i am new to this forum so hello!
at the mo i ride xc trails around the local offerings in essex, which is fine as i do have a fairly good loop to keep the practise / fitness up, and is obviously good fun….however….every now and then i fancy something a bit more challenging, either on a bigger scale and/or with slightly more altitude involved. (last year ispent a weekend at Dalby forest doing the red run (wow), and the last 2 years did the LtoSC for BHF (signed upagain this year too)).

basically what i am after is suggestions for an 'every now and then' day trip to a decent alternative trail with challenging climbs and a nice bit of the other, which i could drive to from se essex in <1.5hrs and would aim to visit say once a month/6weeks, just to blow local loop cobwebs off.

any ideas much appreciated 🙂

Aston Hill is great for an afternoon blast. We do the (short) XC run then session (gnarcore!!) the DH runs until we're too nackered to push back up! The red is doable on an XC bike, no problems. It's a great laugh to ride.

It's only about 1.5 hrs from Chelmsford, depending on the bloody M25

Else, there is bedgebury about 1.5 hrs away, I didn't rate it personally though.

surrey hills/ north downs got to be about 1.5 hours from Chelmsford.
Some great trails, and a decent (short) climb or two.

ok cheers. might try aston first.

was considering bedgebury before but have heard a few negatives about it now so might not bother.

whats a good start base in north downs / surrey hills?

also very near to aston are the Chilterns, lots of good riding up there. Not too dissimilar from the best riding in Essex, but the trails are a bit longer and hillier (i.e. they have some hills) 🙂 The benefit of aston though is that the trails are easy to follow, and there's a good atmosphere

i live in herts and quite fancy a ride at princes risborough soon(chilterns i think)im not really into the centres i just want hills and countryside…..being an exiled northerner its frustrating!!i downloaded this one and its got me quite excited

Ah good I need easy follow trails with my lack of navigation skills. Should really fork out for a clever talky map device thingy one day.

woburn sands is good

Some terrific trails in the Chilterns. But you need a map.

Surrey hills, Swinley forest, Aston hill.

flebby – Member
ok cheers. might try aston first.

was considering bedgebury before but have heard a few negatives about it now so might not bother.

whats a good start base in north downs / surrey hills?

If you're on your own your bet bet is to start in Peaslake and pop in Pedal & Spoke in the village for a trail map.

There will be a few of us but all strangers in them parts. Got a bike buddy who's just moved to basingstoke so gonna try arrange a few meet ups with him. He's got a gps so at least well be able to see where are when we get completely lost 🙂

Lovely ta for all the info.

took my nephew to bedgebury red (?) on tuesday. pretty flat, one short very steep climb ( i would of preferred some switchbacks) mostly single track and had a nice cafe. my nephew really enjoyed it. i thought it was ok, some nice flowie bits. don't think i'd drive 1.5hrs just to ride there but if your passing may be worth a visit. normally we only ride natural trails so evan the little section of black we found was easy enough for my nephew (skinny 13 on 24" wheels, crap fork but has pretty good skills)

plenty of good trails/hills to ride on the south coast, os map 124 have a look around battle/robertsbridge

The best stuff at Bedgebury is not marked. If you decide to come down, post on the Bedgebury forum first and someone will guide you.

Got a bike buddy who's just moved to basingstoke so gonna try arrange a few meet ups with him.

Believe it or not there is riding in the Basingstoke area, you just need to know where to look. 🙂

Swinley, you'll need a guide though

Surrey Hills takes some beating.

This is the view from Leith Hill, within a few feet of the camera are tea, cake and lots of woodsy singletrack.

Hello and welcome to the mad house!!if you want something a little closer to home come up to ne essex in Colchester there is a miltary training ground which the public are aloud onto called firday woods it my local loop(15-20 miles) not very hilly but lots of wooded singletrack and by laws don't apply(miltary land)so you can ride any path that takes your fancy,if you want a guided tour e mail is in the profile,e mail and i can try to arrange something 8)

funny enough i viewed a house up there early last year – and it backed onto friday woods! noticed it was armyfied as we had a swift half in the local pub and took a little stroll down the track that leads into the woods and saw the warning signs about certain death by bombs etc…didnt buy the house though 🙁

i might take you up on that tour at some point, thanks for that.

btw – stunning picture glenp

Pinched from Surrey Hills AONB web site, although to be fair it genuinely does look like that and I have several of my own, just not on me.