I can’t seem to find any information on the location of the red 16km xc loop.

Was hoping to get out there tomorrow and do a couple laps.

Is this the one they started then never bothered finishing?

There’s not an official loop to follow. Great riding in the dry when you know the woods though.

Also not a question of ‘never bothered’ from the people that started it, but more from the FC that didn’t support the volunteer effort.

ah right. Would it be suitable for tomorrows ride or am I better somewhere else?

I’d say avoid, without time to explore or someone to show you round.

Sounds like you are after a loop rather than DH tracks?

The sections that got built where great. But as said after the FC stopped cooperating building stopped, and the trails haven’t been maintained so it’s in a bit of a state. A lot of the first section from the car park has felled trees across it now from the high winds we had :(.

Still lots of great riding to be had there though if you go exploring 🙂

yeah more cross country. I will have to ride a loop from Buxton over to Matlock and back I think

It’s there, well hidden and under lots of water and mud at this (and most other) times of year with a few sections more challenging that normal due to broken bridges and fallen trees.

Anyhow, if you want to try following, park at the carpark in grenoside, follow the fire road down the hill and keep an eye out on you’re right for a sign.
Follow that until you eventually end on on a fire road and turn right.

The route then goes straight on when the fire road turns to the left, you’ll be riding though a boggy section then very technical flatish rock section. This will be utterly awful at the moment, it’s a good challenge on the rare occasion it’s dry though.
I’d recommend bypassing this bit by following the fire road and taking the 1st right.

Once on back on the fire road (or having turned right) you’ll start dropping down hill slightly, keep an eye out on the left, there’s a track here. It’s currently very over grown and rutted, all the nettles should be gone now though.
Follow this, be careful crossing the stream where the broken bridge is. When you look to be coming back on to the fire road keep right, the track continues following along side.

Once re-joined the fire road keep an eye on the right for a plank bridge, take this and follow until once again on the fire road.

You’re now where all the DH tracks are and you have a number of options. If aiming for mainly XC then follow the fire road until just before it starts dropping down hill. There’s a track here that’s good fun, called XC Decent on Strava.

Either take this, or follow the fire road aproximatly 1/3 of the way down, keeping an eye out for a track on the right (well hidden so don’t get too carried away with your speed!)
Follow this track traversing along, at the end head straight up towards the crags. At the T junction at the top turn left. Follow along a little way, keeping an eye out for a track on the left. It starts with a 1ft step.
Take this track down (or follow the crag top along to wharncliffe crag (though doing this might upset some people!)

Once finally back on the bottom fire road, turn left to start heading back towards the direction of the carpark.
After a very short climb keep an eye on the left for a wide track on a slight down hill, take this an follow along keeping right at the pylon.

Once meeting the fire road again, keep follow along up the steep climb. After this you can carry straight on to get back to the car park, or bear right and tackle some of the tamer DH tracks.

There are small wooden stakes with bike images on marking some parts of the loop, but you have to really be looking for them.
The majority of the loop will be aweful to ride at the moment, with only the steeper tracks being in relatively reasonably condition.

If heading over that way you should also check out the tracks build by ride Sheffield on the other side of the road. These will be in much better condition as build to be all weather tracks, keep it interesting by doing all 4 or the climbs back up.

That’s a decent loop but will be mega hard to navigate.

The ‘official’ red must be over 10 year old and only ever got as far as the bottom of the brilliant ‘XC descent’ then stopped so after that it’s a case of making a loop up from what you can find.

Persoanlly I avoid until dry weather now.

Greno is awesome in all weathers but again not an XC loop, there are 3 relatively easy and awesoem ‘DH’ tracks.

Parkwood Springs worth a look but very short, you won’t want to do 30km round there.

For XC you’d be better riding from the city out to the Peaks, either Rivelin Valley or Endcliffe Park, but nothing waymarked so maps/Strava segments of getting shown…

Took me weeks to piece together the remnants of the loop a few years back, awesome fun but last time I was there a few of the climbs had been turned into rubbish downhills and as I always start at the bottom, riding from home, it spoilt a lot of it.

It had so much potential which was sadly wasted