I have the lucky pleasure of being sent to Plymouth for a work thing this week, weds and thurs. I have a chance of most of thursday off and I want to meet up with an old surfing buddy for a ride, he has just moved back there after 20 years. Weather looks fine for thurs.

I used to know my way around from about 20 years ago. EG Princetown to Burrator down that horrific rocky trail and back up the railway line. (I bet it does not seem horrific now but on a Rigid Rockhopper with V brakes it was awesome) and have done Lustleigh, Manaton, Hound Tor, Warren House and back.
That was all a long time ago and the open moor can get pretty unrideable if it has been belting down. According to the met office it has been and will belt down some more between now and thursday.

I have been told that Princetown to Burrator, you carry on past the right hand turn to the rocky trail and it brings you round on decent trails that are reasonably weather proof?

So there is that or  can anyone recommend me a good ride that wont be a boggy slopfest?

The path that carries on past the right turn to the rocky trail (The Widowmaker, or as I like to call it The Rimf###er) has been resurfaced over the last year and is a lot more rideable.  It takes you past the Scout hut and into Sheepstor village but you lose quite a bit of height on the road so I generally still go down The Widowmaker, it’s rocky more than muddy and an absolute hoot/death trap on a modern bike.

Almost forgot.  Start at Burrator, pint at the Feathers then The Widowmaker is the order I reckon makes more sense.

Yes the widomaker/rimxxxxer. It had other names too. I did enjoy that trail BITD.
If we went the sheepstor village way, is it worth adding on this loop? (pin is in the middle of it).
https://goo.gl/maps/EdYH3RPWtWq

there are loads of good DH runs around burrator that hold the weather reasonably well. that’s where i tend to go when the weather is shit and I don’t want to be out on open moors.

and weds is the only day with some rain forecast at the moment. It’ll be fine.

there are loads of good DH runs around burrator that hold the weather reasonably well. that’s where i tend to go when the weather is shit and I don’t want to be out on open moors.

Really? Where? It has been a v long time. I had always assumed people would start building trails down there sooner or later.

clockwise from the dam.

a couple in peek hill plantation. starts near the stile at the top.

not for bikes run down to norsworthy bridge

there are 3-4 in roughtor plantation

bridleway under sheepstor and then joeys lane.

you’ve got the banana trail from the far side of the dam down the meavy

Thank you so much, I have my landranger dartmoor map so I should be able to find these. Looks like I might spend thursday exploring.
and then come back in 20 years!!

Lustleigh cleave holds up pretty well in the wet. The nutcracker can be a bit interesting if properly soaking but I’d rather ride there than the open moor stuff.

Whatever happens, you’ll have a hoot.

The nutcracker

Whats this then?

The Nutcracker is a lovely rocky descent off the ridge above Lustleigh Cleave. If you do the trail from Hunter’s Tor straight into and then cut down to the river via the slightly hidden traverse it makes for a really nice run of technical single track. I would post an image of a marked up map but the image function appears to be stuck in the 90s.

It’s part of this loop.

lovely rocky descent off the ridge above Lustleigh Cleave

I know this one, it comes out on the road, where you can also start from?

Yeah, if you follow it all the way down it comes out on the road.

Decisions. I wonder if I can arrange more trips to Plymouth through work…

nutcracker is actually marked as such on the OS map.

I was up on the Burrator/Princetown loop last Sunday which was a tad moist 🙁

I started at Burrator and rode up the Widowmaker/Abbots Way/Rocky Road etc which is a nice technical challenge 🙂 Then went to the Foxtor cafe at Princetown for lunch. After lunch it was back along the trail to South Hessary tor – Nunn’s Cross – Eylesbarrow which is now mainly sanitised 🙁 any way rather than go down past the scout hut you can detour over to Ditsworthy Warren then take the road to Ringmore cottage for another cracking descent down Earthquake 🙂 it’s then a mince up the hill to Burrator – route here https://www.strava.com/activities/1904167324

Make the most of your time down here as Dartmoor is running very fast at the moment & it won’t be like this forever 🙂

Nunn’s Cross – Eylesbarrow which is now mainly sanitised

It’s better for it. It was a boggy shitfest before.

I cant see that strava route, it says it doesnt exist?

Try this one:-)

It does exist honest 🙂 let me know if you can or can’t see it.

I agree with Jambo the trail from Nunn’s Cross to Eylesbarrow is better now it’s not a bogfest 🙂

nope, is it cos of your privacy or something? Can you follow me? I am 22201674

Am now following you but you may need to send me a Strava request?

ok done that, strava is wierd/crap. If I follow the link, it says activity not found, but you are now in my activity stream and that ride with the same activity no etc is there, and I can click on it and see it. Same url as the link….

Anyway looks good, I will report back. Thank you very much for your help, all of you.

Crispy bacon, I’ve been looking back through your activity feed, a) I get the name, lots of bacon sarnies. b) you are fit as tits, jeesus thats some mileage you are doing.

I think he probably did more last week than I’ve done this year…

and me. Inspiring.

Lol – I am fond of crispy bacon sandwiches or a baguette but most of all a 99 ice cream 🙂

I’m currently ‘between jobs’ 😉 so have some extra time for riding 🙂

Yes the widomaker/rimxxxxer. It had other names too. I did enjoy that trail BITD.
If we went the sheepstor village way, is it worth adding on this loop? (pin is in the middle of it).
https://goo.gl/maps/EdYH3RPWtWq

Apologies for not replying to this but my work system won’t let me look at it.  Good suggestions from others, cheers.

Oops, I can see it now but haven’t ridden it.  Might have a go later this week.

Just a thought but I’ve talked to a few people who go up Widowmaker and down the train track.  I can never understand this, you’re sacrificing a stonking rocky downhill for something like a forest road, anyone care to explain the attraction?

not ridden that bit,

but if you are coming up from sheepstor, take the turn on the right as you come off the road and it’ll take you past ditsworthy warren house which i think was used in the film warhorse.

widowmaker is actually not a bad climb, makes you realise how much flat and uphill there is in it the other way but I wouldn’t then come down the railway. sometimes I’ll park in princetown, do the widowmaker and a lap of burrator with all the fun bits and then climb back up the widowmaker to princetown. i find the railway fairly dull in either direction although the views are good.

That railway line is weird though – not only can you climb 900 feet without trying it looks downhill when you look back at it from further up. It’s like some kind of weird optical illusion that extends to the legs.

No idea why you would ride down it though.

Given the improvement in modern MTB’s to the state of mega skills compensator 😉 IMHO riding down the Widowmaker is fun but really it is just a test of hanging on, whereas riding up the Widowmaker tests your bike handling skills & fitness level 🙂

Rather than ride all the way up the disused railway line back to Princetown, you can at Burrator ride through Stanlake Plantation, turn left at the end & up to the road, ride back towards the car park near Sharpitor, through the car park down to the disused railway line, turn right along the track & after going under the bridge on the next left hand corner take the shortcut on the right up the hill to Foggintor, keep heading north at Foggintor past Yellowmeade farm to the road, turn right up the road & just past Rundlestone cottages take the access road up to the TV mast, descend off the mast to Princetown 🙂

https://www.strava.com/segments/1008062

gets harder the faster you go. I’m currently sitting 48th and the KoM is nearly 2 minutes quicker than me….

Yeah crispybacon, I have done that before too. Isn’t there a prvate bit in there by Foggin Tor yellowmeade farm, used to be hard to get through?

its open and easy to ride through but not sure if its a right of way. the farm has changed hands and been renovated.

the road up to the mast is private but never been challenged on it, the decent into princetown is fun if its not too boggy at the top. it is a footpath.

The track from Foggintor past Yellowmead to the road is completely open & rideable 🙂 no access problem at all, much better than slogging up the disused railway track all the way to Princetown. If you are going to Princetown the TV mast descent is a must 🙂

As Jam Bo states the access road to the TV mast is a private road but I’ve never had any problems/issues riding it, the descent from the TV mast to Princetown is a footpath but again never had any issues with walkers etc 🙂

OK, thanks so much.

Oh still 4th, doubt I’ll be that fit or have that good form ever again 😁

i’m waiting for another beast from the east.

I’m waiting for them to sanitise it 😉 🙂