Well, just got back to Bristol from Cannock so I thought I’d share my impressions…ow’s about that then…
Was on the road at 7.15 and watched the thermometer steadily drop to zero as a snowy Birmingham loomed. Luckily the northern side of Brum was dry and brighter. The journey was only 1h 45m which compares well with a Bristol-Afan trip. The Cannock trail centre was easy to find and the cup of tea from the cafe was welcome on arrival (as was the change for the parking charge of £3). The car park was pretty busy by 9.30 when we set off for Follow The Dog/Monkey. I really enjoyed the twisty, wooded singletrack. It was unsurprisingly slippy on the pebbly trails but it wasn’t too bad at all. The red-graded runs had a nice mix of up and down, with a few lumps and bumps to keep it interesting and enable some sick air…arf. I was pleased by the relative lack of fire road climbs. I’d rather keep it interesting and gain elevation via singletrack, if possible. A couple of the more fun sections were repeated for extra grin factor. 😀
All in all, a good first impression. To keep costs down, next time I’ll drag some mates along from Bristol to share the fuel cost (about £35). Today certainly won’t be my last trip to Cannock!