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  • Swinsty woods, new trails – info?
  • mattbibbings
    Free Member

    I have heard reports today of trail building taking place in Swinsty woods in the Washburn valley. Proper trails with berms n’ everyfing so I’m told. Digger still on site and looks like a work in progress.

    Can anyone shed any light on these new trails? Is it a yorkshire water thing? Who’s doing the donkey work? How much will there be? Etc etc….

    Simon
    Full Member

    Don’t know any info but we rode through 2 or 3 weeks ago and there was a digger in the woods and some work had started. As far as I know the land is owned by Yorkshire Water.
    EDIT just looked back at where we rode that night and it was the woods next to Fewston Res where we saw work starting.

    mattbibbings
    Free Member

    Well I rode it today and its ace.

    I took a group of kids from work for a blast there and it turns out that Yorkshire Water are doing a great job of trail building there. We found about 1km of well built and interesting red trail. Some challenging obstacles built in like rock skinnies and mini boulder rides. Lots of berms and rollers that get bigger and bigger as the trail progresses.

    We met Geoff Lomas who has been responsible for it and he said the line he has built will be finished in about a month. If Yorkshire Water are going to build anymore then they will respond to public demand. So if you want them to do a bit more then go ride it and then email them and tell them how much you like it and would love more. I will be.

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    mattbibbings
    Free Member

    double post

    Simon
    Full Member

    Cool may have to go for a look.

    teajunkie
    Free Member

    I rode it twice today still not quite finished yet, but very high on the fun per meter gauge. Met the Builder, Richard and he gave me a cheeky uplift so i could give him feedback on his work, it was very positive. It starts with a steady climb with optional “techie” bits, then as it starts down it’s action packed fun fest. Well done Yorkshire water! well done Richard and the lads! could be the start of something big!

    gordy2
    Free Member

    Whereabouts is the trail from the car park please?

    Cheers G

    mattbibbings
    Free Member

    If you can do grid references it starts at 181 537. It is in Beecroft Moor Plantation.

    From the main car park you ride out alongside fewston reservoir and then turn south (left) on to forest double track. Follow this climbing steadily for approx 500m until you see the trailhead appear on your right. If you find yourself at a gate to the road just turn around, its behind you. And go to specsavers. 😉

    gordy2
    Free Member

    Cheers MB, will give it a go.
    Should make a nice addition to the bits in Timble Ings.

    tomj
    Free Member

    Well after a play at Stainburn I stopped at the Swinsty/Fewston carpark to explore. Not what I was expecting! It’s really rather good. Easy to find using the directions above, it starts with a easy climb then gets rougher and more fun. Lots of alternative lines, rock obstacles and some rock and log skinnies. The last 100yrds or so are still being finished but the builders seemed happy with me riding it. Had a quick chat with them, they looked round Stainburn to get ideas, so they’re clearly not going for the family bike/tag-a-long market! They also said there were plans to build more in the next wood if this was popular so get riding! And the trailhead has one huge advantage over Stainburn, an ice cream van!

    As an aside looking at the map suggests it should be possible to link with Stainburn from the bottom of the Black or Descent line. Looks like a bridleway goes past Folly Hall and Nether Timble to the YW carpark. Has anyone ridden this? What’s it like? Don’t mind if it’s a bit dull as long as its rideable.

    Thanks

    bspoked
    Free Member

    As an aside looking at the map suggests it should be possible to link with Stainburn from the bottom of the Black or Descent line. Looks like a bridleway goes past Folly Hall and Nether Timble to the YW carpark. Has anyone ridden this? What’s it like? Don’t mind if it’s a bit dull as long as its rideable.

    Rode it tonight. I am not sure that I would bother again.

    Parked at Stainburn, rode the red to the top of the descent line. Down the descent line to the road at the bottom. Turn right, short sharp hill, then road all the way down to a farm. Don’t go down the farm track, stay on the road up the hill for 30m then take the bridleway to Folly Hall. Flat, across sheep fields, few gates, nothing memorable. Up and the through the extremely rapey looking farm at Folly Hall. Through an unmarked gate on the far side and descend down a farm track. Cross the stream and this is where it gets a bit odd. I couldn’t find the bridleway, so had to climb over an easy style and take the footpath for a couple of hundred metres. As you reach the stream again, turn 90 degrees right to pick up the unmarked bridleway again. Then follows another trek up and across sheep fields. Long tussocky grass, 15%+ and sheep sh*t everywhere. I pushed, others might not. At the top the signs reapear again (6 dales trail?) and you pick up the single track all the way to Swinsty. This should be good – when hardpacked like tonight – except there are 5 bar gates every 100 yards or less. Slow going.

    At Swinsty turn right then left on the road. Here I took the permissive bridleway to Fewston and not really knowing where I was going, just lapped the woods to I came across the new trails.

    As it turns out I had found the end, so pushed all the way up to the top, checking out the trail. Really good fun actually. Nothing technical despite the obvious features, but really good fun. My favourite bit is the jump into steps. On the way up I was concerned about overshooting some of the landings but the trail is cleverly built to actually control your speed. That isn’t to say you couldn’t pin it, but the gradient is very shallow and every so often they will throw in a flat corner with no berm or a corner with logs buried 3/4 deep horizontally across the corner, just to make you think twice about leaning over too hard.

    From the bottom I took the permissive bridleway back to Fewston and then Swinsty. Not fancying the way I had come to much – and knowing that it was quietening down at the reservoir – I crossed the dam and took the cheeky north path round Swinsty. Up the road all the way to Norwood edge. Twisty, rooty singletrack in Norwood plantation, crossed the road and then then finished the red loop back to the car.

    Good two hours. I’d go back to Swinsty just to have a play on the new stuff again.

    bspoked
    Free Member

    P.S. Whoever has been around Stainburn with a strimmer… ta.

    ma5on
    Free Member

    Did a couple of laps of it today. Not the easiest to find so hopefully the map at this link will help a bit. The main man made trail section starts at 1.4 miles in: http://runkeeper.com/user/adammason/activity/270959911

    You could probably access it even more easily from the road, missing out the reservoir and most of the double-track. Also beware the car park if you have a roof mounted bike rack. The height restriction barrier will take out your bike!!

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