[Closed] Ashridge Estate Berkhampstead

Met some "Berko" riders at Whiteroom last year. I'm sure a couple of them frequent this place.

Yup, grew up there and still ride it a fair bit, pretty grim at the moment though.

Yes, there is some good riding to be had. Strava will show up some decent sections. Look out around the Aldbury side of the Estate for some OK descents.

However, as mentioned above, is a quagmire at the moment, so if you do go, make sure you have a frame with some clearance.

And be aware you are definitely not seeing it at its best just now.

Loads of riding around Ashridege and the general area around there. Do you live locally? I'm in Potten End and ride regularly with a local group (MTB Berkhamsted). I have loads of .gpx logs from rides. Don't do Strava though. Ashridge does get very muddy at this time of year though as has been mentioned above.

I used to live next to Aldbury (my gran owned all the fields and woodland between Stocks and the railway station) and tried many times to ride Ashridge during winter

I remember the thousands of horse hoof prints filled with water, either muddy or frozen solid, not much fun, ended up trudging along pushing the bike

At this time of the year it depends what you're looking for; if you're just looking for a family tootle then the cycle trail from the Bridgewater Monument out to Ivinghoe Beacon is pretty much all-weather, likewise the bridleways down towards Aldbury. Otherwise expect serious mud.

Edit: btw, it's been spelt "Berkhamsted" since the 1930s.

So can you ride up to the Beacon? it looks pretty stunning!

You can physically ride up it, just.
From the road south of it is free of gates.
Legally? I don't think anyone worries.
It's a foolhardy person who tries to ride the path down the west face though 🙂

well if its a bridleway, then it will be fine though the red socks brigade may question that! looks pretty slippy though

Yup, in the dry it's dooable but in the wet, with green chalk all the way up. Good luck.

I know it's been mentioned already but do not underestimate Ashridge clart. In winter the place seems to generate the optimum mix of clay and vegetable matter to jam your wheels solid in metres, even cross bikes soon clog up and grind to a halt. It's proper grim.

So can you ride up to the Beacon?

As an estate worker once pointed out to me the Beacon itself is an SSSI, so in the interest of good mtb/estate-owner relationships it's best not to ride up to the top of it. There's a bridleway that goes below the beacon; depending on your interpretation of the law you may be able to legally push or carry your bike up to the top from that, or just leave your bike there and walk the 50m or so to the top.

Edit: looking at the definitive map it's not a bridleway below the beacon, but the estate worker said I could go that way so I guess I have the land-owner's agent's permission!

a few years back my buddy John and I caught a train to Tring and went to ride up the Beacon

this face of the Beacon was insanely steep (the photos don't do it justice) to ride down, but kind of fun once you reached the bottom still alive!

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Thanks for all the info. I live in Watford so may make the trip up when the weather dries out a bit.

is there a "Best" place to park around there?

When I lived in Watford I used to ride up there using the canal. It's really not very far, and you can get the train back if you've over done it. But it's ultramud at this time of year, I really would wait for the summer.

As others have mentioned, it's too muddy to be fun in the current wet and mild conditions. There are some surfaced tracks if you want to stretch your legs, but not worth a special visit until it either freezes or drys up.

You could park in Ivinghoe Aston. Cycle up the road/hill. At the T junction there's a track just off to your left. That track sweeps up and down the back of the Beacon.
That'll take you to the road at the top of the Beacon. Again over to the left just ahead of you is a bridleway that'll put you into the heart of the MTB'ing in the area.

It's very muddy up there, but it's that wet stuff as in not hard going.

There's a café up top by the monument, coffee and cream burgers (giant cream scones) are a must have.

There's loads of parking at the Monument and at the Beacon and smaller car parks at Tom's Hill and Berkhamsted Common. You can also park in Aldbury and ride up but it gets busy on nice days. If you don't know the area then I'd park at the Monument as it's fairly central. I ride there via the canal but from the opposite direction.