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chakaping - MemberHollinsclough descents are gnarly but not too steep if memory serves?
Or maybe I didn't find them all.
I only really think the parkin clough one is outright tech, there will only be handful of folk whove done that complete id say in all the years its been there and even then I bet it takes some luck as well as a lot of skill
the hollinsclough ones are rideable but they are the next techiest i'd say personally that ive ridden (a lot easier than the parkin clough one), all rideable if you commit and launch off the drops, makes it sketchy as hell in the wet though
On a tangent, how do you guys work Hollinsclough into a ride?
I just drove there and rode up and down the hill for a couple of hours, it seemed a bit isolated.
Parkin is toughest for me. It's all rideable, with a few foot down moments (I call it "finessing"), but it is bloomin' hard. It's certainly not dangerous, you can stop on all of it.
Of the legitimate ones Cavedale is toughest for me. All cleanable most of the time but not easy. I don't find the Beast a problem normally but the biggest crash I had last year was on there, clonked my head and cut my shoulder up quite badly.
There is one inside line that cuts a corner in Hollinsclough that I found pretty tricky, it took me a few goes to clean it. This one-
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And Laddow Rocks down to Crowden is consistently tech. Loads of steep cheeky stuff if you seek it out.
I'd say that Laddow stuff makes Parkin Clough look quite sane to be honest, but I guess it all depends on where you draw the line between rideable and not. If the Laddow stuff counts then how about the built rock steps off the edge of Kinder above Kinder Res which are like the harder bits of the Laddow stuff without much else in between 😐
I don't mean Kinder Corner btw. I'm talking about the ones that lead up towards the trig point on Kinder Low past the Iron Age burial mound and all. They're above where the yompy bridleway coming off the Edale Cross track on the Hayfield side goes through the gate before cutting down beside the wall... I think, in all honesty, they would be suicidal, but then I view chunks of Laddow as not a very clever idea.
[quote=Superficial ]The top stepped section is ridable, the bottom section (after the fire roads where everyone turns off and thinks they've "cleaned Parkin") is barely walkable never mind ridable.
There's a horrible sketchy drop a bit higher up which I think is the crux move, I don't think I've ever cleaned it. The bottom section is more consistently hard but not as scary!
Is this the whole thing?
chakaping - Member
On a tangent, how do you guys work Hollinsclough into a ride?
I just drove there and rode up and down the hill for a couple of hours, it seemed a bit isolated.
That was my experience too. Good fun though. It's in the white peak guide rather than dark peak so had missed it off my radar for years.
chakaping - MemberOn a tangent, how do you guys work Hollinsclough into a ride?
I just drove there and rode up and down the hill for a couple of hours, it seemed a bit isolated.
you have to join it in with a 3 shires ride to get a good loop, you can park at the pub in flash and do a smaller loop, but as you say its tricky piecing together a good loop to get them both in as theres not too much else around (as in you miss other descents if you do the main ones)
munrobiker - I'm not sure where that is in hollisclough???? not sure ive done/attempted that one where the hell is it?
chakaping - Member
On a tangent, how do you guys work Hollinsclough into a ride?
I have done the Hollinsclough drops once by myself and like yourself just went up n down the drops. Mr OsWildly kindly sent me a route earlier this year and like him I did also plan to get up there again in the summer but left it too late now. A stw gnarfest meetup perhaps? lol
It seems the best route is down the muddy one from the farm at tenterhill, over the little bridge (or through the water) and up to Booth farm. Down the little road that goes behind Chrome hill and take the byway into the village itself. Then climb on the road either to the right or the left to start the Coastestown drop from over the road on a byway that crosses Hollinsclough moor to get the full run in.
tbh I wouldn't personally go just for them, as in park nearby, as there is at best 3-4 good descents (all over quickly unless you keep sessioning them), but you kinda miss the other few good ones to get to the main 2 ones, unless you climb back up and go back on yourself over to the other ones.... and in winter its an absolute gloop fest on the others
ive only ever done it sadly in the piss wet thru as part of a bigger 30 mile loop from 3 shires and back over buxton to Derbyshire bridge at hollinsclough, the conditions made it techier in the sense it was slippy as hell on the rocks, but id imagine in bone dry summer its a different story altogther
Oscilate - Just realised it's a footpath. I was following someone else's route and was relying on Openstreetmap so wasn't aware, but it's at Cumberland Clough.
Hasn't someone died riding Laddow Rocks?
ahhh yeah munrobiker I know that, though I recognised it but couldn't understand it being hollinsclough haha! yep no where near hollinsclough that, but its a good tech fest all the same!
ps only ever done it going around the corner, not cutting it, its even techier getting around the corner one and joining the stream as its on a 90 degree corner with pointy slimy rocks 🙂 may have to try that line next time mind!
you got lucky doing that in the dry as its usually a river bed and slippy greasy slime most of the year! its a good tech descent though Ill give you that
As an outsider (I live in Matlock) it was part of a Hollinsclough ride and I lumped it all in as one thing!
I found the normal corner easier, still tricky though.
yeh sounds like a similar loop i did when i chucked in hollinsclough, may have to try that line next time, not often in a year its dry like that though so can add another element of tech onto that one in the wet
guess tech depends on skill levels too, i find stuff like that techier than cavedale/beast but i can see why other folks may see things differently
have heard about that alport castles/crowden stuff and its suppose to be good, not good having someone die there though, imagine its quite windy up top! came close to chucking it in a ride up hayfield this summer but time didnt permit
retro83 - Is this the whole thing?
Most people that have said they have cleared Parkin have only done up to the fire road that you can see in the distance at about 28 seconds.
I'm not sure that vid covers everything, it seems to look a lot tamer in that vid than it does in real life.
Not sure we're on about the same bit, the top section is basically a load of old steps, then there is a fire road, the bottom section which is about 4 times longer is rocky and rooty with a big drop into the stream on your right.
Yeah, I think what we're calling the 'bottom bit' is at odds. The hardest bit IMO is the final 50-100m, down from the adjoining path (it's not marked on OS maps, but it's there on OSM) to finish on the Thornhill trail. That's what I'm calling the bottom bit. But the section above that (which I think you're including) is also tricky with one horrible move.
Is this the whole thing?
I think so, or at least most of the tricky bits. As with anything, it looks a lot tamer on video! The horrible bit I'm talking about is from around 42s - the line has to be inch perfect and it's VERY steep after the drop, with a sheer drop to the right into a stream 20ft below. But the GoPro footage sort of flattens all that.
Plus it looks super dry in that video, I've never seen it looking so grippy 😀
haha that video doesnt do it justice ( and i believe its a sweary notherner riding it so of a good standard!)
and yep as above its never ever ever that dry, that must have been a freak summer lol
the video makes it look so so easy, believe me if you've not ridden it, you would not ride that blind and get down it in one go (youd have to be exceptionally good to get down it after sessioning it over and over)
its a lot trickier than that video suggests
BadlyWiredDog: I don't mean Kinder Corner btw. I'm talking about the ones that lead up towards the trig point on Kinder Low past the Iron Age burial mound and all.
Think I've spotted the one you mean on google earth. Have you had a crack at it then?
I found big chunks of the Laddow descent quite rideable. Other bits are definitely a walk. Going by some of the Strava times, some hugely talented people are cruising down it!
Think I've spotted the one you mean on google earth. Have you had a crack at it then?
Absolutely not 🙂 It's a pleasant walk or run in my book, not something I'd want to do on a bike. It's like all the bad bits of Laddow piled on top of each other without the rideable sections in between...
He does make it look easy - but once you add the GoPro factor and see how precise the line choice has to be you can see it isn't. Add water and commence falling off the side of the hill! 😉
It's all horses for courses though isn't it? We're not all the same rider, riding the same way with the same fitness. this is one of the challenges with rating trails - what's the scale you're working to?
Its the scale of rating one trail against another. A fire road might be technical to some people but I'm sure they would be able to acknowledge that something like Cavedale or Parkin is harder than that.
Unless you're a riding god. Like... ;o)
Legit and downhill I'd have to say Hollinsclough or perhaps Doctor's Gate. The former I've not ridden for a few years so it could now be easier...or harder! The latter I've only ever walked down but spent a lot of that walk counting how many times I'd be off the bike if I rode it. It was a lot.
A fire road might be technical to some people
Hi there 🙂
That vid is very very 'flattening'.
You guys are only short of an official grading system as per rock climbing, then you can really argue forever over nothing.
Another vote for Parkin being the most consistently long, tech descent. I cleaned it the first time I rode it (pushed up first, mind for a recce), much to my absolute astonishment. Have never done it so well since, and have ended up in the stream a couple of times. It's one of those thing to try once a year in the middle of a heatwave. (I attempted it once in the slight damp. Never again.) Its the bit at 42 sec in the vid^ that's the issue, and getting the speed back down after it. The rest isn't too bad, although I did get jammed on that fallen tree bit last time I tried it. The vid makes it look VERY easy. Quality riding there.
There's some equally gnarly, techy stuff on the E side of the Peak, but in much shorter sections - some of which have very nasty consequences for failure. Not saying where for that precise reason.
The Beast doesn't even begin to register. Cavedale is down to tyre choice. I can clear it almost every time on Maxxis 3Cs. The WTB "fast rolling" compound I've got on at the moment is lethal - I've never ridden it so badly as the last time I tried it.
Cavedale is awesome. First time I rode it I blasted straight through the gate on a pootle and went whooaoaoaoa.
I like it because all walkers are very friendly and you end up having a laugh with them 🙂
The way this person is climbing up Parkin gives a good impression of steepness , which seems completely absent in the videos.
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Parkin with a chest cam. Seeing more and more people ride these paths along with the William Clough decent off Kinder etc. Still think Drs Gate is the techiest legal track.
Cool video and good riding, but can you just pop back up and do it again with the camera pointed up a bit more?
😉
Wasn't me!! Random video off Youtube..
Looks like a gnome trying to climb out of a ditch
Ive ridden with that guy and he's got some skills.
Sorry to hi-jack slightly but I was about to post asking what were the best 30k to 50k loops in the peak district mainly single/double track and not too difficult to find as I'm up in the Derby area quite a bit
Thanks
Narnia
Derek I assume you have done the stuff in the black rocks ambergate area then?
Just where is Parkin Clough? I'm nowhere near good enough to ride it but might be worth knowing to avoid 🙄 A proper map type link not an "It's in Foobar Woods" description because I'll only ask where they are!
Derek, I'd suggest white peak areas for easyish routes without much tech. If you have the VB white peak book the linacre classic is good or the 5 dales route. Drop me an email if you need gpx and/or further suggestions.
probably about time to drop a wee reminder that Parkin clough is a footpath, and often quite busy with walkers, who may not be pleased to see you.
if you like steep tech, there are plenty of walker-free options.
in the future, when bikes are allowed on footpaths, i for one won't lose any sleep when special exclusions are made, precisely because of paths like Parkin Clough.
Scratch that request - found it. I've run down it as part of the High Peak Marathon (at something like 1am), vaguely remember a muddy jumping down from boulder to boulder avoiding tree routes.
Pretty certain I won't be riding it.
if you like steep tech, there are plenty of walker-free options.
Not really. And anyway, it doesn't matter.
Not really.
you know that rule about fight club?
Another vote for Cavedale, with the caveat that I've not done the stuff at Hollinsclough and can't remember what Doctor's Gate is like (I know it was tough, but I was a novice on a fully rigid). As to Parkin - shudders at the thought ! But then again, something that steep has no appeal for me - I prefer a flowing descent than one where I'm constantly at (or way beyond) my limit.
Of all the one's mentioned, Jacobs Ladder is easily my favourite
The way this person is climbing up Parkin gives a good impression of steepness , which seems completely absent in the videos.
Yeah ... I can't see that section in the video posted on page 2.
On the second video the rider [understandably] picks the bike up and carrys it down this section at 2:41
Hats off to anyone who has genuinely 'cleaned' that section but I've run up it a fair few times and it's usually a 'hands and feet job' on the way up. Must be touching cloth riding down it!