Peak District – best MTB route

What would be the best circular MTB route in the Dark Peak – about 10- 20 miles. Must include techy sections plus lots of singletrack. Feel free to mention footpaths although obviously we won't use them.

can you read a map?

Yes, very well.

do it then 🙂

spose it would involve down chapel gate, up jacobs plus a bit more?

I'd be surprised if you get an agreement on "best", there's a huge number of trails and any number of possible permutations/combinations.
Not a huge amount of singletrack either although the ruts can sometimes make their own singletrack sections… 😉

Hayfield – South Head – Roych Clough – Rushup Edge – Windy Knoll – Rowter Farm – Limestone Way – Cavedale – Castleton – Mam Tor (broken road) – Greenlands – Edale – Jacobs Ladder – Oaken Clough – Broad Clough – Hayfield.
Not sure about singletrack but it certainly fills the "techy" requirement. Probably a bit over 20 miles that one.

The Vertebrate Graphics Dark Peak book is well worth a look.

ROLF – You must have better maps than me!
Mine only show green squiggly lines for paths and don't indicate the quality of riding.
Any serious suggestions?

skolt – do you not have contour lines? google earth is also good as is searching for pix of areas

Cheers Crazy legs – I'll have a look at that one on the map.
I'd forgotten about the VB book – thanks.

As a mate of mine said on Saturday when he came down Jacob's Ladder for the first time – "Why would anyone ride up this, when they could be riding down it!"

14 miles – Edale, Hollin's Cross, Rushup Edge, Mt Famine, then down Jacob's Ladder.

Equally good is the Cut Gate – 28km or the Ladybower loop with the Beast about 22km.

Thanks ROLF – just a bit busy for much research at the mo so willing to go with local knowledge.

If your looking for lazy research then try

http://www.bikemaps.co.uk/peak_district.htm

I bought a bundle a few years back and still keep finding new stuff to link up and ride. Well worth the ££ if you can't be assed trawling maps and contors etc..

then you can decide for yourself the best MTB route in The Peak

Yeah, Cut Gate as an out-and-back, start at Fairholmes Visitor Centre HERE, ride N up the side of the res to the top, over Cut Gate to the end then turn round. 🙂
Various other trails at the side of the res too – the descent from Lockerbrook Fm to Gores Fm (look a bit to the L of that arrow) is nice and at the SW end of Ladybower Res is Whinstone Lee Tor which has some lovely trails on it. Good descent from the summit down to Cutthroat Bridge. I think a variation on that loop is in the current MBR.

What James said, but he must have written for MBR at some point as he's got it the wrong way round 🙂

that applies to both routes BTW, Cut Gate is best if you start at Langsett, and the route over Jacob's is best with JL as a descent 🙂

ROFL – I have found a trail that descends to the back of Ladybower Inn from Derwent Edge, but it doesn't appear on any maps.

but i bet you can see it on google earth

Cutgate is definitely best starting and finishing at Langsett.
Factor in a loop around Howden and Derwent waters, pop into the visitor centre for a bacon butty then ride down to the A56 (?) climb up from cutthroat bridge then drop back down to Derwent water, around Howden and climb back up to the top of cutgate before blasting back down to Langsett.

That is a good ride, your legs will know about it for sure!

Look at some of these.

http://www.mountainbikerides.co.uk/routes/index.htm

Hope Triple 8 is excellent. But you must ride down the beast (turn right just after Hope Cross. Which means going the other way round to that marked.

If you can do a route which also includes the cavedale descent, you've got heaven.

it is not "derwent water" thats in Cumbria

The Kinder Circuit is a great start IMO.

Edale-Mam Tor-Rusholp Edge-onto Jacobs Ladder then back to Edale to finish.

Its only 22km? Get the VGraphic Dark Peak book route- really easy to follow and ace 😀

But if you didn't know it was there how would you find it? But whilst I've got more important things to do I'd rather ask for a bit of friendly advice.

To the OP, most of the trails are good, however there's also some dross.

Go North down Gores Farm to Fairholmes.
Go UP the Rowlee Farm switchbacks.
Go North / down Blackley Clough.
Go North from Aston Hill (up) along Win Hill.
Jaggers clough is pretty much the same either way as a link between Edale and Hope Cross area.
The best descents from Hollins Cros (Mam Tor) are on the North Face.
There are no convenient links from Stanage to Hope / Hatersage going uphill, but downhill there is from 'Gatehouse' to the Bamford waterworks.
The Bridleway from Shatton Edge on the North side that pops into Bradwell is good, but can be muddy and / or overgrown.
Derwent edge / Whinstoen Lee tour is a good ascent / descent to / from Cutthroat bridg. Althought the descent from there to Ladybower is a bit pants, however contouring round Derwent edge is good in either direction.

Thanks for these posts – will hopefully get at least one good ride in later this week. Cut Gate seems to the one to do N to S.

VG dark peak book is available direct from VG via ebay for £10, good saving that 🙂

but i bet you can see it on google earth

hmmmm….I never noticed that before. Is it any good / rideable? 🙂

ROFL I was thinking of going down there tother week but there were too many walkers on it(Sunday) I take it it's best ridden in the week?

we last did it on a saturday (the one that pieface is talking about)

vdubber67 – Member

but i bet you can see it on google earth

hmmmm….I never noticed that before. Is it any good / rideable?

double yes

This was fun…

The route as recommended by Kramer

and so was this, which went from Langsett all the way back to Sheffield

Well I eventually dragged my ass out and did Cut Gate today. Not a favourite to be honest. Kinder Circuit wins that hands down.

Top of Howden – the two camel humps of earth- from there for about 3miles of sand dune-style sand and silt. It was bloody awful. Then I had to face it coming back.

Plus the ride along the reservoir there and back from Fairholmes was abit tedious.

Be interested to know the route description from the Langsett-side though.

Mad Ducks at Fairholmes though 😀

i did the mbr route clockwise round ladybower, it did look better anticlockwise tbh.

specifically the massive climb 1/2 way round looked better downhill….