I'm moving to the South West soon and want to know where the best riding will be. Probably looking at a 30 mile radius from Trowbridge but could go a bit further if it was that good (I'm hoping to get some good trails right on my doorstep).
Ideally I ride Afan, Cwmcarn, Glentress etc. when I get the chance, so looking for something like that if poss.
It's not just about the trails though, a good local group (or club) could make all the difference.
[url= http://www.settingascene.com ]A newish group in that sort of area!!![/url]
Starting to organize localish rides along with trips off to Wales and the like!!
My patch is [b]Mendip [/b]which very worthwhile if you know where to go. Burrington Combe is a good starting base. Local guides a plenty too who will help you get your bearings.
Had an enjoyable ride at [b]Longleat[/b] guided by some STW locals
[b]Quantocks[/b] have loads of varied, fun trails packed into a small area. Loads of guides on here.
Last year I began scratching the surface of [b]Exmoor[/b] around Minehead, Selworth, Horner, Dunkery and Porlock - wow!
[b]Bristol [/b]has stuff around Ashton court and Lee Woods though I'm not very familiar.
[b]Cotswolds, FOD and Malvern[/b] all seem reachable but I read they need local guides and I keep missing forum rides there!
Where's the best riding area in the South West ?
quite a subjective question. what else do you want? city life? countryside? if you want trail centre, go to wales. the quantocks offer great, swoopy, fast, singletrack, but limited steep, techy type stuff ( IME ). bristol is, err, city riding, some steep techy stuff apparently, city advantages. exmoor pretty good by all accounts, but i have to drive past the quantocks to get there, so i'm no judge. exeter for haldon local rides, dartmoor in 30/60 mins ( depending on location ), and the quantocks in 1hr too. guess where i live? 😀
what else is important?
"a good local group (or club) "
Just hookup with some people off here
Trowbridge isn't even in the South West! the South West starts at Bristol 🙂
Thanks Gingerbloke, never heard of this Melksham group before. Looks good.
....and [url= http://www.spambiking.co.uk/ ]SPAM Biking[/url]. SPAM arrange local and away rides; we had a good ride around Longleat a couple of weeks back and off to the Quantocks in early Feb'. Plus a few of us in Trowbridge area head over towards Erlestoke and Salisbury Plain, or Westbury or something local for night rides.
Or you've got the [url= http://www.blackcanoncollective.co.uk/ ]Black Canon Collective[/url] who do regular weekly night rides around Longleat amongst their other styles of riding....which are out of my league!
The North Gloucestershire Alps.
But, really, The Quantocks.
Trowbridge isn't even in the South West! the South West starts at Bristol
LOL! i did think that too. 😀
Yeah, can anyone tell me the difference between 'The South West' and 'The Westcountry'?
Born and dragged up here and I have no idea what the weather man is talking about....
South-West starts at the Mendips, from my Devon perspective. Westcountry is Cornwall, South, West and North Devon and some of Somerset. I'd say Bristol is in the West of England.
In answer to your question, my favourite riding area is the Quantocks -super flow!. 70-90 minutes travel time to get there is a pain in the arse though.
According to a webbed footed local 'The North' starts at Taunton services... 😀
'The North' starts at Taunton services...
BBC South West and BBC West both cover Taunton.
I live in Trowbridge (but hadn't heard of the Melksham group either)
Drop me an email when you move down. Lots of riding around, local and further afield.
All I would recommend is don't live in Trowbridge. It's full of pyjama wearing chavs.
As above I occasionally go out with the black cannons on their night rides, although there are some serious riders there, some of those freeride rad doods are seriously fit!
I'll happily meet up for a ride when get to these parts.
Okay, okay. So maybe Trowbridge isn't in the South West!
So here's the deal. New job is South West sales rep for someone, the area is everything between the M4 and the M3 all the way up to the M25 plus South Wales. I'm looking for a nice rural spot somewhere in the middle of that area with easy access to the motorways. Because I can be very flexible about where I live, I was just looking for somewhere with some good riding on the doorstep so I can ride without having to travel all the time. Only condition to that, is that I want to be East of Bristol because I have family in East Anglia.
Bump
I wouldn't compromise were you are living just to be a little closer to East Anglia, my family is in North Norfolk and I live in Bristol which is 4hrs drive at the very best and normally 5-6hrs.
It's probably almost as quick to go from North Bristol as it is from Trowbridge and Bristol is a great city with good riding close to the centre and is closer to the south Wales trails centres and, the Mendips and the Quantocks.
I asked this once and was told the Quantocks was the best riding. So I went there for a weekend and really enjoyed the riding. Very different to the Scottish and northern English riding I have done before but certainly very very good.