Epping Forest – tips, suggested routes, GPS downloads?

Hoping to go and explore Epping Forest tomorrow as I’d never realised it was so close to where I live. Anyone got any tips on a good loop – ideally a GPS route I can upload to my garmin

Head up to High Beech anywhere around there is ok.

I’ve been meaning to find a loop I can use to train on.

Where abouts are you?

I’m in Crouch End

You will need to spend the first few trips orientating yourself. None of the trails are marked.

Should you choose to ignore the fact that almost all the trails are closed at risk of £200 penalty, mud tyres are best choice at this time of year.

You may also want to look at essexhertsmtb.co.uk

Hi guys

I’m a 10 year veteran of the forest. 😀

Epping is a myriad of singletrack. You can ride around all day and not repeat yourself, but you really need to know where your going/search around for the various “ins” to the trails. On the plus side as long as you know roughly where you are, you can easily bail onto a road / bridleway and the furthest HB will away will be about 40mins.

My best advice is to link up with the many social groups that ride at the weekends from High Beech. There’s another that rides from Chingford on Wednesday nights and Saturdays.

At the moment the HB cark park is getting some update work so people are avoiding it so they may be hard to find at thier alternate meet points.

If you want to ride with our group drop me a mail and you’d be welcome to join in.

I may be riding tomorrow afternoon as it happens, although I’ll be on limited time I’d be happy to guide you around the short loop (about and hour) I use for Training before I shoot off and to give you a flavor of the forest. Probably best to meet in Chingford as my loop takes me from there and back, if your interested.

BTW, its very muddy at this time of year.

adrianmurray – Member

Should you choose to ignore the fact that almost all the trails are closed at risk of £200 penalty, mud tyres are best choice at this time of year.

Ooof. Thats NOT true – I ride there twice a week and have done for 10 years. There are several connecting trails to bridleways that are closed to riders and horses. NOT “most” of the trails!

Thanks guys. What’s that about the trails being closed and £200 fines…sounds very draconian…

Ignore it ibnChris its a bad piece of advice – see my post above. There are a few places in which that is the cases which is clearly signposted.

Otherwise, there’s easily anything from 5 mins to all day riding in there.

I’m in East Finchley and often take the a503 to start here..

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=go&safe=images&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=wl

Head north passing through Highams park ,Chingford over to Pole hill
and up towards High Beach. There are miles of singletrack & Bways to
get you up there and back.

Take a compass and mud tyres are the only serious option in the dark months.
I would offer to show you around but I’m on the wrong shift this week.

.

Thanks guys. What’s that about the trails being closed and £200 fines…sounds very draconian…

Don’t worry the only bits they close are the wide bridleways that horses go on, you would not want to ride these anyway, all the singletrack is open albeit muddy.

The Loughton side is not used as much as other part of the forest and tends to hold up under winter conditions a little better.

GPS routes are very hard to follow, I have a garmin format loop that goes near High Beech if you want me to email you it?

There’s always someone to tag on to at Epping, there’s a guy who rides from Hainault to Hollow ponds every lunchtime on a blue ST4. He’s quite knowledgeable about the trails and knows some nice trails.

Also Heals Cycles [/url] do group runs in the forest. I think Weds evening and Sundays.

Great. Might try and join a group ride one evening. Mossimus, if you’ve got a GPS route I could try that would be great. email is ibnchrisAThotmailDOTcom

ibnchris: YGM

Take a compass and mud tyres

+1 …and a map! If you’re on your own some of the singletrack can be quite disorientating, but with a compass you can quckly work out where you are not!