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.
