Not after anything huge but group of us of to Glentress & Innerlaithen in March, couple of us have few new toys on bikes & local trails round Canterbury dont really cut it to test new shocks etc…

Swinley looked like good place to give things a good shake down but appears mainly shut at mo & Bedgebury doesnt really cut it..Surrey Hills I am told is man made so more looking for harder trails with some rock runs etc to build confidence & test bits out…any suggestions?

Thanks

Si

No rocks in SE.

Lots of loamy singletrack, steep rooty trails, but no rocks

Peaks was the closest I found.

You’ll struggle to find anything very rocky in the South East I think. Take a weekend and go to North Wales or the Peaks.

Try to get a session on the Hadleigh Farm Olympic course

Swinley looked like good place to give things a good shake down but appears mainly shut at mo & Bedgebury doesnt really cut it..Surrey Hills I am told is man made so more looking for harder trails with some rock runs etc to build confidence & test bits out…any suggestions?

Swinley is flat and loamy, Surrey Hills is 99.9% natural and hilly and loamy. Hadleigh’s going to be your closest bet for rockiness in the SE.

Hadleigh is an interesting idea..anyone been on it? Is it difficult?

TV never really gives you a realistic impression.

Si

If you could get rocky rides in the SE I suspect you wouldn;t be heading to Scotland…

@wwaswas Dam – was hoping there was a hidden gem out there with just a little of what we’re looking for!

get thee to the peak district 🙂

PORC in Kent?
Doable on a hardtail:
http://www.rootsandrain.com/photos/397594

Or not 8O: http://www.rootsandrain.com/photos/397615

There are no rocky descents anywhere in Kent.

I can recommend some marshland, or swamp, but no rocks. Although there is a shallow gravel section on the crab and winkle that is kinda gnarly.

Swinley has no rocks, a few braking bumps when it’s dry at the end of the summer but thats as bumpy as it get’s.

Aston Hill’s not much further.

Or bite the bullet, load a car up and do a weekend in the Peaks, you could set off (very) early on Saturday, ride all day, stay in a B&B or YHA, ride all Sunday and be back in time for (a late) dinner.

Glentress & Innerlaithen in March, couple of us have few new toys on bikes & local trails round Canterbury dont really cut it to test new shocks etc………Surrey Hills I am told is man made so more looking for harder trails with some rock runs etc to build confidence & test bits out…any suggestions?

You’ll be dissapointed then, GT and Inners are about as man made as they come! The Red’s as smooth as a baby’s backside, the black is rockier in places but I rode it first and still though it was pretty smooth compared to natural trails except where they’ve gone deliberately OTT on stuff like the wormhole

Priest lane near Stowting, the Scar on Tolsford Hill and a couple near Bodsham/Hastingleigh that I don’t know the name of. Linda’s Crack from the Valiant Sailor, end of the North Downs Way near Stowting.
Not quite like Glentress, but probably the best that Kent has to offer.

There’s a few flinty rocky decents on the Eastbourne end of the South Downs, Windover hill down into Alfriston, top of Friston Forest down to Pentlands car park in Jevington, nowt massive or long, but enough to test shocks.

Good point TINAS – very man made and pretty smooth. If you want rocky then North Wales or Peaks it has to be IMO.

@thisisnotaspoon @tonyd – how does Glentress/Innerlaithen compare to say Cannock or LLangdegla if you’ve been? Smoother & faster or similar?

Good point TINAS – very man made and pretty smooth. If you want rocky then North Wales or Peaks it has to be IMO.

Somehow I always forget Wales is just over there <———. DO IT, IT’S WHAT THE M4 WAS MADE FOR!!!!!!

The Black at GT might be as rough as Cannock’s braking bumps, but it also has a gradient and 3 big (ish) hills to climb*. Llandegla red is kinda like GT Blue, but I remmeber ‘degla being much wider abeit with more jepordy in the corners/jumps, GT red and blue are ace with some fair sized jumps and very fast sections with lots of bermed corners, but you can hit it at almost any speed and nothing catches you out, very well designed for flattering riders skill.

*having said that I rode GT black on sight, but some Black bits on the Monkey have had me off and walking.

As mentioned above
hadleigh Essex: http://www.pinkbike.com/video/295569/
GP, Hampshire: http://www.pinkbike.com/video/267519/
Porc: http://www.pinkbike.com/video/288303/

You’ll be dissapointed then, GT and Inners are about as man made as they come!

Pffft

There is, of course, absolutely NO excellent natural riding around either of these places, and there is not, for instance a steep rocky descent of plenty behind Innerleithen.

Pffft

Indeed, but then why drive 7 hours, past the Peaks, Yorkishire Dales/Moors, North Pennines, Lake District, Northumberland and a lot of the Sottish borders to GT and Inners to ride natural stuff?

I didn’t say smooth was bad, I said it’s what’s there. And yes, I’m sure there are plenty of local hidden rockier lines, I made an assumption the OP was riding the trail centers.

+1 Aston Hill. Chalk is a rock and very amusing to ride on, especially in the wet.

+1 for Hadleigh Farm – had a cracking day out there with Tom Dowie and his coaching colleagues

Its a LOT tougher than it looked on TV

Probably easier to do south Wales, Afan, Cwmcarn and Brechfa.

Not been there, but the Cyclopark in Gravesend has some rocks apparently – http://www.fuki.co/Cyclopark-Mountain-Bike-Trail-Coaching-Session.html?PHPSESSID=9ff4b3c0c09dc4a1cbd7daacc9748d7a

Go to Gatwick, get the next flight out to Spain?

Its a LOT tougher than it looked on TV

I think that’s an understatement – I had my eyes shut a lot of the time.

There are one or two v short rocky (or at least lumpy) sections in the Surrey hills. Nothing like Wales or the Peak obviously.

Lots of rocky riding to be had around here. Whole area is nothing but chalk bedrock with lumps of flint thrown in. Whilst it doesn’t give the challenges of riding Snowdonia or the Lakes, flint over chalk is still interesting, especially when wet. Add in some steep slopes…..

This area gets slagged off on forums for being tame, but it’s a good proving ground and not to be sniffed at.

But if you want big granite rocks or scree slopes, then no, we’ve got none of that.

I think there are some steps down to the Thames here and there, sand at the bottom too, and water.

Just close your eyes and you can pretend you are in the peaks

The peaks is rubbish by the way, dont come, all the hills have been flattened recently, did you not hear? PORC is where its at

Aston hill has a new fake rock garden.

Yes the cyclopark at Gravesend has some quite impressive black graded rock gardens. Only half an hour from Canterbury as well which makes it a bit more doable than some of the suggestions here!

Lots of rocky riding to be had around here.

And where is ‘here’?!

boriselbrus – Member
Yes the cyclopark at Gravesend has some quite impressive black graded rock gardens. Only half an hour from Canterbury as well which makes it a bit more doable than some of the suggestions here!

Yep, agreed – it might only be a short manmad circuit but some of the rocks are harsh!
well worth a visit if you are only in Canterbury – i’d wait until it is a bit drier though…

I seem to remember a bridle way heading north off leith hill which has a load of building bricks on it.

Given the state of the roads, just ride on them and aim for the potholes 😀

Aston hill has a new fake rock garden.

Nothing I dislike more than fake rocks. 👿

Can’t really think of anything that rocky, certainly not in comparison to say Coed Y Brenin which has some pretty rocky sections.

Some of the descents off the South Downs though can be very tricky. I live near Brighton and you can find steep trails on the north facing slopes made up of eroded chalk with football sized boulders. Water often runs down these and carves big chunks out so you have to really have your wits about you, especially if damp.

Making it down these in one piece can be as tricky as anything I’ve seen elsewhere.

Judging by the group of riders with high spec dh bikes and full body armour walking into perry woods when I rode past the other day, I’d say there must be some serious terrain in there! 😆

The only thing you will test at cyclopark is your patience.

Covert woods at barham is best thing close to Canterbury, if not surrey hills will be my choice.

SN3 1TA