i have never ridden wharncliffe (mainly because i thought that there were no waymarked trails) but i came across details on the net of a waymarked black route of about 10km

1. is this correct?
2. where does it start from and is there parking?
3. is it a proper "black" route ie. 6" travel bike, body armour, full face helmet etc?
4. is there other "black" stuff that is nt waymarked to make a decent day/half day of it?

thanks

There's a load of very good riding in Wharncliffe. The majority of the riding done there is downhill and there are endless tracks scything down the hillside. THere are waymarked trails in various states of repair but you have to be on your toes to find your way round without a guide. I'd say the 'loop' is quite XC and wouldn't justify such a full on setup. However, the downhill routes certainly do. ALso, wait for a week or so of dry warm weather to take the edge off the swamp like nature of a lot of the area.

i have never ridden wharncliffe (mainly because i thought that there were no waymarked trails) but i came across details on the net of a waymarked black route of about 10km

1. is this correct?
2. where does it start from and is there parking?
3. is it a proper "black" route ie. 6" travel bike, body armour, full face helmet etc?
4. is there other "black" stuff that is nt waymarked to make a decent day/half day of it?

thanks

Wharncliffe is ace. Best after a dry spell though.

1. Yes, there's also an as yet unfinished red that's quite good.
2. Best parking at Grenoside, here
3. Some of the black downhill runs, yes, I ride a hardtail with a normal lid.
4. Yes – tonnes of downhill stuff in the woods.

Start of red from car park, bit of a downhill

Yeah as said above mostly DH style riding and not really marked out. Some singletrack up the top end but not enough for a day ride. Took the dog out there tuther day and it was quite swampy. Takes a week of dry weather to dry out up there, mainly due to it being enclosed in thick trees. Plenty of DH style riding for a 6inch susser though. It would be a good idea to go at thr weekend maybe as yo would be able to see other riders who can maybe show you a few routed through the woods. There is also some tracks in greno woods which is the other side to wharncliffe. If you park on the road at the top you could ride in there a bit and then go into wharncliffe as its bang next to it.

Wharny is pretty far removed from a trail centre, it's all a bit less organised (which I personally like). Very rooty, rocky, off camber and tricky in places so a 6 inch travel bike won't be wasted (it's what I ride).

It turns into a quagmire quite quickly so it helps if you're okay with mud. Also at the moment a couple of sections of trail have fallen victim to the forestry work, and a lot is overgrown with bracken.

It's not that easy to find all the good stuff without local assistance but there are lots of good trails, particularly DH stuff. Steve Peat learnt his trade in them there woods.

Our regular XC route seems to take about an hour and half or so, taking in a few DH sections.

As for parking, to be honest I think it's better to park outside the Pheasant pub in Oughtibridge for the simple reason that you finish the ride with a big cruise downhill rather than a long slog of a climb 🙂

The best parking for the trails is in Grenoside as Pook has shown however a lot of cars have been broken into or damaged here so we always park in Oughtibridge and ride in near the railway line.

The black xc trail was way before grading happened and is no longer signed. A new red route is partially in place and ok for a quick blast if you know it well enough to avoid bits after rain. In the dry it's very nice but it pretty much never is.

The reason to go to wahrncliffe is for the dh trails which are very good. These aren't signed/marked but you'll find some fairly easily. Normally about 1-1.5 minutes with a hard push back to the top. Must be about 10 I reckon.

Some of the best riding in the UK in my opinion. That's assuming you enjoy pointing a relatively big bike down a hill. I have ridden my HT there quite a bit, but by the end of the day, my back's aching! I must be getting old.

….also, it's currently peeing it down in Sheffieldboroughville.

If you want to go to wharncliffe in the next few days, send me an email (address in profile) and I'll show you the trails.

Paul