mr Halen

Don’t want to be a kill-joy but the more you ride there the more familier you will become with the trails.

I can say that both the rangers and other users in Stanmer have got really p***ed off with the reflective markers and have have told us so without any hanging back (if you know what I mean).

Don’t spoil it for everyone use a rock or log as a marker this will be natural and mean something to yourselves.

Get out with others who know their way around and it will soon be like the back of your proverbial hand.

Cheers

*applauds mike61*

mr mike61

i only said they were a nice idea!

i assumed, as unofficial random occasional stanmer trail maintainers, the brighton MTB lot had put em up.

cant remember them being up last winter.

as far as i`m aware i havent spoilt anything for anyone by riding my bike in the woods in the dark and going ‘ooh thats handy i was wondering when i turned off here’ apologies if i have.

I didn’t know they were a bone of reflective contention, I’ll get log arranging then!

Just for the record I stumbled upon them when lost, hence the enthusiasm in their favour, but I also see the problem they present.

I may well just get some of those solar powered garden path markers to dwarf the issue.