I might have a couple of hours playing there a week on Monday….

Sandy, pines, lots of trails, some more cheeky than others, take a local if you want to find the best bits.

I went there today for the first time. Can someone explain the permits – do I only need it for the jumpy bit or everything?

I had a great couple of hours there. The play area is great fun but seeing as I have hardly ridden for 4-5 years it showed how my skills and bottle have disappeared although I had a great time. I ventured off on some singletrack round the top and down the other side from the park but felt there must be more to find. May pop up again tomorrow or Thursday. I'm also really unfit!

i dont know the area really well but love exploring and finding new stuff all the time.
i'll be there all week coaching so wave if you see me 🙂

jedi, yhm

I'm planning on going some time in the next couple of weeks. Was going to go tomorrow but I really need to crack on with uni work as I've let it slide for the past week!

If the weather stays good and you want someone to ride with let me know if you're available next week and we could meet there for a ride?

Pook, I don't know if you still have my number, but i may be able to show you round… I'm getting to know it ok now…

Hopefully I'll be there on Thursday if get all my DIY done or at least nearly done

Permit wise you need one for riding on all the trails but you can only get them off the warden and unless he catches you in a carpark or at the jump spot you'll never see one

Jedi, Where do you do your coaching?

Andy, tom – sounds like a plan. It'll be the 19th late afternoon I should think as I'm working in london earlier that day…

ken, i do my coaching all over from church road to the play area. all depends on the rider.

The conditions last night were excellent, you could actually hear groups of riders whooping in the distance.
Went out for one of those rare occassions just to play and have fun (only one casuality?) The log run is a great challenge.

I'll probably be there Thursday from 6pm'ish, but that'll be training.

Permit wise you need one for riding on all the trails but you can only get them off the warden and unless he catches you in a carpark or at the jump spot you'll never see one

Permits available here:

Greensand Trust

My personal view is that if you ride at Woburn more than a few times a year then it's reasonable to buy a permit – even if you've never seen a warden. There's a very tolerant attitude towards cycling across the estate at the moment (apart from the local branch spreading nutcase(s)…) – buying a permit is one way of reciprocating.

Haven't seen a soul on the Oak Wood trail for ages. All that trimming and maintenance and no one ever shows.
I heard a rimour that the would let us cut more trail on the newly aquired Rushmoor land?

Do you think they'll ever sanction extensive trail building? What the guys have done lately is great, but those areas have been felled in the past, look at the Tippy Trucker trail.
The one we cut in Oak Wood should stay as should the play area and both of those are officially signed.
I'd love to see it get the ok in my lifetime. Progress over the last twenty years in the area has been slow, but with the influx of riders in the area lately things seemed to have moved on.
Back in the day I even got pulled by the police for riding there.

very nice conditions there today 🙂

is this chicksands youre talking about or somewhere else?

Woburn is 1/2 hour by car from Chicky

jumpsite

OG, which one is Oak Wood? Is that the newish (6 months) dark one through the densly wooded bit, coming out just up the path from Fullers Lodge?

just got my mtb running again, anyone fancy hookin up for a ride there this Fri 9th? i've never ridden there before so a local in the group would help. email in profile or i'll watch this thread

oak wood is Stockgrove Park other side of the A5

Rode the new trails tonight (Empire Strikes Back and the one that meets it at the bottom). Nice trails! Well done to whoever built them, both had a different feel to the other trails as they were very tight and twisty.

bump – anyone for a Friday ride ???

Possibly free in the afternoon but can't guarantee that, evening from 6pm yes.

oldgit – ok, cheers, i can do 6pm, earlier suits me if you can wangle it though, can you do a linky/map as to where to meet? any one else up for it?

Will you have lights just in case?

I actually start from Stockgrove Park in Heath & Reach, just off the A5.
And ride over, that way you get both halfs of Woburn in.
I'm xc flat bars and stuff not a Gnarlmiester.

is there an actual website/page for this place?chicksands has one but there a bit to 'air' obbsessed and not xc obsessed for my liking.

There is no Woburn website as such. Most trail info can be found on local clubs' own sites. woburntrails.co.uk has some basic info that maybe of use.

Now i have passed my test and got a motor…well its a rusty fiesta…i am going to try and get down to Woburn more than the one time i have been. Just down the road in Peterborough so should be worth the drive.

I am hoping i might be able to get down tomorrow, friday, but will not know for sure if i am free till later so will keep an eye on this thread.

Looks like a nice day tomorrow btw and might even meet the legendary Jedi

OG – yea, i'll bring a light, is Stockgrove Park unmissable once i'm at Heath and Reach (odd name)?

My Google Maps not doing anything? The address is Brickhill Road, Heath & Reach, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 0BA.
I like to start here, there's a trail that can be done or not then a short on/off road section into Woburn itself. Gets you nicely warmed up to enjoy the good stuff.

@oldgit

What sort of distances can be put together round Woburn as a loop?

Going to try and get down tomorrow but reckon it will be early. Are the routes fairly obvious or is going down on my own a wasted journey?

In all the years riding there I've never measured it in distance, just hours.
I think it is quite hard to find youre way round without knowing the area.
And like I said I like to start away from Woburn to get a good ride in and out.
Once you know the area you can put big old rides in. Linking it with the Millbrook area then onto Chicksands can be done.
In 2005 I took MBR from Woburn to Chicksands (a little bit of road) and that was 27 miles each way.
Typically I do 2 1/2 hours, but up to five.

So is Empire Strikes Back the new one that Jase_MK is talking about (the one in the plantation between the east end of Tippy Tuckers and Fullers Lodge)?

I long for a decent map of Woburn, people complain about the lack of trail info for Swinley but comprehensive maps are dead easy to find compared to what's available for Woburn. If you look on Open Street Map there are tons of things marked for Swinley and the Surrey Hills but not a dicky bird for Woburn.

timmys, that not the Empire strikes back. The ESB does cross the end of that trail though.
Problem with woburn is that most of the trails aren't sanctioned, so all you'll get is peoples GPS downloads.

Odannyboy, whereabouts are you and do you drive? if you like xc there's a great 36 mile pure XC loop near Chinnor that we do.

I think it is quite hard to find youre way round without knowing the area.

Bugger.

I've done up to 30 miles with out repeating much but the actual area is relatively small so you need to know the area or you'd probably end up going in one end and coming out the other having covered only a few miles!

Quite surprised at that Jase. I always assumed mileage would be tiny as you seem to be forever twisting and turning.
Edit;
I now remember someone clocked it out and back from Stockgrove and that was 13 miles without really doing anything in Woburn, so yeah I can see it now.

Can't do tomorrow. I prefer to get started on rides early (9 or 10ish) as most places seem to be a bit emptier at that sort of time then just get busier as the day goes on!

Definitely want to get there at some point before the end of my easter holidays though, got next week then its back to uni for the last slog!

Going to attempt a short ride tomorrow morning (first ride in a very long time!!!!)If you see a portly bearded individual comatose by the side of the trail, give us a kick please.

What new stuff should I check out, is there supposed to be a new trail near the heather run??

Hello moosh
Turn right at the top of the Heather Run, it's the one that's clearly man made as I think there's another bit of trail at the top as well that follows the fence?
But there's bits everywhere.