Farnborough, Tunnel Hill, Mytchett etc

Just after an update to this this thread really…

MOD Land & MTB access – specifically Tunnel Hill & Deepcut

i’m back in the area after a 6 year hiatus. seem to remember the MOD clamping down on riding in the area before i left, and lots of trails were destroyed.

is it worth bringing the bike back down?

i also have a little honda pit bike – any good spots for razzing that about?

I’ve only been riding in the TH area for the past couple of years so don’t have any idea what access was like before this time.  At the moment there is plenty of good riding in the Tunnel Hill and PorridgePots areas (though PorridgePots is sometimes closed).  There is a bit of back and forth between trail builders and Landmark, but it is mainly the removal of large jumps and ‘structure’ based features which then tend to spring up again a few weeks later.  The main trails seem to be left alone.  Minley, Hawley and Caesars Camp are still open to ride (though there are some conservation areas  in Caesars Camp which are out of bounds.

As above, long valley and ash ranges seem to be closed almost permanently / a lot.

i also have a little honda pit bike – any good spots for razzing that about?

Only if you want to be really unpopular with everyone else trying to convince the MOD/Landmark/DIO that the public are responsible adults who deserve / have a right to access the land.

I ride Porridgepot and Tunnel Hill quite often. In recent months Porridgepot has been closed a lot of the time.

If you want to check on whether it is officially open try googling “aldershot G2 then the month you’re interested in”

G2 is the MOD designation for Porridgepot. Army are out at Tunnel quite regularly but in general it’s not too hard to avoid them.

Minley varies quite a bit … they were out there this afternoon but not many of them.

Nice pics of pineapple express. @razorrazoo

https://www.facebook.com/trailactiongroup has information on the latest access situation. Please don’t ride your motorbike on the land it’ll just cause the MoD to hate more :-)

I’ve just been talking about riding here with a friend who’s new to MTB and lives in Ash Vale, does anyone have an idiots guide/best bits route or some pointers? If not we’ll just go for a pedal about and see what we find!

Pedalling about a bit and seeing what you find is a bit of a lost art these days, but is a great way to explore that area. Or does anyone know if the Tunnel hill trolls are still active? If so just join them for a ride and you’ll see plenty of highlights (and hip flasks)

I’ve just been talking about riding here with a friend who’s new to MTB and lives in Ash Vale, does anyone have an idiots guide/best bits route or some pointers? If not we’ll just go for a pedal about and see what we find!

Strava hotspots will find you the main trails round TH area, that’s how we started out.  There’s loads of singletrack so it’s worth ducking into anything that looks like it’s been ridden, especially off the top of the fire road climbs as there are a lot of winch up to go down type riding about.  Explore the areas both sides of the tunnel plus over the road and canal into PorridgePots.  There’s also a handful of fun trails and a good set of small gaps jumps in two separate areas the other side of Mychett Place Road.
There’s quite a few features about if getting wheels off the ground is your thing, most trails have alternative lines but think gaps rather than tabletops.  Most trails have a natural feel with roots, chutes, little drops etc so it’s good fun vs featureless trail centre roads.
Not sure about TH Trolls, but Forest Chumps on FB ride TH fairly often, but the riding is gravity focused rather than trail riding.  They’ve got some very good riders in the group so I’ve found the rides a decent progression session.

Sounds good, thanks! We have ridden around there a bit on the gravel bikes, but now he’s finally caved and bought a Hardtail I think we can have plenty of fun like you say just heading down anything that looks interesting!

He’s not a jumper yet, but is fairly up for giving most things a try and already quite confident on rooty/natural trails with small drops etc

He’s not a jumper yet, but is fairly up for giving most things a try and already quite confident on rooty/natural trails with small drops etc

Having been caught out a couple of times on TH despite regularly riding there, advice would be that first lap of any trail should be at stopping pace! I’ve been down a few where you think ‘wow, nice and flowey’ and then shortly afterwards ‘Oh F******K’

As razorazoo said, most have alternate / chicken lines but scant consolation when you’ve already overcommitted and missed it.

Not been to Tunnel hill, but Caesars camp is worth a look if you’re round that way. Steeper mini dh stuff on the Beacon hill side, above reservoir 1, but trails running pretty much round the whole place.
Minley is cool too, in a wheels on the ground way, it’s like a maze in there and looking at the heat map makes my brain hurt, but some good riding in there if you explore a bit.
Long valley seems to be open just (most) weekends now, but was walking up there the other day, because of the lack of access it’s pretty untouched, really quite beautiful in places. They’ve closed off loads of entrance points now, but coming from the Foresters pub direction there is a gate, several car parks along there too.

Thanks @theotherjonv that’s good to know!

Caesars camp I used to ride a lot, but haven’t been back since it got super busy with walkers/families during lockdown. It’s between me and my riding buddy though, so a good option for a quick blast around without much/any travel time.