Iv just finished uni in Sheffield, an iv got my first (proper) job with BOC and they've just told me im going to be in Guildford from September.
Iv only been once but from what i remember its flat and boring. Certainly no peak district .
My question is : Are there any decent route (single track etc) and where are the nearest dh trails ?
Oh and if anyone knows of a cycle friendly house share for September , well that would be just top.
Surrey Hills have a lot of singletrack and you wont be far from Rogate or Hindhead
You're right on the North Downs, there's LOADS of route from there (and all over the rest of the North Downs as well). Close to areas like Swinley Forest and Yateley Heath where there is a) ace riding and b) the Gorrick series MTB races.
Only a couple of hours drive to Wales, less to Salisbury Plain or the Quantocks.
Train into London is quick and regular then train up to the Peaks.
Spoilt for choice really!
This all sounds reveling !!!!
I might not quite before i start.
Is there anything ridable out of Guildford ?
If you fancy a trip to the south coast you could always do the Downs Link.
[url= http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/leisureandtourism/prow/pdfs/DownsLinkRouteGuide.pdf ]Downs link route[/url]
Not extreme but a nice off road route to the coast.
Goes right from Guildford Town centre
[i]Is there anything ridable out of Guildford ?[/i]
Right from the city centre - when I lived in London we used to get the train out to Guildford or Box Hill or Martins Heron (for Swinley Forest) on a regular basis, there were several routes we did riding direct from Guildford station, off road in 5 mins.
Loads of singletrack round there in the woods although the North Downs can sometimes suffer in winter when it turns into a clagfest, all chewed up by the horses. Swinley is rideable all year though.
Good road riding out that way too, loads of quite country lanes.
Also loads of great road rides to be had from your doorstep if that ever takes your fancy 🙄
I prefer the Surrey Hills to the Peaks, and I a northerner
Surrey Hills is much better than the North Downs - first thing you need to do when you get here is know the difference!
From Guildford you can get on to the Surrey Hills heading east - lots of people ride in from that end... You could do worse than find Beyond Mountain Bikes near Cranleigh and get some routes from there.
Or splash out on a guided ride - I believe there's an excellent outfit operating out of Holmbury St Mary!
There's tons of riding out of Guildford itself.
From Guildford you can head east along the ND way towards Dorking, which gives you access to the Surrey Hills around Peaslake, Leith Hill, Holmbury Hill, etc. where GlenP's outfit is based.
Or west along the NDW towards Farnham which gives you access to Ash, Puttenham Common, Godalming and from there the Devil's Punchbowl at Hindhead.
Or 25 miles South down the downslink and then you've got access to the SDW which is classic downland riding.
Or to the NW there is a huge tract of mainly open access military land which is criss-crossed by singletrack and is the home of the Gorrick and ACU events (Tunnel Hill, Porridge Pot, Minley, etc.) Which eventually leads onto Swinley with the Gorrick / BOB maintained singletrack.
So, a few big hills around the ND / Surrey Hill / SDW area, the rest isn't big by Peaks/Wales standards but is very undulating and as anyone that's done the Gorrick Enduro will tell you lots of ups and downs still makes for plenty climbing in a ride.
Post up again when you're down here and there's a few folks down here would be glad to show you some of it.
Make sure you live within cycling distance of work because the traffic between the A3 and BOC is a bloody nightmare at chucking out time...
The question is: Where [b]can't[/b] you ride from Guildford?
Sheesh, the area is MTB heaven, provided you aren't for some strange reason addicted to bridleways that feature endless piles of rocks and bleak, bleak, windy moorland.
Oh, hang on... You're from Sheffield. You might find a bit of a difference there then!
Surrey Hills / Guildford riding is: endless amounts of sweet, sweet singletrack beneath dappled forest canopies, intersected with a network of bridleways that go on for miles.
Go explore. Enjoy.
Simon,
email me at 'jova54 at tiscali dot co dot uk' re accommodation. I might be able to help.
Oh, and congrats on getting the job BTW, there are worse places to be than Guildford.
Where in Guildford will you be working?
BOC - up by the hospital/ University Research Park.
Cheeky singletrack down from the A31 right into the park, 'apparently'.
simonlovesrocks, congratulations on the job. Bigger congratulations on moving close to the North Downs, some fantastic riding there. Utterly so 🙂
What ever you do just don't live in Bellfields or Park Barn (nearest residential area to BOC/Research Park). You'll lose your bike to a local scroat within a week if you do 😯
*disclaimer* These areas may have cleaned up their act as i am going back a couple of years, but i doubt it */disclaimer*
Guildford's small enough to bike across easily - we used to live in Burpham (on the E side of Guildford) and Mrs P would ride to her office in the same park as BOC, heading through Stoke Park to avoid the traffic. At least BOC is at the top end of the research park, but it's still a nightmare to get out by car in the evening especially if anything's happened on the A3.
You'll be working right next door to the new uni sports centre too - pool, gym etc etc.
simonlovesrocks, you will have ridden in Wharncliff? Apart from the rocks, elements of the North Downs are very similar. The good thing with alot of the North Downs though it doesnt become a quagmire when it rains (one hill or so does but the others are fast-drying). Plus the North downs has more mileage/rideable area.
You'd get the just though - similar trail/technical etc.
All IMO of course.
bigsi - Member
What ever you do just don't live in Bellfields or Park Barn (nearest residential area to BOC/Research Park). You'll lose your bike to a local scroat within a week if you do*disclaimer* These areas may have cleaned up their act as i am going back a couple of years, but i doubt it */disclaimer*
Been in Bellfields for 8 years and not lost a bike yet. Apparently the scroates moved out to Clandon and Wonersh (burglary rate 4 to 5 times higher than central Guildford) which is where all the money is now.
There's some sweet singletrack at Puttenham, rideable from G'ford. There's some dh runs at Newlands corner apparently, then as mentioned, Surrey hills, or tunnel hill area, even the tourist (don't flame me folks) hot spot of Bracknell (Swinley)!
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jova54 - I stand corrected 😉
I'm genuinely surprised about burglary rates in Wonersh, assuming that's backed up, compared to Park Barn. I know which one I'd rather walk through at night...
There's so much decent riding around there, you really are spoilt for choice. I don't know of another location which has such diverse riding in such a small area. It's all rideable all year, and you never need 1.5" mud tyres either! I can easily do a 50 mile ride with 6000ft climbing, 99% off road on some great singletrack. The only real 'trouble' is that none of it is way marked, so you could ride all day without finding anything decent!
As Glenp said, try Beyond in Cranleigh, it's a bloody good shop too, even though I don't work there anymore, or Nirvana in Westcott do a lot of organised rides, it's the other end of the Surrey Hills to Guildford though, almost into Dorking.
I know this is pedantic, but can I please point out that the sandy hills south of the A25 are NOT the North Downs! 180 degrees opposite of hora's comment, the North Downs most definitely ARE a mess after rain, because they are chalk downland - hence poorly drained and very sticky and slippery. In wonderful contrast the Surrey Hills are sandy and therefore very well drained and remain grippy when wet (apart from woodland sludge).
Surrey Hills (running from East to West) is Leith, Holmbury, Pitch, Winterfold… all the way to Blackdown. North Downs (other side of the Guildford-Dorking road) does contain some good riding, esp around Whitedown, but I personally wouldn't bother when wet.
Ah. Glad to have that off my chest.
If you fancy coming over Farnborough way (Although we do ride the Downs a bit too) try www.tunnelhilltrolls.co.uk
We really do have mud proof riding!
🙂
Jeez folks, it's Guildford (top 3 safest / best places to live in all the surveys), not South Central LA.
I know plenty of folks living on Park Barn and Bellfields and they all consider the areas to be extremely community spirited. They may have a few chavs / odd anti-social household but you make it sound dreadful.
Simon, I might be reading too much into your username, but there's a decent climbing wall on the North side of guildford called Craggy Island. And a grubbier, cheaper (but still useful) one at Surrey Uni.
Make sure you hit up the lido too!
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not much to add to the riding info above. I used to live there, and loved that I could go out for a short thrash around Pewley Downs/Newlands Corner, or carry on to Surrey Hills and go for as long as I wanted.
Second the joining organised rides too, or asking to join a ride from people off here. So much singletrack to find!
drop me a line when you're down this way - I work in guildford/live in brighton. we ride pitch/leith/holmbury hills most weeks after work. I'll show you what I know, but really there is so much that I'm still finding stuff (read getting lost) most of the time I'm riding....
🙂
I am happy to show people around the Surrey Hills should anyone so require. My rates are very reasonable!! Erm free! Email in profile.
Email in profile. As PP said there is also good riding provided courtesy of the tunnelhilltrolls at www.tunnelhilltrolls.co.uk this is Farnborough based but there are at least two riders who come over from Guildford or indeed further afield to ride with us.
Surrey Hills (running from East to West) is Leith, Holmbury, Pitch, Winterfold… all the way to Blackdown. North Downs (other side of the Guildford-Dorking road) does contain some good riding, esp around Whitedown, but I personally wouldn't bother when wet.
Ah, yes. Thank you for putting me right there. Holmbury, Pitch etc are ace even when its wet. Wharncliffe however (IMO) is very similar to the other hills in the Downs.
Enjoy, wish it was me 🙁
🙂
Its not the riding you'll be worrying about, theres loads of that, it'll be the cost of living. prepare for a bit of an increase if you're coming from sheffield!
Prepare for *better looking/dressed girls though
*Guilford girls not included in this offer
Can definitely recommend the Nirvana Cycles shop rides for an intro to that area. As other correspondents have said there are so many possibilities (both on the map and unofficial) that you definitely want to be tagging along initially. Very different to the Peak but certainly enjoyable.
WOW thanks for all the reply s , i will definatley be looking into all these place !!!!!
I will most likely repost/restart this thread in a month went il be down in surrey finding my light weight wheels and low (er) profile tires .
Many thanks again for making me feel a alot more positive about the move, see you all out riding soon !
Simon,
Offer still open about accommodation if you're still looking.
I have two possibilities that might interest you.
email in profile
John
jova54 is
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LOL @ hora. 😀
Miss Jones, Miss Jones ...........