Picking up a bike from Southampton tomorrow, so rather than stick with my planned Swinley ride, which is now in the opposite direction. Any pointer on where to ride, preferable not too far from the M3 between Southampton & Basingstoke?

How about southampton to basingstoke?

*or* on a more serious note – there’s Lordswood in Southampton, i’d offer to show you around but i’m not going to be back until Monday…

Another vote for Lordswood, small(ish) woods but with a fair amount of nice trails in there.

Thanks guys, where about’s is Lordswood?

Edit: ok looked at a map and its fairly obvious, where’s the best place to park and are the trails easy(ish) to find?

Southampton near the sports centre and the municipal golf course.

Trails are littered all over the place, nothing official. If you go too far south you cross a bridleway, so turn back up the hill and find another line……

Have you got a GPS – I can send you a GPX file that would give you a good 2+ hours

Lucien is right it’s a bit hit and miss finding the trails but ask around and follow your nose and you’ll have plenty of success, easy to get disorientated in there at first but pretty damn hard to get lost.
I would offer to show you round but i’m not back from Cornwall until monday.

Cool sounds good, I’ve managed to discover Swinley over a number of years so should get on ok.

Is Coxford road a good place to park?

At the top by the Bridleway, nr Dunvegan Drive – the dog walkers park there.

Once unpacked, keep going up the fire road until it narrows to a muddy path and take a left turn into the trees, which takes you to the top of steep hill – 3 or 4 good lines down the hill, fire road on left takes you back up to where you parked.

Would offer too but I’m in wales this weekend.

Probably easiest way to find some half decent trails is to park at the coxford road entrance, pedal straight up the fireroad, when you get to a large crossroads turn left almost back on yourself and should be slightly downhill. Lots of the fun trails cross over this small stretch, push up one of the runs to your left and then come back down over the fireroad and carry on down – from there follow your nose – try to keep heading west and you should come across the workman trail which is one of the best runs. If you hit a stream (tanner’s brook) you’ve gone to far, though there is quite a nice techy rooty run along it. Not much of value over tanners brook.

Hope that vaguely makes some sense. If you look up my profile on garmin connect (DT78) I’m pretty sure I have a couple of gpxs which are publicly viewable. A good 2 hours riding singletrack there, I ride there most evenings.