[Closed] Dalby forest

Everyone* will tell you it's really boring and not worth it.

It's pretty old school cross country, nothing overly technical. You could get round the red in 2hrs if you're riding at a decent clip, or you can cut out the loop at the back by doing visitor centre to Dixon's Hollow then cutting across some fire road to rejoin the red further round if you're moving a bit slower.

I was there a couple of weeks ago with a mate who's brand new to mountain biking and has questionable levels of fitness. It took us 4hrs to get round the red with a lot of stops and he had a sore arse afterwards.

*All the riding gods on here, anyway

Basically, what he said. It's my local trail centre, I'm not a massive fan but I'm not a hater either. There are some nice bits of singletrack, some ok descents and a lot of what feels like filler - but you're on your bike in the woods, it's pretty much weatherproof and you might see a baby fox.

Would second the Dixon's Hollow suggestion, you don't miss loads that way and it'll make it a much easier two hours. Fastest I ever managed the red was two and a half hours I think, I'm not fit by any means.

You can also cut from Dixon's to the end of the blue which cuts more off, but it's a bit of a faff and you miss one of the best descents.

If you find you're more short of time, you could do the blue from the visitors centre. Towards the end it joins with the red for a bit, when they split again stick to the red. That won't take you long but it's not bad for a quick blast.

I like it, but I'm a wheels on the ground rider too. The second half can seem a drag if you're not at your fittest, but there are plenty of signposted bailouts. I might be there Saturday as it happens, first time in a long time. The black bits are doable by a competent rider but easily avoided. The charge is the toll road, which isn't cheap, but can be ridden to from Thornton le Dale if you are.

Parking not prebooked, £9. Reds running well but might have some diversions on it. Suggestion for cutting across is a good one and then could do the Blue, which uses part of Red but is fun. Cant comment on timings as I know it well and everyone is different. Enjoy

Thanks pyro. I'm sure I'll enjoy it, as trail centres are so different to my local riding. The novelty of actual corners will keep me entertained.

Edit: thanks all for the other tips too!

The blue is very easy (you’ll see 7 year olds being coached on it) but very fun in a flowy wheels normally on the ground sort of way.

Just to clarify as well - I like it. I'm an old school cross country rider, though 🙂

I am extremely #enduro but I still had a lovely time at Dalby.

I wasn't overly impressed with the waymarking tbh- getting from Dixon's Hollow to the visitor's centre wasn't well marked and there's other bits when I really felt like I was guessing- like "ride across this big field".

But, that's just an old grump, the trails were very nice. Very "trailcentre" but that's no bad thing when it's done well. The black has at least one pretty full on moment that made me very glad I wasn't on a skinny XC bike with the seat up!

I've always liked Dalby, found it rewards effort if you get the pedals spinning theres flow to be found. The off piste stuff is awesome too in a 'Arse grabbing the rear tyre steep' kinda way.

Been going there for years and always enjoy it. The very back end seems to drag but that's probably due to my lack of fitness!

Just to clarify as well – I like it. I’m an old school cross country rider, though

You will love it then.

It's different. You earn some gentle descents, a few metres of lovely features and nice views.
The bit I found odd was that the trail barely makes red grade technically for a lot of it, then they fling in a couple of properly technical and nagery climbs or drops, then back to a nice cruise through lovely forest....
We enjoyed it. Just don't let your teenager leave thier brand new phone in the visitors centre, never to be seen again....

I’ve started parking at adderstone field and starting there it makes the long draggy bits in the middle more enjoyable as I have more energy I like the bits between visitor centre and Dixon’s hollow so doing that at the end when I’m starting to flag is ok.

It's definitely better when you're fit. I find if you're on your own, smashing yourself round the red is brilliant. If you're in a mixed group you're better off doing shorter loops or sessioning the best bits as it really drags if you're stopping at every fire road.

Definitely agree about the grading - it's mostly really nice and mellow, then you'll suddenly come round a corner to a not insubstantial drop or few metres of tech. There are also a couple of descents where you lose all your hard earned height in a few steep corners - that bugs me.