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We are staying near to Dalby over Christmas and I was thinking of going to Dalby on Christmas morning (not ridden Dalby for about 15 years) but checking the parking costs it says £9.00 for up to 3 hours - is this correct as it seems a lot?
Forest of Dean is £4.00 for a day
It's what their website says so presumably right, we were there last weekend and there are a number of trees across some of the trails, you can get around/under them but a bit of care is needed.
All day at FoD is £9 as well. £3/he doesn't feel too bad. Seems pretty good going for hours of free trails TBF.
but checking the parking costs it says £9.00 for up to 3 hours
this topic came up here a few months ago!
a few years ago when we were at Dalby I hired bikes for me and the kids from the bike shop in Thornton le Dale and rode in from there along a track, so we parked in the village, no probs.
there is a large car park, located here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/1Gc7iYPj7fXerrYW8
rates are reasonable, cheaper than parking in the forest itself though the cash generated presumably helps with maintaining the facilities provided there.
https://www.forestryengland.uk/national-membership
Its gone up a bit since the first few years but its still less then 1 visit per month at Dalby/Cannock/FOD/Sherwood/Whinlatter/etc etc etc....
They sometimes suspend parking charges over Christmas, it's worth checking. Otherwise it's better value to pay £15 for all day, means there's no pressure to finish the ride and get back to the car.
Thanks everyone. I am a Forestry member at FOD so may look and see if there is a national membership as I occasionally ride at Cannock and others.
They are all done by ANPR paid at time of leaving now, so you dont need to 'choose' how much time you put on your ticket.
Yeh they hiked the prices about a year back. You can get a national FC parking pass but not usually a discount or anything for forests you don't have a pass for unfortunately.
That said, if the trails on xmas day are anything like they were running last weekend then it'll be money well spent. The trail centre stuff is pretty tame with a few highlights and the off piste is excellent.
We started on the red last weekend and theres a diversion for tree felling after section 5: The Full Red Trail — Dalby Forest | mountain bike ride | Komoot
The diversion takes you right and up past High Rigg Farm and then I assume, left and left again back down the next fire-road. Sack that off. After High Rigg Farm, you drop down slightly past a field on your left and get to a gate. Once through the gate take an immediate left off the fire-road (there is a track you can see) and keep left until it enters the trees - follow that for a couple of hundred metres (nice "proper" singletrack) before it doubles back to your right and drops down (theres a tree down on here so watch out). When you pop out at the bottom you'll be at the bottom of the climb for section 8. Theres also a superb (one of my favourite) bits off off-piste between sections 10/11 before you get to Dixons Hollow called Bummer Wolf (its on Strava). If you're on the red you can do the bottom section of that down to the fire-road and swing a right at the bottom to re-join the red.
Good luck - I imagine having a pedal around there on a deserted xmas day morning would be ace!
Conditions update from Saturday PM - still absolutely prime which is mad considering the rain we've had.
The track to Low Dalby from Thornton up the other side of the river from the road is very pretty and less hilly than the road. It's rideable on a touring bike or tandem and a good low traffic option into the forest (mainly downhill on the return). It does, however, add a few km each way if you're planning a time limited ride round one of the trails.
Directions: from the crossroads / Pace shop in Thornton take the road North towards Levisham. On the edge of town fork right on a lane and follow that. It becomes a track at the fish farm and then just follow the track (several gates) until you get to Low Dalby.
Conditions update from Saturday PM - still absolutely prime which is mad considering the rain we've had.
Wow, thanks for the heads-up! It really does hold up ridiculously well. I'm hopefully heading up on boxing day so fingers crossed it stays dryish until then...
Conditions update from Saturday PM - still absolutely prime which is mad considering the rain we've had.
Wow, thanks for the heads-up! It really does hold up ridiculously well. I'm hopefully heading up on boxing day so fingers crossed it stays dryish until then...
Forecast looks ace all week - I'll be heading up on Saturday/Sunday (maybe both if the kids fancy a ride out). The trail centre stuff was generally worse (puddles on a few bits) than the off piste (which drains pretty well).
I really ought to get up there and explore the off piste some time. Used to ride there quite a bit but got bored of the trailcentre stuff...
I really ought to get up there and explore the off piste some time. Used to ride there quite a bit but got bored of the trailcentre stuff...
Using the trail centre stuff to piece together a bigger loop on the off piste is the best way of doing it as there are pockets of OP around the forest so its sometimes nice/easy to pop onto some of the red and do some mindless following of the signs to the next "good" area. Or there are generally (especially over toward the Dales & Riggs part of the red route) OP options which mean you miss the generally crap descents/spins up fire-roads on that part of the ride...
That sounds good to me. I've always thought the climbs at Dalby are (on the whole) pretty decent, but the descents somewhat lacklustre.
I’ve struggled to find the off piste there and it doesn’t seem mapped on Trailforks, is there somewhere this is shown that I can use as a guide?
Hopefully there with Niece 1 on the 27th, fingers crossed for mostly dry weather until then!
I’m there 25th, 28th & 29th
i will on a Yeti (orange forks) so p look rare xx say hello if any singletrackers are there
Might be there on the 29th
I’ve struggled to find the off piste there and it doesn’t seem mapped on Trailforks, is there somewhere this is shown that I can use as a guide?
Drop me a DM and I'll send you some pointers.
I tend to go to the South of the forest (Riggs and dales) as it's much more convenient to get to in the car from my in-laws. It's a bit of a mind**** to navigate without doing a lot of fire road up dale/down rigg - you need to know where the sneaky climbs and cut throughs are, really, to get an elevation gain efficient ride.