So I've been up to Swinley 5 or 6 times now and sort of able to find my way round a bit (though got badly lost last time and had to ask helpful people the way back to the car)

Just wondering why a couple of routes haven't been waymarked out like you get at the welsh trail centres.

I'd certain appreciate it as a casual rider there

(yes I bought a lovely laminated map but it wasn't that much help tbh)

A couple of trails are marked, a red triangle on a post heads you toward the mtb section, truth is there are so many little trails its hardly worth it, I can ride round Swinley for hours without going on the same bit of trail twice and be on singletrack pretty much constantly.

…it's part of the charm 😉

I used to live 5 minutes down the road and probably spent the best part of 18 months figuring it all out. Once I had though, it was great!

As a general rule, what I used to do was try to ride around the perimeter of the WHOLE area, on whatever trails I could find that would allow me to do this. If you've got a reasonable sense of direction you should be able to do this without a map. Once you've been around the perimeter a few times, it's just a question of following any interesting looking trails that might link the bits up between. Sort of follow something, see where it goes and – hey presto – you'll pop out again, usually somewhere on the perifery, which you'll recognise from having been there before..

Does that make sense..?

I thought it was because queenie didn't want signs messing up her forest 😕

Some of us don't want to be told where to ride 🙄

Yeah, will probably end up organising yet another Forum Ride there end Spring/beginning Summer. Have had problems with the weather in the past 😯

Count me in for the next forum ride CG. The last one was great fun despite the crap weather in the morning 😛

OK si! The last 2 rides have been unlucky with the weather, so banking on 3rd time having perfect conditions.

Wouldn't mind tagging along for a Swinley ride. Looked like last time the singles one was a hoot!

So I've been up to Swinley 5 or 6 times now and sort of able to find my way round a bit (though got badly lost last time and had to ask helpful people the way back to the car)

If you get lost in a few acres of woodland that has several obvious features, perhaps you need to sort a few basics out.

Just wondering why a couple of routes haven't been waymarked out like you get at the welsh trail centres.

Not everyone needs their hand holding whilst riding a bike.

I'd certain appreciate it as a casual rider there

(yes I bought a lovely laminated map but it wasn't that much help tbh)

Awwww. The map isn't perfect but it is enough to find the trail area and get back.

Trail centres breed trail centre riders. I guess thinking and riding isn't fun for some people.

TooTall- too many beers last night? Cheer up

IME having ridden at Swinley on and off since the early 90s it can be a bit confusing, probably due to the way the trails have been expanded and developed and the way they cross over the fire roads so much. Theres no substitute for getting stuck in there and learning it. That way you can link up lots of good singletrack and enjoy a nice flowy ride.

…yes, that response from TT was a sometimes typical STW oh-goody-I-can-stick-the-knife-in type-response. Cheer up dude! 😀

Come to thetford if you want to see the problems caused by sign posting a route without building a hardened track.

I went over Tunnel Hill recently with a vague map and my memory of a couple of rides there. Had a really nice time just wandering around with the bike. I found most of the trails I had ridden before and some new ones.

Unfortunately I managed to break my hand near the end of the ride and couldn't get the map out of my back pocket so rode round in circles for an hour, one handed until I could find the main road back to Mytchett!

Apart from that it was great and a really good way to find your way around an area you don't know.

I've ridden Swinley several times. My enjoyment didn't change from the first 'where does this go?' experience to the 'up here and around a bit is great' latter rides.

I came to mountain biking after hill walking, climbing, sea and river canoing and surfing. I'd been taught navigation and preparation. I am constantly amazed by cyclists who head out with no concept of what might happen and even the basic ability to navigate back to their car or put a plaster on a cut. People appear to want responsibility to be removed and given to someone else – including where, exactly, to ride their bike. If you don't enjoy the countryside in its wild form, then stick to the trail centres and the signposts. I guess navigation, exploration and responsibility are old fashioned and not rad enough for teh kidz.

Lets play nice. Swinley is good but BOB build the trails and unless you stumble on them or know them you can go to Swinley ride around find stuff and miss the best bits.

The map is useless, fact!

The Crown Estate don't like signs, Sustrans routes are not marked in Windsor Great Park for this reason.

Swinley trails seem pretty organic in development wth no real reason for why they appear. What Swinley needs is a communal mapping exercise that is kept up to date as new trails are created.

Swinley is not wild country nor is it a waymarked trail centre. A bloody good map would enhance peoples enjoyement there without the need to go 10 times to work out the good bits.

I also think that because of the volume of people there now some routes should be one way and marked as such.

The last comment is because I'm prone to seeing a route and just going up to explore, did this on one between Labarynth and the fireroad wall bit. Turned out I was cycling up a jump run. Not sure who was more scared me or the 14 year old kid in mid flight. 😐

Sorry got to agree with TT – stay away from the 'wilderness', just go to trail centres.

Or,

Get a map and compass, and learn how to use them.

And to make it even simpler, get a GPS and upload – then draw routes on the map.

I think someone is being a bit harsh on the OP, I certainly remember going to Swinley the first few times and not finding very much at all.

Ive also had to help people who were hopelessly lost in the forest, I used to carry a map and ended up giving them away on numerous occasions or having to show people where they were on the map, one group had been wandering around the forest for two hours on foot trying to find the way to Bagshot, very easy to get lost in the forest it all looks pretty much the same, not enough people carry a compass tho.

There are GPS logs of the Swinley Forest trails on t'internet.

IIRC the Swinley Forest Mountain Bikers have posted maps with the trails marked (and named) on their Facebook group space.

People just need to get out of their comfort zone and explore! If I can do it on my own, and around the U.K., anyone can 🙂

As someone has already meantioned, the Crown Estate don't like signs.

If you want to get to know the best trails and how to link them.. find a local! The facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2589417804&ref=ts

People ride most weekends and the weekday evenings during the summer season. We are always more than happy to show people around.

I think what OP was getting at is that he went to Swinley, known mountain biking trail centre, and was disappointed that there was no way marking, can't attack him for that! If I went to Glentress, Afan or even Cwmcarn knowing there are some good trails and didn't find any I'd be disappointed.
I go to swinley a fair bit some days I get lost (place looks the same most of the time) sometimes I find everything with out a problem. I understand reasoning behind the lack of way marks but sometimes it is nice to be given a clue.

As for this "you must be an expert map reader to be a mountain biker" attitude, Righto Too Tall! must be easy finding your way up on that soap box 😉 It's got nothing to do with radness or sickness or indeed gnralyness it's about being overworked having a family and barely finding oppotunity to get out on your bike as much as one would like let alone finding time to hone navigation skills hence the creation of trail centres and fat mountain bikers Dude!!

And relax….

Get a map and compass, and learn how to use them

Knob.

How precisely do you use a map and a compass to find something when you don't know where it is?

I guess you could flag down another MTBer and say "If you tell me where the Corkscrew is I'll give you this map and compass?".

I lived in Brackhell for 10 years and even I still get lost in the Lookout at times. It's not so big though, so be brave.

The map from the visitors centre isn't that bad as it has major landmarks on it. So if you get lost, keep riding till your find a star post for instance, and re-navigate from there.

It won't help you find the singletrack though.

Just ride off the fireroads when you see likely looking trails – odds on most will be nice tracks. Or follow people stalker stylee.

I miss Swinley.

😥

I think what OP was getting at is that he went to Swinley, known mountain biking trail centre

I haven't been for ages so maybe things have changed, but I always thought Swinley was a large wood that lot's of people ride in, rather than a mtb trail centre.

Why doesn't Swinley have waymarked trails?

For the same reason I don't have a man in my bathroom to wipe my arse for me – because I learnt to do it for myself!

The beauty of Swinley is the fact that there are so many trails that you can just go and explore, see a trail, ride it, and if you're lucky remember it – keeps it fresh and fun.

Swinley's not a trail centre so can't be treated like one.

Ride it a few times and if you've got a half decent sense of direction and memory you'll soon piece together a route (possibly with the visitors centre map for reference points).

Once you have this explore a bit more each time you go there so expanding your knowledge of the best bits.

For me thats all part of the fun of mountain biking 😀

Exploring is fun. New discoveries are brilliant.

Amos – Member

I think what OP was getting at is that he went to Swinley, known mountain biking trail centre, and was disappointed that there was no way marking, can't attack him for that! If I went to Glentress, Afan or even Cwmcarn knowing there are some good trails and didn't find any I'd be disappointed.

I'm not attacking him, but it isn't a mountain biking trail centre. It is a forest area that has been partially developed for cycling. I'd be disappointed to go to Afan and find a Go Ape, kids playground and something like The Look Out Centre – but thats me not expecting the moon on a stick.

As for this "you must be an expert map reader to be a mountain biker" attitude, Righto Too Tall! must be easy finding your way up on that soap box It's got nothing to do with radness or sickness or indeed gnralyness it's about being overworked having a family and barely finding oppotunity to get out on your bike as much as one would like let alone finding time to hone navigation skills hence the creation of trail centres and fat mountain bikers Dude!!

Not really – its about people not being able to find their own arses with both hands and a torch. If you are going out into an unknown area (outside a trail centre – scary – wooooo), then you should accept some small responsibility for yourself – water, food, spares and, dare I say it, some way of navigating. Anything less than that and you should have a homing beacon and training wheels fitted as well as a long bit of string to find your way home.

You don't need to ride a bike to hone the skills to know where you are. I'm a parent, I'm busy, I don't get out on my bike as much as I want to – but I can go beyond the end of my street and find my own way home without a satnav. Anything less and you should stick to waymarked trails.

It's not about having your arse wiped it's about enjoying a ride in a limited space of time! I don't agree with waymarking the trails as they'll get over ridden far too quickly, but a more accurate map would be good to atleast show a couple of the better bits of singletrack or those bits that are a bit more resilliant. My recommendation to DT78 is send me an email in profile and next time I'm going I'll give a few pointers, only a few mind as I'm still learning where all the good bits are!

I'm not attacking him, but it isn't a mountain biking trail centre. It is a forest area that has been partially developed for cycling. I'd be disappointed to go to Afan and find a Go Ape, kids playground and something like The Look Out Centre – but thats me not expecting the moon on a stick.

Knob the 2nd.

Swinley has trails specifically designed, built and maintained for MTBers. You have to pay to ride there. These trails are not marked on any map (unless you have taken an OS map and a pen and marked them yourself).

I can understand peoples dissappointment in turning up there and not finding all these great trails that people tell tales of on forums such as this.

Where I think you are getting lost is differentiating between the OPs request to FIND trails and being lost in the wilderness. No-one is ever going to get lost and die in the wilderness in Swinley – but it can be enormously hard to find "The Full Nine Yards" if you don't know where it is, and would have no idea anyway if you were riding on it.

No map, no compass, will find you something if you don't know where it is……..

Try listening to the OP rather than your own ego.

For the same reason I don't have a man in my bathroom to wipe my arse for me – because I learnt to do it for myself!

+1

Just to reiterate that Swinley Forest is not a trail centre. At one time, heavily used singletrack would be closed (to recover) and new tracks would be cut. This doesn't seem to happen any more.

Do you have a gps? Plenty of gpx routes available from folk on here. Everyone is short of time but there are resources, so use them where possible.

I will probably be organising another Forum Ride there in the Summer so why not come along to that?

Also, next month sees oldfart's Exmoor Easter Parade ride as well as the Purbecks. In May I am organising a Winchester ride. Highly likely I will organise another Chilterns ride too.

Plenty of opportunities to get shown around the good bits of trails by locals/explorers. 8)

Hope this helps. 🙂

i generally follow CG around, that way i don't have to worry about getting lost (if i can keep up with her!)

i generally follow CG around

Me too. She hasn't noticed yet, though. 😈

I can get "lost" in the smallest of our local woods and it is small,but it's all part of the fun. It's only when you're in the Lakes/Peaks/Scotland etc that getting lost can be a problem.
I enjoy trail centres,but I believe it has made "us" lazy.

im hoping to go to swinley this week, can someone tell me the postcode of the lookout, for my tomtom please.

RG12 7QW

Dr R Swank

Despite your small-man angriness and tedious little jibes, I'll keep you on track:

The OP said the given map wasn't much use. Fair enough, it doesn't tell you each trail, but it does narrow down the countryside to what is probably less than a couple of square miles for most of the trails.

The OP go lost and had to ask how to get back to the car park. If the OP had used the map (and / or compass) he would have known that heading South with a few corrections would have got them back to the car park.

The OP wondered "why a couple of routes haven't been waymarked out like you get at the welsh trail centres". Well – it isn't a trail centre. Mountain biking evolved there along with other activities. They have chosen to keep it au naturelle. Scary isn't it?

Maps alone are not much use if you can't orientate them. If the OP had the map and a compass, they could have got to the centre of the trails area in minutes – then back again.

The OP couldn't find specific trails and get back to the car park. Being told there are dozens of miles of great singletrack in a couple of square miles is a gift – but not if you want to turn up and follow signposts.

Soob – we can't help you beyond The Look Out – take care out there fella.

Wow – was just asking a little question, seems some people think I'm a complete fckwit….

Btw – Queen Elizabeth has waymarked routes (yes they aren't great but they are marked)

I suppose it depends what you want from your riding. I tend to only be able to get a half day once a week for riding further afield (if I'm lucky) This means I want to get the most 'smiles per miles' rather than spending alot of time 'exporing/not finding great stuff'.

Personally whenever I go out on longer routes one of the things that annoys me the most is having to stop to get the map out / navigate etc… just not a part of riding I enjoy – sorry if that annoys some of you for some reason

Not got GPS yet, I can't afford one at the moment, got a wedding to pay for.

Oh – thanks to those guys offering to show me round, much appreciated I'll drop you a line next time I'm able to get some time up there.

More than happy to show people round my local spot in return (Lordswood, soton – it's actually alright when you know where the best bits are)