There is loads of very good riding from Stockport out towards Marple if you know where to find it and pretty good routes out to saddleworth too if you don’t mind climbing Werneth Low first. As I’ve been riding from my door in Stockport off-road for 24 years that is a lot of local knowledge and I am still finding new bits here and there.

Best way to find out all of this local riding is to start riding with Stockport Clarion (I usually lead the rides) every Wednesday night. In the summer we sometimes start our rides a little bit further out so we can make the most of the long evenings. Obviously lots of cheeky stuff so I can only show you if you come out riding!

Saddleworth Moor riding is great lots of lovely moorland singletrack best saved for when it is dry like it was on Monday. Right got to go off to do Snowdon today, uwe-r hopefully see you on a night ride soon.

Must stop faffing!

Whats your point caller? Rowarth is close to Hayfield (which I like).

I don’t MIND Marple/Roman Lakes if I was local.

I think the point is that from around Marple, it’s possible to be at Rowarth in about an hour, so that makes Rowarth “close” to the roman lakes.

If you don’t like the riding around that area that’s fine, it’ll keep the trails quiet for the rest of us

There’s enough riding around Marple, New Mills to make a good day of it if you do a full circuit around the valley. In terms of technical descents there’s nothing mega-hard, but what there is should keep most people amused. Fun descents include going from the golf course in New Mills down to the Fox Inn then down to Strines Station, the previously mentioned descent into Rowarth, or off Lantern Pike to the Sett Valley trail. There’s a fun bit of down near Cowen Edge. Coming down Linnett (sp?) clough near the Scout camp is entertaining. All of these are good to do in bad weather too. The XC then drop into Little Hayfield from the shooters cabin on Middle Moor is fun as is Chinley Churn into Hayfield in the dry.

From Marple/New mills it’s perfectly do-able to get out to Mam Tor, into Edale then back up over Jacobs Ladder and be back for tea and medals in a day. I’ve ridden the beast at Hope Cross and the Hagg Farm decent from New mills and been back before dark in the past, and I’m no whippet on my bike. I wouldn’t recommend this in the wet though, as you have to go over Chinley and people really should steer clear of these bridleways during the winter and when it’s been raining as they are getting pretty chopped up (But that’s a debate for another day)

Bland… I need map pointers to that Egg Spurt trail!

Looks brilliant.

Whats your point caller? Rowarth is close to Hayfield (which I like).

the point is you;re talking rubbish again,. why would someone DRIVE from reddish to rowarth when there’s nice trails to RIDE there?

do you EVER engage brain before typing?

Lowey, was thinking same. We ride there a fair bit, reckon I’ve done the last bit on the last video, but the rest is a mystery. Perversely I kinda think they should keep it to themselves! 🙂

Sorry, not a fan of Roman Lakes. From Reddish I could ride from my house to Prestwich (same distance). Why the **** would I though? I’d rather just road ride.

I like Llandegla, not enough to drive there though. There are a fair few places in the NWest that I’d class as rideable but not if I had to travel to them.

Do you own shares in Roman Lakes per chance? 😆

Anyway. Carry on

Do you own shares in Roman Lakes per chance?

not but I live close enough to ride there, why would I want to drive to rowarth?

you won’t get better by driving places mate, only by riding.

I am better when I don’t fall off. That ride where I rode the rest of the Beast with a bust knee? I’d only recently comeback from a fall onto rocks where I’d knackered my rotor cuff/cracked my arm a couple of months earlier. Your always basing my riding performance on 2005/6 for some reason?! 😆

Winter before last I rode every weekend but then I hadn’t fallen off one jot.

My comment on Rowarth was to an earlier poster.

For the past 5 years I have lived literally 5 minutes the Roman Lakes site and have never ridden from there 😳

Perversely I kinda think they should keep it to themselves!

Yep, know where your coming from… If it was mine I;d want to keep it that way too.

So if I’ve got this right, there’s virtually no worthwhile mountain biking to the immediate east of Manchester, bar stuff which is top secret. There is stuff which some people misguidedly think is okay, the Peak District for example, and then there’s a Trail Centre at Roman Lakes, which isn’t core enough for Hora?

Come to think to think of it, wasn’t there some bloke who wanted to build a trail centre in Stockport using landfill to landscape it?

Anyway, I learned one thing, thanks to the Stockport Clarion web site: ‘Stockport is (probably) the top location for all types of riding on road or mud…’ That’s a relief…

So let me get this straight BadlyWireDog – east of Manchester is great, but also rubbish for riding.

It would be dead good on a cyclocross bike, but you wouldn’t be able to ride any of it on a cyclocross bike. It’s not worth driving to, especially if you live there, but you can ride there on your bike, which is defintely worth doing.

It depends on the weather really.

Riding there with some entertaining bits one or twice a week. Have been for the last 12yrs.

There is loads to go at around E Manchester in varying states of cheekiness, if you can accept an upto 50 minute road ride to get there.

If you fancy a pedal out give me a shout. Failing that and if you work in Manc it’s good to get the train to Edale (about £9) and then ride back – Mam Tor -Lord’s Reach – Hayfield- Marple etc. About 4hrs to Altrincham of which circa 40 minutes is road, but could be reduced by riding along the Mersey from Stockport.

Centre Parcs is considering using Roman Lakes for its holiday centre cycle routes 8)

Lord’s Reach

Where?

The bit from Mam Tor heading west along the ridgeline towards Hayfield. Bit of a slog over the top in the wet, but soon gets to the sunken road leading in due course to Roych Clough, if memeory serves. Was there yesterday in the sun. Flipping ace.

The bit I like in the Peaks is the cheeky from which can not be spoken where you roll and buzz your balls on the rear tyre if you take the straight line through the switchback…

Lord’s reach = Lord’s seat or rushup edge

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=411500&Y=383500&A=Y&Z=120

The bit from Mam Tor heading west along the ridgeline towards Hayfield. Bit of a slog over the top in the wet, but soon gets to the sunken road leading in due course to Roych Clough, if memeory serves. Was there yesterday in the sun. Flipping ace.

I think maybe I’ve ridden that once or twice. Just never heard it called that before. 😕

If you want to try saddleworth then give this one a go as a start

Saddleworth is a difficult one and you need to really know where to go first or do a lot of discovery rides. There is a lot of stuff that is top notch but you need to do some cheeky trails to get to a lot of it. Folk aren’t really bothered as it doesnt get a fraction of the foot traffic that the peaks does

See how you get on with this one and then maybes try riding off road to Mossley then on from manchester city centre up the medlock valley. Start on the canal at Castlefield, go to manchester city ground and ride through the graveyard past the old abbortoir then up the medlock valley and keep going to daisy nook, then park bridge, over hartshead pike then down into Mossley. From there you can do a loop round the trig point out back of Stalybridge or head up into saddleworth and do the ride i have put above or go to pots and pans/chew reservoir and do some discovery riding around there.

It all depends on what standard of rider you are. E.g. that expert +1 video i put up would form part of a terrible ride if you aint 100% confident as its a challenge to walk, however if you are a good (and i mean good) rider then you would enjoy the challenge

Best thing is buy a map and search things out, or go out with the saddleworth guys. Call the cyclery in Uppermill and have a chat with the guys there, they will prob say come along on there thur night rides which are a right good crack! (7pm from the clarence in Greenfield) hope they dont mind me saying that,they are a good bunch!

To get in/out of manchester off road basically take the canal toward the city of Manc stadium, through the cemetry, round the abbortoir and into clayton vale park, then follow the Medlock Vally all the way over the M60 and to Daisy Nook, go to Park Bridge then follow the map and this is a ride to do once you get out of Manc to Mossley

And if you do follow Blands directions from Manchester, once you get to Park Bridge go and find the jump track/4x up in the woods, it’s in a worse for wear state due to the mx’ers but it’s a good laugh and some nice lines in the woods, can easily waste an hour playing.

Where you based ‘Bland’? You’ve just described the pretty much exact route I take to get over that side, drop into Mossley then either over to Greenfield or over to Tintwistle etc, both a good slog if starting in Manchester. Like you say though, plenty out that way, it’s just not as readily available like other areas.

That vid looked good, will be pouring over the maps, as it doesn’t ring a bell, but sure wish it did 🙂

D-Faff ; any chance i can join a ride / tag along? I’m just down the road in bramhall. Have both a MTB and road bike!

RDL-82 Im in Oldham, just near park bridge!

Yorkshire

Santacrusziu of course you can. Meet around 7pm leave at 7.15pm every Wednesday from the car park opposite the Ardern Arms, bring your night lights.