I want to explore some natural trails around the UK but don’t drive at the moment.

Are there any decent natural trails near train stations or is that wishful thinking?

Nathan

Aviemore
Fort William
Achnashellach
Strathcarron
Dalwhinnie
Pitlochry

Just some ideas…..

I can think of 3. Tring, Wendover and Princes Risborough. Trails within 400m of all three.

Yes, loads! Which station will you be starting from?

I rode the peak district from the train for a number of years. Works well either for doing a loop or getting the train into the peaks and then riding back out to Sheffield

All the loops near Ladybower in the Peak District are easily started and finished at train stations.

Gomshall 8)

sowerby bridge, hebden bridge, todmorden, settle, skipton, kirby stephen, kendal, staveley, marsden, greenfield.

these are the ones i have used

Windermere in Cumbria & hope in Derbyshire.

Eskdale – on the ratty!

I’ll be travelling from Bristol.

Thanks for the replies!

Peak District.
Dumyat Hill. Shit, I didn’t do it this summer.

Machynlleth
Barmouth
LLanwrst/Betws y Coed
Llanwrtyd Wells
Church Stretton

You could be in the Pentlands in less than half an hour’s ride from Edinburgh Haymarket:

Or Corrour station, if you fancy somewhere wilder:

The new Borders Railway might give you a few routes.
eg the Southern Upland Way from Galashiels. Or the Lammermuir / Moorfoot hills from Stow?

Stirling Uni/Bridge of Allan (Dumyat, as above)

Long mynd
Garburn pass
Rivington

Peaks, most of Shropshire, Scotland and the mecca of Hebden Bridge, though in a non condescending way finding some mates and sharing a lift/paying petrol might be a better plan as it is nice to get changed at the end of a ride rather than wait a few hours for the cancelled sunday train and then bus it back… Biggest issue with most of those train lines is you need to go somewhere first to get to them.

+1 Barmouth (Morfa Mawddach station), almost endless options: Cader Idris range, The Rhinogyddth, Mawddach Cycle trail to Dolgellau – then only ten miles from there to Coed Y Brenin

*edit* The Rhinogydd

Bristol – Bodmin stops at Lanhydrock and also Cardinham is 5 minutes cycle away

As a rail employee I get rail travel free and still struggle at times to find riding near stations, I just don’t know where to go when I get there. I mostly go to New Mills (where the mrs is from so shes described where to go), sometimes I go to Manchester and do Clayton Vale, Delameres really close and I’ve done Hope once.

Silly really, I should be all over the country with travel beig free and living a mile from Stockport Station.

I’ll be watching this thread closely.

Closer to home/Bristol, Malvern station is only a short ride from the hill

The woods behind Nationwide are only a ten minute ride from the station 😉

You can be playing in Cranham woods and Leckhampton Hill within half an hour of leaving the train at Cheltenham.

Get off at Stroud and there’s all the stuff in the valleys down there.

To be honest, I don’t think you’re trying very hard…

Machynlleth is a great shout, the forest is literally around the corner.

20 mins to Cam & Dursley, a quick spin up the hill and you have some good loops in lots of directions.

Define ‘near.’ In Bristol you’re a short rail hop from Bridgwater and Taunton, both of which open up the Quantocks. Add in bikepacking gear and an overnight stop, and your options increase.

Tang, I’ve thought about Dursley routes a few times. Care to share?

As a rail employee I get rail travel free and still struggle at times to find riding near stations, I just don’t know where to go when I get there. I mostly go to New Mills (where the mrs is from so shes described where to go), sometimes I go to Manchester and do Clayton Vale, Delameres really close and I’ve done Hope once.
Silly really, I should be all over the country with travel beig free and living a mile from Stockport Station.
I’ll be watching this thread closely.

You’re not trying very hard either. Surely it must be very easy to get to Hebden Bridge from you. Also Staveley and Windermere in the Lakes have train stations.

Edit, Nathen… Sorry, misread thread a bit, I was replying to Jonny just up there!!

Don’t want to sound like a total arse but I’ll echo IHN comment.. Your not trying very hard!!

I lived in Great Moor (now in New Mills)
From Stockport Station train out to Sheffield and ride home via Hope/Castleton
Train to Hope, you’ll get the ladybower loop from there.
Buxton has a decent loop you could do from the station
I don’t know the Lakes too well but I’m sure you’ll not struggle if you got to Windamere
From your door you can get out to marple via the canals then you’ve got the Roman lakes routes

I realise it’s tricky if you don’t know the areas well when you get there. The vgraphics range of guide books are very good
If you want any more suggestions or local routes feel free to email!!

Hebden Bridge around an hour
Windermere 2 hours
Staveley 2 1/2 hours

Bloody Macc Forest is 14 minutes and I’ve not been there yet!

Any stop on the Settle-Carlisle line; get off, ride north with the wind then get back on and train home.

An OS Landranger map of the area will help you to work out a route using train assistance.

Peaks are easy enough by train, they’re actually better as doing a loop from Hope misses out the stuff on the Sheffield side, and doing a loop from the Sheffield side involves a lot of road to link up sections.

You could get a ticket to sheffield via manchester, get off in hope, ride any of the guidebook routes around there, then head back over Stanage, Houndkirk and Blaka moors.

If you’re travelling from Bristol and don’t want to be on a train all day. or forking out for a huge fare, then how about this fairly close to you:

Bristol – Taunton or Bridgwater, then a 8.5 mile ride on road to Quantock hills. So you have to factor in 17+ road miles, which is a lot. You could take it easy and it would be OK, and you’d have loads of time to get home.

Bristol – Ivybridge (Dartmoor) and it’s right on the moors, with a few off road options straight from the station.

Bristol – Newport – Abergavenney for Black mountains, lots of great routes nearby

Bristol – Cardiff – Crosskeys If you want to go trail centre and go and do Cwmcarn. Good winter option perhaps?

Those photos are ace, I want to get back there in winter now but it will have to be a last minute decision to get those conditions based on weather forecasts.

Thinking about it again off at Cam then up frocester hill to warm up, Selsley woods, randwick (cotswold way ish), Painswick beacon, Cranham then dive down to Gloucester for train home or do Leckhampton and drop to Cheltenham. All doable as a day trip.

Train to Reading, then up to Henley. Some fantastic natural riding around there.

Train station in Lydney, few minutes on the road then you are into the Forest of Dean natural routes.

Abergavenny. We start almost all our regular winter rides from the town and the station is about a mile from the centre at most. Loop of the Blorenge and the Sugar Loaf are the obvious routes that start from the town itself so involve no extra riding. Not as wild as further into the hills but great singletrack riding if you know where to go.

If you head to Reading the trails start North from the centre, in a triangle from Reading – Stoke Row – Henley is where best of it is, you don’t even need to go to Henley first. Not as great in winter though, esp if it’s been wet.

Eastbourne, Glynde , Polegate, Berwick , all at the foot of the South Downs.