List your Top 5 UK rides

I’m emigrating to Australia in 12 weeks and want to get in as much biking as possible before I go. I know this is going to be a hard choice to make and there will be many opinions but…

List your top 5 places to ride in the UK

Can be either trail centres, xc rides, epic adventure rides. I enjoy a mixture of riding from my local woods(Wyre Forest) to the usual trail centres LLandegla, Coed y Brennin, FoD, Cannock, Afan, etc..

I’m based in the Midlands but willing to travel, not sure i’ll get to Scotland but will give it a good go if time and funds allow.

Looking forward to your suggestions… 🙂

not the best time of year to be doing it but maybe one of the longer routes like the WHW or SDW?

Some ideas:

Mary Towneley Loop
Bikepark Wales
Gisburn Forest
Dalby Forest
Hebden Bridge and Calderdale trails

Not helping with your list of UK rides, but do you know what the riding is like in Australia? I know that’s a massively vague question due to the size of Australia, but I’m backpacking the east coast soon (Cairns > Melbourne) and would love to get some riding in, ideally uplift assisted DH riding?

I know there’s a world cup track in Cairns just wondered if anyone’s ridden anywhere else out there?

Ansewring both questions:

Dunkeld
Aviemore
Balblair
Skiddaw
Kirroughtree

Sorry for the Northern bias

Australia – You Yangs and Forest down near Melbourne. No uplift but great riding in both places (the Wombat trail down there is also very good). Mt Hotham is also good and, while I never rode there, the World Cup tracks near Canberra are supposed to be top quality.

Peak District has to be on your list being as it’s just upt’ road;
Cutgate
Jacobs
Anywhere around Ladybower

Lakes ain’t too shoddy either 😉

I really enjoyed:

.Helvellyn
.The ridgeway in oxfordhire, pure XC no real descents tech or otherwise, just a fun day out.
.The c2c – whitehaven to tynemouth, doable in 2 days easy.
.Back of skiddaw ending with lonscale fell
.Borrowdale Bash, that moment when you come to out to surprise view on the way to watlendath is pure lake district beauty.

These are my top 5 but include cannock too, always a treat but only 35 mins from me so I get to ride it a lot more than those I have listed above.

In the spirit of the thread so far

Sharphaw
Barden Moor
Crummackdale
Mastiles Lane
Skipton Woods

Just spend a long weekend in the lakes and do the peaks once and throw snowdon in. Hebden bridge is only worth bothering with if you live there.

In no order of preference:
Snowdon
Antur Stiniog
Carneddi tops
Penmachno
Lake Colywd loop

From that list you can plot where I live!

You’ve missed out Rev’s and llangollen!

Tough one.

Nant-y-arian to mach and back (isn’t that fantastic but I like it)
Laggan (only been the once too!)
Eastridge
Dyfi forest
Bike park wales

Granted, I’ll probably change my mind tomorrow!

🙂

Can’t believe no one has said go ride the beast at Coed y Brenin, brilliant trail.

Sorry for the Scottish bias

Torridon
Devil’s Staircase + Ciaran Path
Tweed Valley
Kirroughtree
Mabie

Dalby Forest
Yearsley/Kilburn woods (only because they are local)
glentress
borrowdale
grizedale loop from ambleside

Dalby
Surrey Hills

Er…. I really should get about more.

GB

Thanks for all the suggestions so far… Some good research to start with 🙂

Some of the suggestions above i’ve done which is good to know.

Nant y Arian
Bike Park Wales (need to go and do it with an uplift)
Penmachno (last Sunday)

I definitely want to do a Sunrise ride at snowdon, have been looking at Gisburn recently, feel I need to do at least one Scottish trail centre, maybe Glentress and c2c – whitehaven to tynemouth would be a good one to tick off the biking bucket list.

If you want to do “one” Scottish trail centre, I’d head to Dumfries and get to Kirroughtree, Drumlanrig, Mabie, Drumlanrig and then Dalbeattie (in that order). While Glentress is really good (had the fortune to ride it pretty much every week way back when), the Dumfries and Galloway based centres give more choice for visitors IMHO.

Thanks Fat-boy-fat, top tip!

Can’t believe nobody has mentioned Croft Trail yet 😉

What about the trail out the back of the Nationwide building in Swindon ?

Trail centres:
Kirroughtree
W2 at Afan
Brechfa Raven + Gorlech
Cilycwm

probably some others too!

Long Myndd.

BPW
Machen
Cwmcarn
Local South Walian secret spots
Glentress

Dalby and Gisburn? [shakes head]

Cut Gate has to be in there from Langsett with the additional loop up to Whin Lee Tor or whatever its called. A great ride (in the dry).

Dothie Valley.
Grizedale.
Quantocks.
Surrey Hills.
Northumberland border ride.

(in no particular order!)

Given the time of year, you want some stuff that rides well in the wet!

1) I’d head to the Quantocks for the brilliant singletrack.
2) You can’t be the Lakes, and Grizedale has some awesome stuff (not the trail centre!).
3) How about a proper mountain. Snowdon or Helvellyn are both ace, depending on the weather!
4) The Peak District is always worth while. Something like the Jacob’s loop is good at this time of year.
5) Trail centres are pretty uniquely British. Coed y Brenin was the first and has a load of good stuff to go at.

Have fun!

EDIT – Just noticed you’re moving to Australia and will probably never see mud again. Go to the Cotswolds instead.

Nevis Range- uplift for the day on the nevis red and worldcup, then expend any remaining energy on the witches trails.

Kinlochleven- ciaran path and the kennels and grey mares’ descents from up past the mamore lodge. Amazing wet weather ride- you’ll get wetter than you believed possible but the descents are incredible when under water. Embarassing admission- I’ve not done the devil’s staircase, it’d add into this scheme nicely though it does mean riding up 4 proper mountains in a day

Innerleithen upliftduro, 8 runs on the bus, pedallable bike, race him down the enduro and downhill trails (hint- do doggy bag and prospacker last, you’ll probably miss the bus)

Beast of Brenin- yeah I know, it’s old and fireroady but I love it, more than the sum of its parts.

A road trip over a few days should be on the cards I reckon. Something which samples the delights of different regions. I would be thinking along the lines of; 1) head into Wales to do Carair Idris and Coed Y Brenin, 2) head to the Lakes for Helvellyn and Elterwater/Claife area, 3) over the border for Kirroughtree and Mabie, 4) back a little way south to Appleby for High Cup Nick and Cross Fell before heading to 5) the Peak District for Ladybower and the Hope Valley.

Sounds grand to me.

Torridon (has to have the best riding in the UK)
Pitmedden->Lomonds->Pitmedden
Dunkeld
Kirroughtree
Cheviots->Glentress

Unfortunately Pitmedden is a bit apocalyptic at the moment with thinning and clearfell going on, as well as biblical wetness…

Top 5 for me

mendips because they are 20 mins away
bike park wales
antur stiniog, its so different
nant yr arian
Cwmcarn dh track