Chorlton Didsbury Stretford MTB trails?

So, no car, no gnar. Stick the Enduro bike in the cellar. Dig out the fully rigid (bike-packing) MTB, stay local and see if Chorlton Ees, the waterparks, or Kenworthy woods have anything going on? It appears da kids have not been busy building berms and lips, but isolating themselves and the Ees still seems to attract lone gentlemen looking for love. Shame, as there are tempting little stretches of singletrack here and there. I tried cutting and digging some years back, but since gave up. Now, I find myself thinking about it again…. any other south Manc riders feeling the same and prepared to pick up a hand-saw or entrenching(?) tool to bring their vision to life… ? PS, this isn’t an Ees pick-up, I already have love in my life. I just want to ride hard. Misses. PPS Clayton Vale still sucks.

There are a couple of lines in Kenworthy Woods, head up the main hill from the river and explore to the left, couple of drops and gaps. It’s not much but the best I can find right now. There is also a line to the right – towards the substation. We cleared some bits the other day and I reckon more traffic would help on it. The Ees are too full of walkers to do anything much fun. I’d be happy to do some digging.

ps agree about CV

Interesting, will keep an eye on here.. Main problem is the almost total lack of hills around here – I’ve just been popping out on the CX for the occasional road blast, had given up on any drops/jumps until I can get back out to the Peaks. Will have a butchers at Kenworthy at some point.

Thinking that some very old paths in Bruntwood Park could do with some love. Played out there earlier in the week. Need a saw and shears to sort out though.

Had a bit of fun dropping in and out of the stream.

I live in the area and have been blasting along fallowfield loop to Reddish Vale – there are some alright tracks in there and some good steep lines I’ve been cutting in. It seems to have more of a vertical drop than most of Manchester. Am super keen to see if there is anything to ride near chorlton though as it is much closer.
I’ve tried to find things along Mersey valley near the water parks and have had no luck. Will try and get to kenworthy and bruntwood next.

Never, ever ride down the singletrack across from Jacksons Boat. There are some things that once seen can never be unseen

There used to be a load of dirt jumps on the waste ground near to where the mersey comes out of stockport but nothing much there now.

Always heard the waterpark was a hotspot for lusty weirdos but never seen any action myself. There is also a carpark at reddish vale known locally as the dogging car park. Take care folks.

Thanks all. I’ll persevere with Kenworthy and look for those drops and gaps…and yes, the more riders bedding things in could help too. There’s also a small(300m), but quite sweet, jinky little stretch of singletrack along the edge of the golf course on the other side of the Mersey, get to the west end of Chorlton WP and keep going, look for the small sub-station and roll down the small incline to edge of golf course. Hey, it’s not much, but beggars can’t be choosers. I’m going to cut back some growth next time I’m down there.
Then there’s the Ees, near Jackson’s Boat. I know it’s dodgy-as-F in there, but it’s really tight and twisty. It’s pedally but with a few undulations, so could be fun. A few low berms would be sweeeet…or failing that at least there will be a single gentleman who could ‘service your drivetrain’. Ahem…

Next time I’m out I’ll take some tools. Claim the mountains my friends!

Update. Did some hacking and general trail-gardening in the patch of ground accessed from the west end of chorlton water-park. There’s now a good singletrack loop with some light tech and tight sections. It’s no tweed valley but leave your Enduro bike and get on a fully rigid MTB and it’s a blast. Came back home bloodied but grinning last night, riding after work. Going back tonight with shears to clear some more.

I’ve been taking the kids out for a play on the jumps S Manc way quite a bit recently – just the easy peasy ones. Reddish vale mentioned above prob the best, plus a couple in Woodbank park. Some steep chutes in Woodbank – bit hard for me in the current climate, but can take them on in more normal times.

There’s another spot over on the canal in Tameside with a decent vertical drop, but it’s a bit hard for regular punters to have fun on IMHO. Think you’d need to be quite skilled to work the jumps as the layout always feels awkward to me.

Problem is these spots can turn into a bit of a covid party as the youths don’t GAF about the social distancing IME, so we generally just do a short stint before groups of 3 or 4 lads show up wit the weed.

Where abouts in reddish vale are we talking?

I know a few little bits off the TPT but nothing too exciting. Would be interested to hear if there is more about that I haven’t found yet

It is nothing too exciting, tbh, but it’s decent in the sense of making the best out of local stuff. Coming up from Teviot, stay on the TPT after the branch to the tunnel and over a small bridge there’s a modest jump track in the woods on the LHS. You prob know it already.

Finding that jump track is relatively easy. once you are there you can find quite a few extra lines down by going north or south across the path on the top. For local stuff it’s the best I’ve found. Some of it is a little steep but it is pretty fun.

Finished the cutting back of brambles and trees. There is now a ‘finished’ singletrack loop, prob 1-2k long, which is pretty tight and technical through the trees, at the west end of Chorlton water park. Combined with the flowy tracks in Kenworthy woods near the sub-station, it now makes it a decent ride for Covid times. It just needs bedding in. And perhaps a few low berms need building to really improve it.

I been riding the ones around Kenworhty woods, there is a proper grom grade jump line and a nicer bit of flowy single track on the side of the hill that backs onto the big substation. I rode there a few years back and there was way more in the way of single track, mostly from winter CX boys and the midweek madness XC series that hold a race there each year. Think I seen some other riders out there this week, am rolling round on a Ragley with my lad on a Comm kids bike. I have been meaning to take my hand saw up and clear some more of the trails out, you can string an OK loop together.

The other bit is on the Chorlton side of Jacksons Boat but when I went for a ride around there last week its basically full of used condoms and lube (read into that what you will). Its a shame cause it used to be quite twisty and fun.

Other than that there is a small hill at the stretford end of Chorlton Water park that had loads of CX tracks cut into it. I tried to ride these earlier this week and the brambles have taken over, although the trails are still sort of there. Again may clear them if I get 5. If you have a rummage on strava segment search and their heat map function you can probably work a lot of them out

Would be really useful if someone did a map actually, then we can all focus on riding the trails and bedding them in

Great effort, really enjoyed that last night, thanks for your work. I’ll head down there again later.

I used to live in Didsbury for years until recently. In addition to the above there’s also a few lines just south of the m60 directly opposite Sale Water Park. It’s obvious on google maps as it’s a small area of forest. It’s accessed over the footbridge from sale water park, or down by the tramline. Nothing special but good to loop in if you’re out for a ride

We’re getting there. 3 defined areas of stuff. Spacey concurs. A funny wiggly figure of eight through trees and bracken now cleared at west end of Chorlton water park (start at first right turning, 10m off first inclined track at NW corner of lake). Second, by substation in Kenworthy woods, across from Chorlton WP. Then it appears third area over in woods across footbridge from Sale WP.
I’m happy to abandon the fourth area in the Ees to the gentlemen strangers.
Let’s keep riding them in and cutting back. I’m going to have a go at some low berms on the flat corners of first Chorlton WP tracks.

Great work the Count – I regularly ride these mini loops and will check it out in the morning. You have rekindled my interest in my mtb after using the gravel bike for easy miles lately.

If you want to add a bit extra on your loop there is some mini jumps and a bit of gradient in priory woods on the sale side of the sale water park. Added to your bits it would be a great loop on an old school mtb.

Happy to show you when were allowed again.

Cheers

Dave

Following with interest

Priory gardens on the Sale side had a couple of jumps and whoops.

Yep, found the dirt jumps near priory gardens in woods just over footbridge from sale waterpark today. Not that I’ll ever do the bigger ones mŷself, but for those with the cohones, they are impressive. Worth looking for.

For the chorlton WP stuff, I’ll wait for rain to soften the ground and have a go at some low berms to hook up on – it just needs a lip here and there, nothing much. I still need to do some more clearing with shears too. In the meantime hopefully others don’t come and straightline everything.

Just reporting back that your work is great Count and much appreciated.

Kenworthy is running great and bedded in well – avoided the jump line as not the time to further burden the NHS but definitely one for next Summer.

Chorlton needs more people on it to bed it in like you said and will take my shears next time to cut some of the brambles which will take over quick.

Really enjoyed myself and have got the bug back!

Thanks again!

can anyone share a strava route of these please?

https://www.strava.com/activities/3280900681

This should show you the water park area and kenworthy woods stuff.

Count: I might head down with a shovel later and work on some berms.

ace thanks will check it out today

Heading out with the kids to try and find this stuff.

Cheers

Went for a spin with the bairns round these parts yesterday and had a great ride – thks to The Count and others who have put some work into these trails.
Rode over to Priory Woods and was pretty impressed with the dirt jump area, there was some fun small stuff to go with the larger features. Too busy, though, for these times so didn’t stay long – seems to be a popular spot.

How the **** do I load a route in Strava?

There was a really nice set of three little gaps and a jump in Kenworthy on the same hillock that is described above. The wean was made up.

This last one was a bit messy but stil fun.

Trying to work out where i can get a folding spade from😃

If you go down those jumps and then head up the other side you can hook left to a fun bit of single track taking you back to the start of the jumps. It makes a nice (if not tiny) loop.
Those three jumps are getting bigger each time I go. I’m quite keen to fill them in to doubles to make them safer for beginner riders. (Have seen a few kids trying to ride them)
Not sure if tables are safer than doubles? People are a lot less likely to ride doubles.

I like the sound of filling in doubles to make table tops, asking for trouble at the moment. Glad this is all getting some use, hopefully with a spade and snippers!

Generalist: I just copied and pasted the url from the strava website

I’m quite keen to fill them in to doubles to make them safer for beginner riders. (

Did you build the jumps? If not then maybe best to build new tabletops alongside them rather than modify the existing ones…

This isn’t meant to sound confrontational by the way. Just a thought,

Is my picture visible?
I am see it on my phone but not my PC.

Permissions issue?

Someone has been busy! A few new berms and small jumps have appeared in Kenworthy woods. Thanks to those involved in that.

On CWP side of the river the 4 minute singletrack loop needs more cutting back again, especially after this rain. I’ll take shears again, hopefully later this week. A sprint round that is a bit of a lung-buster, so hopefully keeping me bike fit for when the ‘proper’ trails are accessible again.

I also went up to Reddish Vale. Some of the steep sections have a few nice berms and if you’re into proper jumps, some work has been done there too.

If you can head a bit further west, there’s plenty more trails and paths across Stretford Moor, Urmston Meadows, then over to Carrington Moss.

I did 20 miles from Urmston on Sunday doing that, almost all off-road. Some of Carrington Moss is wide flat gravel tracks but there’s a fair few bits of food singletrack to explore too.

Ah, my stomping ground for a few years – used to blast over to Kenworthy woods and ride the single track, can’t remember any jumps though?

Used to also sprint down the track that led from the foot bridge towards Chorlton AFC (past the water treatment building)it was flat, but fun if you peddled hard enough.

Tried to cut some tracks into Chorlton Ees, but abandoned pretty soon!

You haven’t lived until you’ve been propositioned by a guy in his late 40s pretending to walk his dog!

beer247, agree, unwelcome propositioning improves the sprint fitness I find, however check spacey’s strava, no need to run the gauntlet at the Ees near Jackson’s Boat, twisty and tight albeit (mostly) flat singletrack is right next to the water park at chorlton.

Captain Dodd, will explore westward too – thanks

I’m actually in Dublin now, not lived in Chorlton for bout 3 years!

Its a shame that Clayton Vale was never really maintained – there were some decent enough sections and you could get “creative” with some of the lines!

I guess it would just get trashed by scrotes though.