Visiting the Quantocks next week to search out some extra descents, was gonna look for the single track which joins the chimney half way down, just wondering if anyone can tell me where it starts so I don’t have to find it half way down the chimney then make my way back up it! Also any other pointers for descents other than the usual ones (bicknoller, smiths, weacombe, stert, hodders, frog, ladys edge) and how to find them. Any info would be much appreciated so I can spend more time going down rather than looking at a map!

Its a Secret!

My email is in my profile

Head towards quantock farm and it’s on the right hand side. Bout 200 yards from the road!
Sharki’s trail I believe

Cheers for info, looking forward to searching it out, best place to ride bikes I believe. If I could get the missus to move their I wouldn’t hesitate!

I can spend more time going down rather than looking at a map

Snigger! 🙂

You might want to look around Tiscombe and Great Wood for some descents, depending how you like them.

There’s also concrete block (climb up from Holford towards the road crossing to Great Bear, turn right up the road a little, and look out for the concrete block on the right. Short and steep, probably slippery right now.

Or, up Holford Combe and turn left steeply uphill before reaching the road (above) and look out for a descent that heads down to that road futher downhill. There’s other stuff from the fort too.

Dead Woman’s Ditch – look at the map to find that one, starting from the car park and down a rocky gully or singletrack to the right.

BTW – anything in Staple Plantation or Stowborrow Hill that folk know about?

Cheers for info agentdagnamit, I did wonder where concrete block was.
I got all afternoon 1 day next week so should fit in loads of new trails, all I’m thinking of at mo and counting the hours down!
Ta

Sharki’s trail I believe

Cough.

Sharki’s trail I believe

Cough.

Shame it’s come to that Jambo, quite how revenge of the stump never stuck and that your contribution in it’s creation is hardly recognised.

I might go and chop a load of trees down in it and close it down, before i leave the area again..

I’ve not ridden it since about easter time, but I understand that its suffering from its own popularity, so it might be good for it to be inaccessible for a while…

Hate to say it but that may be a good thing cause it’s getting hammered (much like a lot of the off piste stuff in the Qs where you would never see a tyre mark) and Simon’s trail crossing it ain’t going to help. If it helps the trail always been Sharki & Jambo’s trail to us and we have repaired as we’ve ridden and never disclosed the location, cause I’ve always thought that these trails should be ones you find by exploring (with map in hand if that’s what it takes to find your way around…. )

Edit: MBUK using it for a photo shoot a few months back probably didn’t help either.. 🙄

Not enough people knew it as ‘del’s stump’ for ‘return of the stump’ to make sense.

who was del anyway and what did he do with his stump?

anyone know some fun / confidence building trails in the area? Probably similar to smiths. Been using Lydeard and Triscombe as a starting point so far, the chimney is about as technical as I’m capable of atm.

Cheers.

The Chimney isn’t actually that technical though. It just fools you into thinking it is. Theres one loose corner that can be sketchy at speed, other than that its just a steep gulley.

“its suffering from its own popularity”

Well it’s getting more technical as holes develop.

“its just a steep gulley”

It’s not that steep really and grip is OK apart from the off-corner, but if I lose focus I sometime catch a pedal on the sides, so tend to hold back a bit!

Used to be known as “Narnia” before they cut the fubkin’ trees down !!!
😡

Del was the manager in Ralphies & he hit the stump and broke his collarbone.

but if I lose focus I sometime catch a pedal on the sides,

Ah! The old Ride the bank or ride the gulley quandry. I’m a bank person generally.

😉

When I started riding the Chimney there wasn’t even a Bank option, there was just the gully from top to bottom, on a fully rigid bike with canti brakes it was much more of a challenge than it is now.

Careful now, your showing your age! I just wish I had found the delights of the Q much earlier than I did as feel all riding previous was just a waste of my time! Can you tell me if I am right in thinking the Bin combe descent on the map is the red line which sort of runs parallel with the great bear then drops away to the left or is it not on the map? just wondering as sharki recommended it in a previous thread a year ago.

It’s the black line that runs north west and parallel to the road. Stay on the road side of the stream.

Cheers for info jambo

I can’t help much with the Bin Combe descent, there’s a few in that area but different people call them different names.

That should be north east. Sorry.

I probably haven’t ridden that one for 15 years and even then it was in the dark!

Whats the best way back up from bin combe descent, is it straight back up the road? I’m looking at finding any single track after, down adscombe area as seen the end of some by the camp in great wood. Always park in the great woods so would be a good end to the day.

Bincombe is best found from a trail leading from the top of Ladys combe.
At the top there’s a tree in the middle of the grassy area, beyond the tree there’s a bank with a gap in it. Go through there and take the obvious trail down, it comes out on the road(caution). Right opposite there’s a barely visible trail head leading to a more obvious wide trail.
It bares down to the left and after a 150-200 metres you’ll see a fallen tree, hop over the tree(there’s a ramp) and follow that piece of single track, Round to the left of the next fallen tree and then the trail really opens out, watch out for the sudden change of direction on blind bits though.
After approx 1 mile, you’ll end up in a shallow leaf littered gully and if you’ve received a lashing from a holly tree on your left, you’re ear the end of the main descent.
To your right there’s a bank with various gaps in it to lower trail/stream bed. Look out for an old metal safe,drop down to that trail and follow it down it’s course, under a fallen tree and take the next obvious slope on the left taking you back up onto the trail you’d been descending on. Follow this trail and it’ll gradually climb out, baring left all the time. You’ll ride through some holly bushes which have been lovingly separated to allow a clear ride through(thanks to Bob and Roge), sharp left where it opens up and follow the vague trail back up to Walfords Gibbet.

The road is really the only option until you get to the BW that skirts the NE flank of the hill fort, where you can either follow that linking back to the hill fort descent, back to Holford combe, or straight onto the layby near holford.
Or instead of the BW, At that same junction there’s a gully run back up to the top of the hill fort which however is a bit of a mean climb.

There little more than forest roads in Stowborrow(deer park), though the perimeter BW makes good link from Vinny combe(pint at the end in the windmill) around the edge of the hills along the greenway to Holford.

Staple plantation has been heavily forested due to Phytophthora ramorum, so the single cheeky trail in there has been lost. It was a short twisting run connecting the picnic bench to the greenway path. There is a path heading south from the corner of the CP near the gate which drops to Weacombe via a set of 12 or so steps.

If i was about i’d happily take you round for a day and try and do a new trail loop, but i’m not sure when i’m back this week, maybe thurs??

As for mine and Jambo’s trail, i’ll not close it down, hell no! it’s evolved in 3-4 years to what it is now and i think is not a victim to it’s own success, it’s improved with age and has gained the character i felt it would.

The original narnia flowed through the trees and never took the traffic this one has, so it remained smooth, Del’s over the other side of rocky horror, was the hooty rooty trail from start to finish and i’m pleased now to see it back to being single track, i remember going down there with an axe and saw and clearing a 40ft section of clear fell, only to see a further 200ft or more just the same and thinking, it’s gone…Thankfully the forestry cleared it up and left a wide track there, so thanks for the help FC.

Many thanks for the info sharki, Thursday was when I intend on riding the Quantocks to explore more. I will be getting their around 2.30-3pm and will be riding till 7 or later depending on light, weather and my legs! I normally ride from the great woods car park or the layby at Holford as like to finish on a down hill, but if your about and want to meet up name your place and preferred cakes!? email is in profile if would prefer.

I’m lashed to a bed in Redditch right now and am planning my escape as we speak.
I need to be back in Taunton before Friday as i’m riding down to South Devon for the weekend, so hope to leave on Friday some time.

5hrs to cram in some Quantocks miles, is plenty of time to induce leg pain. I’ll mail you if i’m due back, by Weds evening then let you know if i’m availible.

Excellent and many thanks, hopefully meet up soon.