Rushup Edge

While I’m up North for Xmas I thought I’d get some Peaks riding in and had a go at a loop up from Edale over Mam Tor, along Rushup Edge and down and heading North up again over Doctor’s Gate and back home from there. As well as the weather on Mam Tor being shocking, Rushup Edge was just totally **** – unrideable for all the mud and erosion.

Question is, I’d really like to get that ride in later in the year – does it dry out well enough for spring and summer? In my mind a bike ride involves riding, not pushing!

Mind you when I bailed out down Church Stile I was well cheered up. Stunning descent. I wish they had a few more like that down in the Surrey Hills 😉

Hopefully it will dry out. It gets quite windy up there which should help.
Really they should swap the footpath ( a more sustainable surface ) with the BW. imo.

I ended up walking my bike up to Mam Tor ( from Jaggers Clough end) on Sunday, then walked it mostly downhill too, into Castleton, ‘cos it was soo slippery.

Last time i did it it was almost unridable, even excepting the weather, not the classic i was expecting at all. Good day still.

I’ve erm, heard that the footpath alternative along the top of Rushup is very rideable and quite unlike the quagmire on the other side of the wall. Don’t ask how I know etc…

In any normal summer, the boggy stretch dries out quite nicely btw. I’ve never known it unrideable at any time of year, you just need a bit of determination, some technique and good line choice 🙂

this year (and last year?) have been as wet as it gets in the Peak with the reservoir overflows running in September and not stopping since

a good spring wind helps and methinks this year april/may was pretty dusty or was that 07?

following on from the avoiding trashing Blackamoor thread of a couple weeks ago maybe some Peak peeps could suggest some good sustainable routes – i think if you are travelling it is hard to know what will be really destructively muddy and what will be fun – today ran along Stanage and it is wet wet wet wet but the Plantation descent will be totally fine

Most of the stuff above Hope on the Roman Road and above Ladybower on the Fairholmes side of the road is pretty much all weather, also the Jacob’s Ladder / Roych Clough circuit is rock on the Jacob’s side and pretty reasonable over the Roych as well, as is the actual climb up onto Rushup Edge from the end of the Roych track, if that makes sense.

It was all very nice in 2003 when it didn’t really rain properly from March through till November or so. If you have access to a time machine, I’d recommend it as a very good choice 😉

Rushup Edge is buggered, Chapelgate is buggered, the descent from Hollins Cross to Edale Station Caf is buggered, Cutthroat Bridge to Winstone Lee Tor is buggered, etc etc its really suffering now. Won’t get better until we get a lot of dry weather or some serious trail work is done. I think chapelgate is going to be resurfaced as I don’t see anything else working on there 🙁

Jacobs is still fun though 🙂

I was just thinking that so many of the bridleways around The Dark Peak that are not predominantly rocky are in a real mess. I was mentally planing a route to do on Sunday and I wanted to do it with as little hub deep slop as possible. It looks like (as BDW pointed out) it will be a Hayfield to Hope and back ride probably…again or another road ride instead.

You’s are all gay. I cleaned Rushup Edge in july, it’s drier now! <joke> I did clean it but I daresay it must be in a much worse state now. Incidentally, what’s causing the detioration of the paths apart from the weather? Is it too much bike traffic or just too much traffic all together? Has this year been busier than normal? I remember it being a tough rocky climb and then loads of bogs that had to be wheelied or manualled. Have they all joined up? I’m surprised the climb from Edale to Hollins is ****, that seemed like a nice rocky ascent apart from a couple of deep soggy bits at the bottom.

I agree about the top of Rushup and Derwent Edge, rest are still fine but Chapel Gate is now insane – a proper test of downhill stamina and technique.

With regards to providing information, maybe areas or bridleways could be updated with a condition report that could be accessed from the Peak Park website (A la 7stanes)and then say a conditions board displayed at Fairholmes and at 18 with perhaps alternative routes on to badly eroded areas.

Just a thought

peaks is all an absolute quagmire apart from in the driest of summer. It has to literally have not rained at all for literally 2 weeks and be fairly hot for it not to be a comlete swamp. Absolutely Ridiculous – It’s a disgrace, Gordon Bush should resign immediately.

only places in the peaks that are rideable are hagg farm, roman road over hope cross, houndkirk moor and porter clough, although that’s apparently been “smoothed off” now, i hope they don’t bloody ‘smooth off’ houndkirk moor aswell.

Maybe try the white peak, south a bit – chesterfield, matlock, buxton area. but if not just head to wales. Dark peak’s just not worth bothering with imo. too much mud for it to be any fun.

maybe areas or bridleways could be updated with a condition report that could be accessed from the Peak Park website (A la 7stanes)

The project is underway, were looking for funding to get things going as these things aren’t cheap to do. http://ridethepeak.com/ will eventually be a portal to help with suggested routes, places to stay / eat, report on trail conditions etc etc. If you can help with money to pay for it, get in touch…

Incidentally, what’s causing the deterioration of the paths apart from the weather?

It’s a combination of weather and traffic, that’s it. When the ground is wet, it’s more susceptible to damage from boots and tyres. In dry conditions there’s little difference between bikes and walkers, but in wet conditions the type of damage caused varies – walkers cause small pocks which fill with water, bikes leaves channels down which water flows. It’s the flowing water that causes the damage, as it gains speed it takes more and more of the surface material away. As this happens it cuases more speed in turn so the damage increases at a faster and fatser rate.

Then you have the scenario where the damage is not on a hill, in this case what normally happens is that the tyre sized puddle spreads to become 20 feet wide as people ride round the outside in case they get wet or something…

Yeah, Chapelgate is nearly all water damage. Was a bad thunderstorm on there in the late summer that cut a 6ft deep channel through the hard gritstone layer into the softer shales below.

It’s made it virtually impassable for the 4x4s and crossers on the existing track so they are taking the grassy line up the righthand side and creating a new track. Cant see how this will be fixed except for total resurfacing 🙁

how it used to be

now a 6ft deep rut

new path being eroded alongside the old one.

That descent line now is great tho (middle pic)

Surely the Park should actually looking at ways to prevent 4×4 use of a bridleway rather than owt else

That descent line now is great tho (middle pic)

last time I saw it it was unrideable, having 5 ft vertical drops into boulders etc, maybe it’s been patched up a bit since I last saw it? looked as if someone had done some ditching up near the top.

I think it’s a byway, not a bridleway, so it’s legal for the motorised traffic.

only places in the peaks that are rideable are hagg farm, roman road over hope cross, houndkirk moor and porter clough, although that’s apparently been “smoothed off” now, i hope they don’t bloody ‘smooth off’ houndkirk moor aswell.

That’s a joke right?

it’s all still ridable, just very muddy and deep ruts everywhere. It’s gonna be interesting when it drys out and all the ruts set solid, be like new trails.

Rode Winstone Lee Tor to Cutthroat bridge when it was hard frozen and could hardly keep in a straight line.

Ahh I looked on OS and it showed bridleway, but if its byway, fair enough some form of control I guess is then needed

urely the Park should actually looking at ways to prevent 4×4 use

and more than it actually being a Byway, people won’t stop using 4*4s just ’cause they’re banned – they’ll just move elsewhere

Yeah just realised im confusing byways and boats

Rushup Edge is definitely one to give a miss in the winter. It’s nigh on impossible to even push up the first section. Although I did do it a couple of weeks back when it was frozen solid and it was ace.

Which is a shame, as Chapel Gate is currently one of the best descents in the Peaks. It’s generally pretty quiet, and it’s one of the few Peaks trails where you can see far enough ahead to go properly quick on a big bike. LOTS of fun. I really don’t understand why so many people are afraid of riding (or walking for that matter) in the gullys. Given the choice of shitty, slippery, muddy, grass or nice grippy rock I know hwich one I pick every time. The last time I did went down I overtook a bunch who were fannying about in the mud and whose feet were about level with my ears when I went past. Sure there’s some biggish drops, but a) nothing you *have* to huck, and b) that’s what suspension forks and chunky tyres are for. And there’s always the tarmac strips to ride down if your arms want a break (although not a brake as there’s SFA grip…)

Anyway. All you have to do to miss out Rushup Edge is ride down the road a bit, then up the Sunken Road. (also a nice little challenge in either direction)

There’s a few places worth avoiding in the Peaks in the wet, but there’s plenty more paths that can be strung together to make a good all weather loop. I just wish there was a decent (legal!) off road route to link Ladybower to Stanage Causeway.