Brockhampton & Whittington

Winchcombe mtb – take 2

 

Distance:            31km
Climb:                 1500ft
Duration:            3 hrs
Rating:               Red
Grade:                4/5

This route is a classic. In general, it passes through Sudeley, Brockhampton, Whittington and Cleeve Hill in an approximately 31km long loop through atypical Cotswold scenery. There are 3 ‘climbs’ and 3 ‘descents’ and plenty of winding singletrack in between. Skirting the escarpment of the Oolitic bed that is the Cotswolds, there are superb views on offer, in almost every location and direction. There are also some deep ravines, offering that feeling of seclusion, of absolute and complete remoteness.

The trails are well defined but not heavily used and so fair well during all seasons. However, there are places, as with any natural trail, that can suffer under prolonged spells and struggle to recover there after.

Generally, as with most XC trails, the single-track is linked together by a selection of road sections. These come in the form of quiet lanes or track (no main roads) so aren’t that bad and represent a very small percentage of the route too. The longest section being the climb out of Winchcombe.

There are other ways to tackle the climb, of which a number are of road. But the hill is so steep and long that it makes sense to conserve energy by utilizing the road.

The trail shares the first section with Winchcombe mtb (take 1), however, upon emerging from Sudeley wood, instead of heading in to Farmcote Estate, riders should take a right and follow the Bridleway across the open ground towards Hawling. Pass through the church and nip across the farmland to the style at the roadside. Here, cross the road and follow the twisting single-track as it shadows the dry stone wall. This leads all the way to another road and emerges approximately 100yards in front of a left hand turn on to a By-way that leads to Syreford (passing the red phone box - in the middle of nowhere). This is approximately 3km long and is predominantly downhill, it is relatively smooth but there are hidden rocky bits. Hit it fast and hold your speed all the way and it can still be fun.

Pass through Syreford and head towards and straight through Whittington following the brook as it heads in to the woods. This section is a reasonably pleasant climb. The gradient is not that steep and the traction is pretty good. Watch out for the old mine entrance on your right as you pass the quarry (noted by the incredibly steep hillside).

Pass through an open field, following the Bridleway signs as it navigates around the hill (keep the hill on your right) and you eventually arrive at a gateway. What follows is, unfortunately, more often than not, pretty sloppy. It’s only 150 yards though so stick with it. A pretty technical climb follows up a fairly steep incline. The loose rock make traction sporadic, technically minded riders will find it all too easy but ace it and you’ve done ok.

The route eventually arrives at the gallop on Cleeve common but heads back towards Brockhampton and in to the valley. It snakes through some superb singletrack that swerves through the wood around the trees before opening out and heading straight down the steep sided hill. This descent gets very fast very quickly and the terrain is seriously loose. If you have the bottle for a full on assault it can be great fun. My eyes are usually streaming by the time I get to the bottom.

A gentle spin through the wooded valley and a steep but easy climb at the back up precedes that fastest of the descents, the final descent. This passes Bellas Knap before heading down through managed woodland in to the Sudeley estate. It is incredibly fast and enough as a result. Not many corners just flat out across open field and tall pine forest.

A quick blast across some simple, flat (essentially) bridleway through Sudeley estate brings you back out on Vineyard Street in the middle of Winchcombe. Time for a well earned cake. There are plenty of tearooms that welcome bikers.

These are not as flowing as a manicured trail centre, but who cares this rocky, technical, fast and natural. Therefore I like it and I’m sure so will those who try it!

Blockley - Cotswolds

Blockley – Cotswolds

Distance:               23km
Climb:                    1640ft
Duration:               1.5-3 hrs
Rating:                   Blue
Grade:                   3/5

It is peaceful plod through tranquil settings that never really deliver any real technical challenge or visual treat but somehow it still delivers on the good trail indicator.

This route is not, by any stretch, a technical challenge nor does it offer unending views of the Cotswold Hills. Blockley is a large picturesque village, set within a small valley high in the Cotswold uplands between Broadway and Chipping Campden; rolling hills thick with the infamous (famous with locals anyway) Cotswold mud and loose limestone.

Although there are generally not very many vistas of note the route is not spoilt as a result. The enclosed nature of the trail instils a feeling of remoteness simply because you cannot see anything but the immediate context. For much of the first half of the ride, this is predominantly trees.

You do emerge from the woodland for a few prolonged periods in order to legally navigate between certain sections of Bridleway. This scenic route takes in a number of villages, which add to the charm of the ride. On a bright summer's day its hard to imagine this being anything other than a beautiful place to ride.

The valley encircles Blockley and the route navigates its way around the top of this ‘bowl’, making one or two sharp deviations in toward the centre (Blockley village) to descend the hill - before making you climb back out again.

Starting in the beautiful village of Blockley – the route proper begins at Dovedail as you follow Blockley brook in to the woods. The Bridleway navigates along an historical route named 5-mile drive all the way to the A44.  Following a quick blast along the road, you’re back in the woods. Head straight through the belt and follow the bridleway back across to the return leg of 5-mile drive.

The climb out of Blockley is a stony track. It never gets too steep and traction was always good - the 2-kilometre climb up this tame gradient warms your legs up nicely.

This route is adapted from the guidebook ‘Mountain biking in the Cotswolds’ by Tom Fenton and has been repeated in MBUK magazine (GPS download available). Their published route follows the bridleways, however my route took a slight detour, at this point, in order to take in a couple of additional features and lengthen the ride slightly.

Following my initial climb I am treated to a fast and increasingly technical descent back in to Blockley (almost) before I head back up through Northwick estate (ensuring that I stick to the public rights of way as this is a managed woodland with active shooting on a regular basis).

The pass starts pretty tame but the gradient gets increasingly steep as it nears the summit before levelling off as you approach a minor road. I hadn’t appreciated how closely packed the contour lines were when I’d checked the OS maps before I’d set off. Anyway, what goes up must come down and after crossing the road the trail continues down the opposite side of the ridge.

The descent is shallower but longer. Technicality is low but you can get some serious speed once the ground dries. At the time of riding the trail conditions were still pretty soggy so mud spots had the unending habit of slowing me down. Alas, it was still good to get out and the respite from the climbing was welcome.

My current loop finally emerged from Northwick estate to the north and re-joined the 5-mile drive and followed the bridleway all the way to Broad Campden. The route then meanders around the foothills taking in Paxford before climbing back up through Batsford and descending down in to Blockley.

All the rain we have endured has again, as with most places I'm sure, turned the Bridleway in to a mud fest. The descent in to Blockley was disappointing, however Its worth noting that if one can find a sneaky way of reaching the lower gravelled section then it should be fun. One possible route is to navigate from the hilltop down through Pasture Farm using one of the farm tracks until the trail improves. In good weather this should be a fast and fun finale to the ride.




The actual highlight of the ride was, in fact, the post ride rinse. Courtesy of the bloated river passing through Blockley we were able to chuck our bikes in at a little access point (holding on of course) and repeatedly dumped them, like the stereotypical washer woman, to clean most of the mud off.  A great way to clear the mud and cow sh*t before loading the car.

Christmas Common - Chinnor

Christmas Common – Chinnor, Chiltern Hills

Distance:                   18.1 miles
Climb:                        1935 ft
Duration:                    1.5-3 hrs
Rating:                       Blue/Red
Grade:                        3/5

Chinnor, near High Wycombe, sits on the edge of the Chilterns. This little hill packs a lot of riding in to a relatively small area. Mostly consisting of good natural singletrack, there are lines criss-crossing the hill in all directions - no two rides ever need be the same.

There is a circular bridleway around the foothills called the Ridgeway, which gives good access to a number of different climb points. Our route saw us head west from Chinnor to the locally named feature, ‘Widow Maker’.  The steep incline provides a fast and furious descent on many other route configurations but on our ride it was a steep and moderately technical climb.

There is a long and fast descent to follow (Kidney Breaker) down some single and double track.  The trail up to this point is generally chalky mud with loose flint and pine debris. It holds up reasonably well in the wet and sets quite hard in the dry. However, considering the excessively wet year we’ve had you’d best come prepared with skinny mud/winter tyres. When even the base layer is sloppy you know you’re in for a rough time.

A few kilometres of singletrack through low-level woodland precede another long and steep climb, this time up a farm track towards Turville Park Estate. The trail surface, at this point, changes to loose stone and flint gravel.

An opening in the wood at the top of the climb provides a welcome place for a quick break before you head back down through the feature locally known as ‘The Berm’; a fast and loose descent with a massive natural berm about 2/3 through the descent enabling riders to hold a huge amount of speed around the left hand corner. The trail surface and incline make this section the most technical part of the ride up until this point and, although over pretty quickly, is a highlight of the route.

The following climb is pretty standard bridleway stuff. The descent that follows this, however, is much more interesting. Starting off as a wide track through the immensely open forest floor of Great Wood, the trail quickly narrows and enters a natural half pipe. The sidewalls are high and in very close proximity to your pedals so commitment and concentration are required to navigate through the feature with pace and a smile.

The final climb is long and, on the particular day we rode, very wet and sticky. A quick stop was required to clean the tyres before embarking on the final descent in to Chinnor – ‘Route Finder’. It follows a familiar pattern to the previous descent in that it starts with a wide open fire track, this time along the edge of the wood, before taking a sharp right in to the wood using a huge rock slab berm. It allows you to carry good speed in to the following fly-off’s before a flat out race to the bottom.

Despite the appalling weather conditions the country has been dealt in the past few months this area of Britain has fared pretty well. There are patches of mud around, even some deep mud in places but nothing that would put you off riding the exact same route again.

Generally the bridleways and the Ridgeway have a good stone base, which limits the impact of the weather on these trails.

As we rode it, the trail around Christmas common in Chinnor offered a very satisfying ride. It has a good balance of singletrack and forest road (hardly any road riding at all).  The technical content is low but there are elements of interest. It is a good ride for most skill levels and an interesting place to ride in any case.