Macclesfield Forest or Conwy Mountain ?

That Roaches descent also looked amazing. So much stuff to try now I think about it.

It’s as good as anywhere in peak for riding problem is it’s all walkers path the really good stuff Hence night riding only really! I have done a huge 60km route before including gradbach, roaches,Macc forest, 3shires, goyt valley and the likes got the cheeky stuff out of the way first thing around gradbach dent see a soul, I ave on occassions done the roaches on a Sunday afternoon and never had an issue in summer just because I wanted to do it in the hot dry sun! Everyone was very friendly had no trouble but I certainly wouldn’t doit week in week out!

I really wanna try the descent that runs from the start of roaches directly into the woods never got around to trying it in summer as we found even more brilliant stuff over there

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=399555&y=364585&z=120&sv=399555,364585&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=542&ax=399555&ay=364585&lm=0 this one? Walked up it and i looked great for riding, bit flat halfway down before Luds Church but plenty of mini bombhole things to keep you entertained. Some nice stuff below Luds Church too.

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=399558&y=364773&z=120&sv=399558,364773&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=542&ax=399558&ay=364773&lm=0

Just done it half way down the track to make sure were on about the same one? If so from my pointer then yeah that’s the only track I’ve not done there, all the others around I’ve done ad are great though the one above drops directly into the woods for descending and a climb to youth hostel…I met a few ladson a sat mornin in the summer had descended the abvove ad came out at the same point in the woods…..so is the church down that track? Should be good I’ll defo keep it for a drier period as it gets especially boggy around gradbach in winter, the woods are great in the summer but awful in winter at the start…..

Ooooooooh I really wanna go out now!

That’s the one. Really fancy riding along the top of the roaches, looked so much fun when I walked it. Probably better south to north than north to south.

Cool cheers sambob ill defo check it out!

Do you mean the actual roach end ridge or the ones above the link I just posted called back forest on themap? That ridge is quality with some tricky bits on, but I’ve still not done the actual roaches though I have been wanting to do that for ages but weekends its really busy, still want to do that too though, as I said we end up doing the back forest which is very similar and not as busy, very techy last little section my mate still hasn’t cleared in 2 years!

Yep, the actual ridge. From the nick at the Tittesworth end all the way along to the other end then down to Luds Church. You local to there?

Cool yeah will defo do the ridge imagine it could be quite slippy at the mo, will do the lud s church link next I’m there! Not to local about 30 mins away or just under, don’t mind travelling though it’s worth it, you can do anything from 1 hour up there to anything your legs will carry you! And with it being so steep everywherevyour fitness becomes way better, you can’t help but do a lot of climbing no matter what route you do there

I think I’m probably about the same, maybe a bit more.

sambob & oscillate – the BW from Roach End into Black Brook (to the right of your cheeky suggestion) is well worth a punt. It’s lovely singletrack – a rarity round our parts – though it’s a boggy finish where it becomes a RUPP / BOAT or whatever it is on the map.

You can then take the road to Wildstone Rock, then a BW across the fields to Under Hill Farm. From there, it’s quite nice techy singletrack to the waterfall and a techy pull / push up to Hawk’s Nest. Turn left here and you’ve got two or three options to get into 3 Shires / Gradbach. Quite a nice circuit… and no cheekiness involved at all! 🙂

Cheers, I think I’ll wait until summer for this if we get one. You nearby gonetothehills? Would be good to find someone who knows where they’re going a but better than me!

Yep – Macc local here. Don’t come over today – it’s grim! The sun does shine here the other 364 days a year though…

sambob & oscillate – the BW from Roach End into Black Brook (to the right of your cheeky suggestion) is well worth a punt. It’s lovely singletrack – a rarity round our parts – though it’s a boggy finish where it becomes a RUPP / BOAT or whatever it is on the map.

You can then take the road to Wildstone Rock, then a BW across the fields to Under Hill Farm. From there, it’s quite nice techy singletrack to the waterfall and a techy pull / push up to Hawk’s Nest. Turn left here and you’ve got two or three options to get into 3 Shires / Gradbach. Quite a nice circuit… and no cheekiness involved at all!

Hi gtth! Righty yep done the single track descent your on about, it’s very boggy just after as you suggest even in summer! Actually like it as a climb too!

Not sure where you mean after that though? Obviously brings you out on the road then you just head down the steep road and turn right to go unto the llama place or left back towards gradbach?

What is this wildstone rock and across Bridle ways to get upto The llama farm? Got a link on street map?

Cheers

As you exit the boggy part of that bridleway you can go straight on the yellow road to a place marked as Greens (on your Streetmap map). Don’t do that. Turn right on the road, then take the 1st left passing Little Hillend. You’ll then see Wildstone Rock marked on the map – there’s a bridleway there that takes you over the crown of the hill. It’s nothing special but where it gets more interesting is the other end. You come out on a road and take a concrete track (IIRC) down to the left of Underhill farm. At a gate, it turns into singletrack, then gets quite techy / droppy before you cross the waterfall. It’s a ball ache of a climb back out, but then nice tracks under the hill as you head towards 3 shires. Just a nice joining route really. I think Underhill Farm is the lama place isn’t it?

I go to Kings, so I’m used to Macc weather 🙁

Cheers gtth! You couldn’t just Mark on the street map the bits you mean could you? Just Mark different sections so they follow on on the map? Under hill farm is the farm and the single track that takes you back to 3 shires I now wherevyou mean, just can figure on the map how to join up aftervturning right to the off road to get to underhil? Would be way better than climbing the tough road to get to under hill farm

Not done this before, so it could go pear shaped but here goes… 🙂

Exit the valley, via the wide track to the road here

Take the road to here, and turn left.

I think I know where you may have got confused – zooming in has just jogged my memory. Turn right on the road here, and go up the hill a bit, looking for the BW on your left.

Go through the cottages / farm and you can see it goes across open land, bearing right towards the small patch of woodland before joining the road. You go almost straight across (here) and it’s a wide track down to the farm, which you leave on your right hand side. It turns to singletrack about here, I think. Go across the waterfall here and pull up to the road on the other side.

From there, if you turn left you’ve got a few options – depending on where you want to head. Into 3 Shires or back to Gradbach. HTH!

Got there for 9am, parked at Teggs nose. Very low cloud and very, very wet.

I was the only one in the car park so Teggs Nose Cheekyness done first….excellent. Very, very slippy at the side of the steps past the bottom gate, shouldn’t have tried to ride it really. Very funny off !
Charity Lane was loads of fun. It was a full flowing river and done at speed with a good dose of luck was great.Pretty much the same for Dane Bower Hollow and Cumberland Brook (the water acrsoss the path to the waterfall was hub deep).

Could have done without the road sections. Didn’t feel safe without lights… it really was that misty. Visibility down to about 10m !
Didn’t do Narnina (if I have it right and it’s off Charity Lane) but did loads of other cheekyness in the forest. Spent some time climbing back up and messing about.
Took some pictures of the best bit of cheeky trail with some reference photo’s which I’ll post tomorrow (need to get cleaned up, dry, and out round to more f in relatives).

Overall, some great natural sections outside the forest (I can take or leave the forest TBH) and lots of fun in today’s weather (or in snow !). I imagine the forest will be rammed in the summer, (it was busy toady). Definitely one to use for a quick blast or over two laps but as everyone has pointed out there seems to be loads more to extend on to it and most of it natural.

Thank’s for everyone’s help with the route, especially gonetothehills.

Visibility… er… low !

Visibility… er… bit scary really !

Wet !

Cheeky ST in the forest. This is just before the final metal gate, RH turn and then drop down to the reservoir. The two photo’s after the ST show the view in either direction. You can see it’s at the edge of the forest with the long view over the Cheshire Plain.

@GTTH – Thanks for the info!!

Edit – though now trying to include it in a decent loop from the original Macc Forest route described…

Methinks we should organise a ride up around Conwy Mountain and beyond later in the month (Jan!) when hopefully it’s less windy and I’ve got loads of hols. I’ll post something up.

Glad you had such a good day out excitable1 – sorry about the weather… 8)

Your photo of the waterfall at Cumberland Brook is as big as I’ve ever seen it running (though the climbing shop in town has / had a photo of people ice climbing the top section a few years back!) I can imagine what Charity and the other sections were like, given the amount of rain we’ve had.

clarkpm4242 – if you hang a left at the bottom of Cumberland Brook, take the road past Crag Hall to the A54 and turn right, down the hill, keep an eye out on your left for a ‘no vehicles’ sign. There’s a tarmac track that loops up past Heild End Farm (streetmap here) and becomes a nice offroad jolly to the road into Gradbach. Get down to the YHA car park and go through the woods there, out past Swythamley Hall and back up the road and you’ll eventually haul up to Roach End. From there, you can take the singletrack bridleway down through the heather as per the description above. You’ll end up at 3 Shires eventually, back up to the main road, then Cumberland Brook again if you fancy it! Enjoy…

Not done that heild end farm bit before, must try that one!

Funnily enough the forest is busier in the winter rather than the summer, I think the midges scare them off. gonetothehills do you have post ride drinks in church house?

I have been known to partake of a half in there!

Thought I’d seen your bike in there. I’m usually having a smoke outside under the tent.

@GTTH – thanks for the info…
…again 🙂 I’ll partake of this soon.

Happy New Year to all our readers etc.

Excitable1 – The cheeky before the last metal gate has had a little “pixie” involvment yes? and takes you over a jump/drop made with part of a stone wall. Riding that at night is great, like most of the other stuff.

Glad you had a decent ride

Macc Forest is on my door step too, nice to read all about my local trails guys.
Would be nice to meet some locals for a ride some time?

I’m not far away and never ridden Macc forest, anyone around on Wednesday afternoons? Around at weekends too.

Would anyone be willing to show me and my dad around tomorrow morning? Thanks for any help.

Can’t do tomorrow unfortunately but any Sunday morning early doors – always a few of us out

I’m going up in the morning, will be around 8.30 – 9 O’clock if you don’t get a better offer.

Sounds good monogramman, where would be good to meet you?

Leatherssmithy pub is probably best as it’s central for most stuff.

8:45 at the Leather’s Smithy work for you?

yes that’s fine.

Nice one, see you then.

Cold ride this morning, hope you feel better soon Ryan.

Sambob, never been to Macc Forest, fancy showing me round some time?