Forum menu
[img] 
[/img]
That's from the Schilthorn in Austria (see pinkbike). But where in the UK can you ride loose drifty stuff like this?
This question got me thinking about angles of repose, i.e. the slope naturally formed by piling up different materials. I would say the slag heaps around South Wales are too steep to be fun, and the angle of repose of coal slag is 35-37 degrees (though it should be piled less steep than this to avoid disaster). Natural sandy gravel has a more gentle angle of repose 25-30 degrees according to wikipedia, so gravel pits might be fun? Ground slate is 30 degrees... but are any of the slopes in the Llanberis quarries suitable, or are the lumps all too big?
Either way, avoid riding on pulverised bones cos according to this table they rest at 45 degrees which is clearly too steep for non superheroes to go play drift monkey on.
http://www.unionironworks.com/engineering_calculator_detail.aspx?x=wZWr/QqjPORgDQ4VPL%2Bqn07XK8X1uqUw
Any suggestions on where to go ride then?
Slate (and a lot of other machined stone) will kill your tyres. Industrial tips can be pretty unstable, there's no real structure to them. Glacial moraine/scree slope maybe? There's a pretty good one in the pentlands, bit too steep for me but there's got to be gentler ones
Some of the waste tips above Honister have been ridden - saw a shot in one of the comics a month or two ago, although it's slate waste it's not like the stuff in the south of the Lakes but more like shale. Might still be a bit steep though.
There's also a shot of the area in munrobiker's mega posting, the Warnscale Bottom route.
The Shale Bings of West Lothian might be a shout.
[img] 
[/img]
There are loads of these around Broxburn and Bathgate just off the M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
I don't know what it will do to tyres though. They used to use this waste for all weather football pitches in central Scotland and after your first slide tackle you quickly learned to stay on your feet.
we used to ride slag heaps when we were kids - good fun, but quite compacted material and you ended up absolutely minging if you crashed on it
Scree slopes i reckon
Gunnerside Gill?
[img] 
[/img]
Schilthorn in Austria
I think you'll find the Schilthorn is above Murren is Switzerland (Bernese Oberland) - just sayin! 🙄
Sadly they are no very pro bikes at the moment so don't (or didn't the last few years) let you take bikes up there and this was done with special permission.
There's a sandy slope here: 51.224336,-0.577576 which is pretty fun if you're passing. I wouldn't claim it's a destination, though.
Edit: what they said below, probably. There's a footpath across the bottom too.
Please don't go riding natural scree slopes or you will very rapidly find MTBing getting a very bad name for itself.
[quote=welshfarmer ]Please don't go riding natural scree slopes or you will very rapidly find MTBing getting a very bad name for itself.
+1
I can think of a few places that would fit the bill but I wouldn't disclose them.
Just out of interest what's the beef with scree slopes? Are they a special habitat? The ones I have poked around on near Innerleithen seemed to be only home to a mix of small to medium rocks.
Possibly a touch of erosion.
oliverracing - Member
I think you'll find the Schilthorn is above Murren is Switzerland (Bernese Oberland) - just sayin!
And is a top Bond villain hideout 😀
Quite a lot of scree slopes do seem to harbour rare plant species - I would guess it's sometimes due to their abnormal mix of chemicals/metals if they are mine waste deposits. There's a huge one above Coniston (Lakes) that's a SSSI, not meant to even walk on it anymore, and the rare plants are microscopic!
There's a huge scree slope on the north side of Snowdon Horseshoe before Crib Goch. Smaller shale rather than fist sized lumps too. Pretty steep mind.
Just out of interest what's the beef with scree slopes? Are they a special habitat?
In short - Yes.
The descent from the bealach between Beinn an Dothaidh and Beinn Dorain is pretty steep and loose but I wouldn't be tackling it at speed.
Coming down the red burn on Ben Nevis might fit the bill too although I've not done that.
Skiddaw has some if you go via Ullock Pike
[img] 
[/img]
And Warnscale
[img] 
[/img]
Also, so do the golf course trails at innerleithen but I don't have any photos of that.
Yes even slag heaps are considered important to biodiversity these days according to my mate who manages nature reserves with them in. Partly it's because they are useless for farming so are left undisturbed. Not that wildlife and recreation can't coexist if done right.
Natural scree, I don't know anything about the wildlife aspects but the visual impact of erosion will piss off walkers and climbers no end despite the fact they (we) cause 99% of it.
Recently decommissioned quarries are probably the best bet for these shenanigans 🙂
Thanks for all the suggestions. My bad on Austria! That's a great pic of gunnerside, must have missed that bit.
...I came down the gully when I was in gunnerside this summer, nice techy rocks and quite pleased to clean it on a hardtail!
A bit steep and dangerous but how about here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-30504447
...should ride it on principle because the company have apparently sold it to a near bankrupt holding company in the Caribbean to avoid having to pay restoration costs :-/
Isnt the whole of Blaennau Festiniog not just a massive shale tip?