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Evening,I live near Basingstoke but work near Eastleigh, heard Lordswood was good but seen a lot of stuff online about it being ruined. Can anyone advise if it is still worth visiting and if so where should I start. Planning an evening/night ride on the 19th March.
Also, anyone know anywhere (apart from Swinley) to ride near Basingstoke? Moved down from the shadows of Leith Hill and seriously missing my weekly trips up the Bomb holes and down Barry! Cheers
There's a Thursday night organised night ride every week - keep an eye out for the thread when it pops up
If not, I will be glad to show you around during the day at some point.
Lordswood is good fun, it would seem from my reltively short time of riding there that stuff gets destroyed but new stuff gets built; a constant slow evolution.
I ride with WCA and others every (well, most for me!) Thursday evening; a reasonable pace for a few hours then a beer or two. New people are always welcome along and everyone is very friendly.
Cheers. Going to check it out Monday night as got a mate coming down. Will be in touch about Thursdays but sounds decent, especially the beer part.
Hi Pork&beef - there's not a great deal to compare directly against Leith Hill near Basingstoke, but if you're still looking there's good fun to be had if you know where to look. Best local bit is over towards Alton & Four Marks (Chawton Park Wood & Ackender Wood) - both are fairly small, but explore and you'll be surprised.
Youve also got blackwood and micheldevor woods which contains some nice trails and bomb holes but better after the mx events
theres also some fun trails near me around winchester and farley mount way which are all on the way back for from eastleigh, was an stw ride over these parts earlier in the year. not as good as north downs stuff but different and interesting in its own way
Thanks for the help, might pop along to Lordswood next Thursday evening. Would like more info on Blackwood and Micheldever because I live right near there (North Waltham), been to Blackwood but couldnt find anything decent, any tips on where to start from? Cheers
Lw ruined? Yes the fc flatten the jump spots occasionally but leave the trail network alone. The big tree munchers made a mess last winter but I would say the trails are even better now. Happy to show you round sometime if you like. I need to explore a bit more I just tend to stick to Lw.
porknbeef, i know lordswood better than blackwood as i used to leave near there, not figured out blackwood yet, it dosnt really get many mtb over that way so the singletrack seems gets lost quick, its also really hard going at times. i like the odd run round there and micheldever and surrounding areas though.
this link is probably the best bet for info.
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/micheldever-wood-black-wood-near-winchester-worth-exploring
cheers. I live right near Blackwood and couldnt find anything in there so will check out Micheldever. Any tips on where to start from etc are much appreciated. Thinking of going this Sunday. Ta.
Echo everyones comments about LW; some good singletrack in there; just follow a trail and see where it goes, most of it just forms around in a big loop.
If you want to make a longer loop of it you can start / finish in Lordswood and head out towards Winchester by following the bridleway over the M27 and through Chesil, one of my mates has the GPS route I'll try and get but you should be able to figure it out by looking at a map.
You end up riding over to Hursley through Ampfield Woods and can head over to Farley Mount from there if your really keen. It's all Cross Country but makes for a decent blast on an evening.
Have also ridden at a place called Tunnel Hill recently, think it's up Fleet direction, we definitely where riding next to some Army Barracks at one point and also the main railway line to London at another. Must admit I was following someone else on the drive there so wasn't paying too much attention... Similar riding to Swinley, short ups & downs, think they held one of the Gorricks there maybe???
some good singletrack in there; just follow a trail and see where it goes
For trails in close proximity to a major city, the network of singletrack in Lordswood is fugging [i]ace[/i]... it took me a while to figure out, but I used to do a sort of figure-of-eight loop which kept me entertained for the best part of two hours or so.
After five years in Soton, I've moved back to my spiritual home of Bristol, but I really miss hitting Lordswood on a summer's evening - enjoy exploring the place! 😀
Gonna be there tomorrow morning if anyone is around?