I'm organising a day out with some biking friends next month, we're based in the South East (Kent and North Essex specifically) so it's got to be somewhere easily reachable.
One of the guys suggested Bedgebury, which is only forty minutes from my home and a place I know pretty well. Someone else suggested Hadleigh Park and Aston Hill - the latter is a schlepp around the busiest parts of the M25 for me.
Has anyone here ridden Hadleigh Park?
Is there anywhere else I should consider?
Not enough at Bedgebury for a day out to be honest and not the most amazing trails.
Have you thought about Surrey Hills or head further round to Swinley? Chicksands?
Is there anywhere else I should consider?
How many bikes per car... parking at Bedgebury is off the charts expensive.
(£12/d) so 3x Swinley!!!
Bedgebury has been done to death here, but there's the shower facility in it's favour.
I'll definitely float the idea of Swinley, hadn't considered that.
Swinley's pretty much diagonally opposite North Essex. Likewise Chicksands and Aston Hill for you. Surrey Hills is closer for you both, and no shortage of stuff to go at.
I don't mind doing laps of Bedgebury, much prefer it to Swinley blue/red. Having said that there is a lot of off-piste at Swinley if you know the trails. Surrey Hills got to have more options if you want a big day out though.
Hadleigh is way to short to ride for a full day, I'm normally bored after 45 mins. You could make it part of a longer XC route but you'll need local knowledge.
I live in N Kent, I'd suggest Swinley if you are after a trail center experience.
Lots of stuff this side of the river around Shorne and Bluebell hill, but you'd need someone that knows their way around though (I'm rubbish at finding the trails over there!).
Other than Bedgebury (I'd put the extra time to get to Swinley if you are wanting a full day) and Surrey Hills (local knowledge needed for a fun day that doesn't involve a LOT of exploring) there's not really any other options in reasonable day trip distance to be honest.
Which is one of the reasons I'm moving to the Peak!
Si
I don't mind doing laps of Bedgebury, much prefer it to Swinley blue/red. Having said that there is a lot of off-piste at Swinley if you know the trails. Surrey Hills got to have more options if you want a big day out though.
Problem I have with Bedgebury is that there is just enough to keep you busy but not enough to justify £12 parking unless you have multiple bikes per car or its worth having a yearly subscription....
I found Surrey Hills a bit binary [b]without a local guide[/b].
You can find loads of blue runs on Trailforks and if that's a "day out" combined with pub it could really be great... equally the blacks are really good but not easy to find or know the "correct way down" (that doesn't have a fallen tree for example)
It seemed (without as local guide) [u]either [/u]hardcore or softcore..
Some really "boring" climbs on a long travel / really nice XC .. and some really scary on a XC blacks that are really good on a longer travel....???
For me its a "reasonably short trip".... so I'll be back.... but I suspect the first few trips will be more exploring than not as I know it has a lot more to offer than I found on my one trip.
There is plenty of off piste stuff at bedgebury. I used to do a 45km loop which used the Singletrack as its base but with loads of extra fun stuff added in including a 300 metre long disused railway tunnel.
When I first headed over to Surrey Hills, I found Nirvana cycles really helpful. Purchased one of their laminated maps and they showed us where to head to. Most of the fun over there is still exploring the trails and finding new bits. So if you take a pack lunch and take the attitude of just exploring, you will have a good day. some of it will be hit and miss, but I enjoy the variation there.
Deffo Surrey Hills, either Peaslake or Westcott and buy a map from Nirvana cycles, they're very helpful in there.
I found Swinley to be a complete borefest in comparison
I'll echo what edge said about Hadleigh, it's good for a quick after work lap or two but not really a whole day unless you go exploring
There is plenty of off piste stuff at bedgebury. I used to do a 45km loop which used the Singletrack as its base but with loads of extra fun stuff added in including a 300 metre long disused railway tunnel.
I always thought there was potential for off-piste in the area. Do you have any GPX or strava rides I/we could look at please?
I always thought there was potential for off-piste in the area. Do you have any GPX or strava rides I/we could look at please?
Sorry, I moved away from Kent 3 years ago and I've got nothing. If you look at an OS map though and go to the south east corner of the forest there are some bridleways which connect Little Pix farm, Siseley farm, Tanyard farm and Frith farm. They give you a good starting point. The railway tunnel is about 1km east of Hartley off a white road - you may still struggle to find it though as it's well hidden. Then look at the paths around Three Chimneys Farm to the north West. Loads to explore!
In the middle of summer? I'd be leaving the trail centres behind and get out on the North Downs Way
I'm from Kent. If it's dry and nice, just head to the North Downs and pick up Bridleways and paths. All around Wye is pretty lovely, Kings Wood is worth a trip and can be linked.
Treat it as a jolly - lots of great pubs out that way to link your ride. Try the Compass at Crundale and the Tiger at Stowting
And don't bother with Bedgebury, it's pretty lame, although the Kent Weald surrounding it could be good to get into.
Surrey hills is much more interesting than swinley, which is just left berm, right berm, left berm, right berm etc... it's ok for a couple of hours and there are other tracks beyond the red and blue runs if you do explore a bit but still not as good as Surrey hills for a full day.
A bit further on from Bogbury is Eastbourne and Friston. Which has absolutely no singletrack whatsoever worth mentioning.
Sussex Muddy@rse will be having their annual Friston extravaganza on Sunday 30th July.
Also could be doing a ride on Sat 22nd.