Forum menu
Thanks massively to everyone who replied here. I filled a trip to NI with new places and found them quickly which was great over just a few short days.
Did a mix of exploring as suggested too. Rostrevor DH3 And 4 found too which were both fun even though slippy
Cheers
OS map but I'm fortunate in that I have the whole country on digital at 1:25,000 then I just go and explore. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not. But it's all good fun....unless you are a millennial who wants guaranteed perfection with no effort.
Ok but by using an OS map you miss all the stuff that's not on them.
No one source of information will tell you all that exists. You will still miss stuff even if you rely on internet forums.
I like the reward of finding a trail from a large amount of effort put in. So using an OS map for me gives way more satisfaction than just following someone else's GPX file. Plus you will find stuff others have not recorded.
Look for contours. Look for close proximity to access and population. Look for ground that's not private, some area of conservation or farmland. Best spots are those odd nothing areas that are not ploughed up by farmers, owned by someone with a game keeper or of interest to the yoghurt knitting tree huggers.
Thats where you find the hidden gems, natural or pixie built.
No one source of information will tell you all that exists.
The Strava heat map will come pretty close.
I've covered just about every PROW in my local area, but there's miles of fab flowy singletrack all through the woods that you'd never find with a map. If it's been ridden enough to make a line, it's on the heat map. The heat map also gives you good insight into what trails on the map don't exist on the ground, or aren't worth following.
Look for contours. Look for close proximity to access and population. Look for ground that’s not private
Or.. just check the heat map!
I was adding stuff just south of Newcastle yesterday so that should have shown up.. I will do some work on Bigwood tonight.
https://www.trailforks.com/region/knockmany-forest-18709/
Im not sure what the deal is but there are trails at Knockmany Forest but for some reason they have all been hidden. Im waiting on a response from the local Admin to see what the deal is. If I dont get any joy I will just turn them all back on and wait for the fallout 🙂
The Forestry Service destroyed a lot of trails there not too long ago, that might explain it.