Lickey Hills, Barnt Green

...I started writing this entry towards the end of summer. Having started, I realised that I had no photographs (other than this one, immediately below) to document it. Nevertheless, as I typed, I further realised it mattered not. With flora and fauna being so similar throughout middle England, most locations, especially those of classic typology - that is a mix of open pasture, broadleaf and pine wooded hillsides and the odd pocket of common land, looks incredibly similar to each other.  For this blog, I am using photographs from other locations to reinforcing this point... ...maybe one day I'll update and introduce more authentic images.
 

Lickey Hills (country park):

Distance: 13 - 18km
Elevation: 250-350m
Time: 1 - 2 hrs
Grade: Blue/Red
Rating: 3/5

What makes a mountain bike ride a classic? Benji Haworth states, in Singletrack magazine issue 80, that one would reasonably expect big hills, big views and big terrain to be a ‘classic ride’. He offers locations such as the Quantocks, Torridon, Helvellyn; Snowdon or the Long Mynd, Jacobs Ladder or Swaledale as examples that fit this billing.

I don’t disagree with this view. Well, I do a little. You see, to me a classic ride should be more specific than simply saying ‘Snowdon’. There are many routes up and down that there mountain but I would not necessarily regard them all classic. To be so, the route should be fairly synonymous with the location. The Gap, in the Brecon Beacons, is a good example. A single, 20 mile loop that…


Regards Snowdon, one could make a case for the route up from LLanberis and down via the Rangers Path as a classic route. Again, synonymous with the location and well regarded. One on many a bucket list, as Mr Haworth claimed.

The Gap - Brecon Beacon's - The Lickey's are not like this!

Where routes like The Gap (Brecon Beacons) or Sticks Pass (Helvellyn) are the Premier League of Classic routes so too are there the lower divisions. Those rides that encompass the bread and butter of us championship players. Like any conference team, we all strive to play against the big boys once in a while but, of a Saturday (or Sunday) all too often, we have to make to with our local trails.
 

My Local ride - still bears a resemblance for parts of the Lickey's

Snowshill - ridden in a particular direction, even a local loop
can be regarded as a classic route.

More often than not its a case of following our noses; trying a bit of this and a bit of that. Knitting together some semblance of a ride out of the many stray pieces of string we know of as trail. And yet, all too often we find ourselves riding the same pieces in the same direction. Not out of habit but because that's the right way.

Over time, this knowledge is passed on to riding partners, who pass it on further and so on. Eventually, a particular route becomes a classic. 15 years ago, a (riding) friend of mine passed on some of this knowledge for a trail over Snowshill, near Broadway, Worcestershire. I have ridden it on and off every year since but have only ever tried it the other way round once. It simply doesn’t work. To me, this route is now a classic as it is a set path.

I was lucky enough to get over to the Lickey Hills a few months ago complete with local guide. I was shown around by a new colleague at work, who ensured I got to see and try many of the good bits. From my experience, I would agree with anyone claiming this spot is typical of mountain biking in the midlands. It is “quintessential local riding”1 with lots of small but juicy bits of singletrack weaving in and out of the woods on loamy dirt that’s simply too fun to ride sensibly. A classic trail, however, it is not.

In his article ‘Classic Rides’ for issue 80 of Singletrack Magazine, the author Mr Haworth makes The Lickey’s the subject. However, the article confuses the notion of a location offering ‘classic’ riding, I.e. familiar or stereotypical, classic even, for the wider area and there being a classic ride (or route). In the article, he is referring to “commuter belt” as the ‘wider area’.


In some respects, his analysis makes sense. The trail features here are stereotypical for central England commuter belt; combining broadleaf and Fir woodland with small patches of heathland, Common and old quarries sites in a geographical and ecological, metaphorical mixer creating landscapes with familiar character traits unique to the midlands.

Broadleaf - The Lickey's look similar to this

Not blessed with many proper hills, locations such as this (other examples include Cannock Chase and the Forest of Dean) often use the elevation on offer to great effect; criss-crossing the rolling hillsides in many directions with numerous climbs and descents on offer. A pick ’n’ mix of trail sweeties. There are so many combinations that it would be impossible to ever determine a ‘right way’ to ride it all. It’s a case of ride what you fancy on any given day.

Forest of Dean - The Lickey's look a bit like this

That said, there were a few sections that I was exposed to on my visit that I would definitely want to include next time. Hang on a minute, maybe I’m on to something here…I don’t know, maybe I’m being facetious. Either way, Lickey’s was a great place to ride. Not on a par with The Gap, if I’m being honest, but scratching the itch nonetheless.

The Lickey’s have been designated a Country Park and, at over 524 acres, has plenty to offer. There is a National Trust car park near the top of the hill complete with visitors centre offering light snacks. One could, however, just as easily park in the nearby town of Barnt Green, as we did, and start there. It has a greater array of shops for post ride snacks whilst offering great access to the Lickey’s.

From Barnt Green, located to the southern end of the Lickey’s, we headed north to Cofton Hackett where we entered the country park, passing between the forestry commission gates, before immediately heading up over Bilberry Hill following some well disguised singletrack. So well disguised, we got lost. Following some brief fumbling about, we were soon on our way and, via a quick descent, we headed over towards Monument Lane.

The Lickey's look quite a bit like this

The Lickey's also look quite a bit like this.

From here, there are several downhill segments that could keep many a gravity warrior entertained for a short while. We had a few goes before carrying on; making our way down rose hill road, turning right to ascend up to the visitor centre car park before trying out a further two descents through Pinfield Wood - finishing up back at the Cofton Hackett gates we passed earlier.

The route we sampled was short but sweet, finishing off with some bridleway bashing past Hopwood reservoir. I had an enjoyable time and am already planning to return for a second bite. The Lickey’s delivered some classic, stereotypically middle English riding; my usual dinner but with different sauce.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1782564065 - here's a link to the route.

A hill through four seasons - Autumn

Bredon Hill - Autumn:

Meteorological and Gregorian Autumn rarely start at the same time. Nor does any seasonal transition for that matter. Anyway, the first few rows on the calendar, that denote the start of Autumn, can often overlap with summer’s last few days. September can often be one of the more pleasant months of the year. With it, bringing settled weather more often than not and slightly more bearable temperatures to that of June through August.


My local trails tend to bear this equilibrium in perfect riding conditions. Although generally still warm (not hot), the slightly cooler temperatures of September combined with a small amount of precipitation is enough to soften the edges of the concrete solid clay soils of the Cotswolds to form our take on Hero Dirt. This was particularly poignant after the summer we’ve just had, where the trails actually became so dry they passed concrete hard to become sand. With a sprinkling of rain, the trails are better for it; taking the edge of the dust bowl and bringing it all back together.  It’s a bit like short pastry. Not sticky. Not hard. Just perfect. As such, they provide remarkable levels of grip; grin inducing.

On Bredon Hill, this is no more pleasing than when traversing some of the more earthy sections, particularly the trails on the northern side, for example the two main descents down in to Elmley Castle - known locally as Doctor’s Wood and Two Bridges - and also the top section of the main Bredon side descent - Bredon Hill DH - all of which become proper rail-able.

Whilst it may be great riding down them during the summer - and it is simply a pleasure to get from top to bottom without being caked in cow shit for a few months - September is where they get really good.

Unfortunately, it does not last. Before long, that equilibrium is thrown out of balance as the scales tip back and the consistency of the trails become more like a bread dough. What was summer becomes, officially, Autumn. As well as the earthy trails becoming soft as s**t, there are a number of grassy sections off the top of the hill, which become sloppy after the Indian Summer has passed its best.

Down in to Ashton-Under-Hill is a particular route of note. Its topography is, well, straight down but the top starts off very green and, in the more moist conditions of mid-Autumn, it becomes something more akin to slick rock. A dab on the brakes can have you sliding the rest of way down on your arse.  Clearly, then, the trick is to leave off the brakes; the problem is it shoots you in to a technical, rocky chute and modulation of speed on entry to this is a particularly necessary requisite. The dilemma is cute slide on my arse or risk a flat. The jeopardy of the latter is generally more rewarding - assuming you don’t flat, of course.



Despite the long streak of crap up my back (a typical marker of a damp ride), I actually quite like the season. As much as I love summer, by mid September I am actually starting to look forward to riding in the mud and leaf litter. I get a strange, masochistic enjoyment from being out in the mild, even cold and damp conditions of autumn. By October, I’m actually ready to get out there and get filthy.

Autumn isn’t really about riding fast, or slow for that matter. Or worrying about whether one will come home looking like a mud pie. It’s more about the experience. The colour explosion of the early days of Autumn is something genuinely beautiful - and the mud pack will help with the complexion. The Red, Orange, Yellow and Brown tones become ever more vibrant over the early weeks as the trees react angrily to the weakening strength in the suns light and warmth. Whilst it still has some warmth, it provides a pleasant reminder of the summer past and a gentle introduction/preparation of that, which is yet to come.

This is a very short but intense period in the year and provides some great riding conditions but we are, obviously, heading inexorably towards another winter and, before long, the wet stuff will set in and that’s it for the year. It is interesting hearing the metaphor “its all downhill from here” used to described the turn towards winter. Unlike Spring, where, like the namesake, the seasons appears to ‘spring’ out from behind the cloak of winter over the course of a single day, winter is more like a black hole, slowly pulling you in to its depths with a purposeful power much like gravity. The gradual deterioration from summer to winter is seamless; to the point where you almost forget what summer felt like. Those warm, pleasant days of late September (even early October on some occasions; even November going back one year, I can recall) give way to the chill and onset of winter.

For the most part, the north side trails mentioned earlier - down in to Elmley Castle and some of the wooded sections at the top of the hill become treacherous and boggy to the point that they become un-rideable - or not worth riding at anyroot. From mid October/early November, these trails are simply not not worth the hassle. Plus, in a philanthropic sort of gesture, to maintain their integrity, it is worth avoiding so as not to damage them.

Late Autumn can be pleasant, with early morning frosts giving way to midday pleasantness. Clear blue days are still an enjoyable experience but the whole freezing and thawing thing manages to produce some kind of cake mix that is virtually un-rideable, particularly in the Cotswolds. Claggy, heavy, clay rich soils; they stick to your tyres and don’t let go. Within ten yards, I can be carrying more weight in mud than my bike actually weighs (and its no lean machine). Route choice becomes an ever increasingly painful affair with badly judged decisions having quite severe consequences on enjoyment and energy. There are times when I would advise simply avoiding the hill all together.

I know i mentioned looking forward to it but… Bredon Hill; there are times in the year, i’ll be honest, when it is simply not worth it. Unfortunately, these conditions are not confined to Bredon Hill either, the Cotswolds is synonymous for being very sticky when wet.  As such, it can become quite a chore riding locally at this time of year and the next few months. The time has come to search further afield. Time to get off down the trail centres as these are, at least, fairly reliable. Cwm Carn, I hear you calling!

A Hill through four seasons: Summer

Bredon Hill -

Some trails change very little throughout the year. Yes, the colour of the leaves may change (or not) effecting how we experience the landscape but the trail itself is can remain fairly consistent. The Twrch trail at Cwm Carn is a good example of this. The rocky terrain makes it consistent in both wet and dry conditions and the banks of, evergreen, pine forests mean the seasons have limited impact on the colour palette.

My local trails, by contrast, change with every season. With it they bring fresh challenges and enjoyments (or horror stories). It keeps things interesting and prevents monotony. The Hill? My local, Bredon Hill; located in the southwest of Worcestershire, near to the Gloucestershire border with Teweksbury to the west and Evesham to the east.  Geographically, it is part of the Cotswolds and does lie within the Cotswold AONB but it sits in isolation from the main Cotswold escarpment, accommodating only a small area in the Vale of Evesham. It is quite a punchy hill, with a spot height of 299m. As such, the climbs are steep (in places) and the descents are sweet (in places).



Bredon Hill is a well serviced hill, with a decent network of Bridleways providing plenty of route configurations. It also means there’s often something to ride in all seasons. It does not cover a particularly wide area and yet it contains a wide array of trail types from wide rocky outcrops on the southern side and more earthy trails on its northern escarpment. In between, the trails tend to be grassy and open. There’s not a whole lot of woodland but, where the trails do head under canopy, they tend to be root infested.

So, everything one needs to hone bike handling skills and something rideable all year, come snow, rain, wind or shine.

During Summer, all trails are open. Quite often one has to wait until May or even June until some of the north side trails are genuinely plausible as routes. With several streams crossing the Bridleways, sections where the topography levels off tend to get quite boggy. In fact, it all gets quite boggy so, I just keep away. Plus, gates tend to be closed during spring anyway to keep in the herds of Sheep and Cattle.

With the arrival of summer, however, the livestock tend to be moved to other pasture and the gates are opened. They remain so for much of the summer and in to Autumn. Top to bottom runs become practicable and the hill far more fun to ride down as a result. The North side is quite open, offering plenty of visibility and, as such, an opportunity to avoid (or engage in, if you’re so inclined) conflict with other trail users (I.e. time to slow down).
 
One place the livestock do get moved to is the common area up at the hill, surrounding the  tower otherwise known as Parson's Folly and the adjacent Bambury Stone. One of the advantages of such a potent hill is that the top tends to be narrow and, thus, views panoramic. I’ve wasted many an afternoon sat up here against the base of the tower watching the planes go by and mint sauce munch on the grass; looking out towards the Malvern Hill’s about 10 miles due west with the Brecon Beacons and Black mountains in greyscale beyond. It is a great view and one I never tire of. It brings to mind the many versions of the 'This Is Why' sketch in MBUK’s long running comic strip, Mint Sauce.

After a quick break, I often take the fantastic descent down in to Westmancote. Being on the Bredon (southwest) side, other than the wooded section near the top (which does deteriorate in to winter), this descent rides well all year and offers really fast, rocky and, in places, technical riding. From here, there follows a really pleasant section of trail to climb back up. 

The stony trail, cut deep in to the bedrock, passes through a wildflower meadow that really comes alive in spring and flowers all through the summer.

Thick with Poppy (red), Scabious (purple), Foxgloves and Cow Parsley lining the steep sides of the track, all set against the beautiful mellow ochre colour of the dry stone walls glowing golden in the intense sunlight, this section of trail comes alive both visually and literally. The vibrant colours of the flowers the cinematic film reel set to a soundtrack of nature remixed with the mechanical buzz of my rear hub freewheel. With bees working tirelessly collecting their payloads and the swallows finally arriving from their African adventures, the noise can be intense, whilst altogether calming and serene. It’s hard not to take a break here too quite frankly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baked Hard:

After the year we have had, resting became rather more poignant. Thankfully, there are plenty of places that provide the perfect place for a li'l ol' rest.

Sun and heat is a rare treat for Britain and, like bees at a honey pot, I was out buzzing around on my local trails much like everyone else as soon as the sun came out. Shades on, legs out.

However, 8 straight weeks of it (or however long it was) came as quite a surprise. It was not expected and actually quite wearisome in itself.

That basic instinct within all mountain bikers to get out there while its sunny and warm became a strange catch 22 as the summer wore on. The need to rest became increasingly necessary but, well, you know, it’s sunny. I’ve gotta go ride my bike in case its raining tomorrow; I’ll rest then. But it didn’t rain, for about 10 weeks.

Fields near my house started spontaneously combusting they were so dry. The trees started dropping their leaves through lack of water and our parks, fields and pastures resembled the Maasai Mara in dry season.

My local trails went through a strange evolution of initially drying out hard as concrete before blowing out to the point it felt like riding through a sand pit. Bredon Hill started to look like a big yellow dusty globe.

It sounds perverse to say this but, thankfully, there came some rain. Not much, we were spared the kind of rain that would have seen Noah running for his wood shop but it did help to pull the trails back in to check and put some green back on the trees.


The summer we've had wasn't exceptional to The Vale of Evesham;

A propensity to grey weather tends to enshrine the entire British Isles. I'm sure you've all seen it at some point or another; like yesterday, for example. Bredon Hill is only really fully open for business between the hours of Mid May to Mid September.

With strength in the sun, the ground conditions remain mitigated from the 'odd' sprinkling of rain. The south side remains fairly accessible all year round, being more rocky an all, but the north is generally more soft round the edges. More muddy and, once that strength wains, it can become a slog. Two Bridges descent and the climb from Elmley Castle both become quite laborious from Late September through to May, typically.

Riding in the summer is great, while it lasts. You can ride with profligacy, safe in the knowledge that the trails will still be open tomorrow. But, as we reach later in to season that feeling that it might be the last becomes all encompassing. I can often end up riding the same few routes repeatedly, concerned that it might be the last of the year.

Malvern Hills, Worcestershire

Words: Elliot Goodall
Images: Elliot Goodall & Alex Lane (@trail_head_mtb)

Length: 28km
Climb: 1,100m
Time: 3 - 4 hrs
Grade: Red (with black options). Natural technical features and trail, optional jumps
Rating: 4/5

A proper, old school, natural tech fest with climbs and descents to satisfy any persuasion and views to die for.

The Malvern Hills lie on the border between Worcestershire and Herefordshire and mark the point at which the flat, never ending lands of the Worcestershire side become the rolling lumpy landscape that it Herefordshire. The hills are orientated north to south and have a full length of some 8 miles. 

The Malvern Hills are a genuinely classic location of the mountain biking community, synonymous with the Malvern’s Classic from the late 80’s/early 90’s? It’s also the home of DH superstar Tracy Mosely.  It also has a classic ride in the form of a there and back route along the ridge line, taking in the main peaks of North Hill, Worcestershire Beacon, Pinnacle Hill, Herefordshire Beacon (complete with British Camp) and Midsummer Hill. That in itself would normally be enough but don’t be fooled, there are several other peaks in between these, less significant but equally necessary, that subtly raises the elevation, and suffering somewhat.

Starting off at the extreme north, parking at the North Malvern Road public car park, we headed straight up on to North Hill, by-passing this initial summit. Instead, using the Lady Howard De Walden Drive, we made our way to the ridge line and headed south past Sugarloaf Hill on to Worcestershire Beacon.

The ridge line itself, particularly the well trodden elements, are wide and open. Quite exposed actually.

On the particular day we rode it, the conditions were quite windy. So much so that I was genuinely contemplating writing the opening paragraph of this blog in the form of public health warning. Being nearly 400m tall at their highest points (and averaging no lower than 250m), the Malvern Hills can be very windy. The upper echelons are very exposed and the prevailing westerly winds can really whip up over the north - south oriented ridge line with gusto.

The irony being that I succumbed to the very conditions I was considering warning against. Manualling off a small outcrop on the south side of Worcestershire Beacon the wind caught my front wheel whilst in mid air and took me out.
 
Initially I thought I had briefly dislocated my shoulder as the burning pain was quite acute. I was later diagnosed with a torn Rotator Cuff which I found, once I had cooled down back at the car, was actually quite painful. I was unable to lift my arm beyond 30º and getting changed out of my mud caked kit was quite a laugh.

Anyway, I got up and dusted myself off. For about 5 minutes, I sat clutching my, now withered, arm contemplating whether to call it quits. However, conscious of having sacked off my mate a few weeks earlier for inclement weather, I sorta wanted to carry on.

Anyway, those 5 minutes passed. After which, I manned up a little, checked to see whether I could actually ride at all and, discovering I could hold my weight, I decided to carry on; powered by Adrenalin and ignorance.  I’m not really sure if I was brave or stupid completing the ride but I’d got this far and didn’t really want to go home just yet.

My intention being that if I could get to Midsummer Hill (our original plan) without too much fuss, I would have no choice but to ride back or face a long walk. Onward then. Past Summer Hill follows a really fast, singletrack descent that runs parallel with but off the main ridge on it eastern side, so very few walkers and sheltered. Some very nice technical outcrops towards the bottom before you emerge at the Beacon Road car park. We stopped for some static camera fun before moving onward.

Following the ridge line past the summits of Jubilee and Pinnacle Hill and two other unnamed crests we eventually come out at the British Camp car park and A449 crossing. Being such a prominent natural feature in the Worcestershire landscape, the Malvern’s are very popular with walkers and this is no more apparent than at British Camp.

It is necessary to take care for the next kilometer or so and be a little patient with the walkers who do take priority, thankfully our route bypasses the British Camp site itself so we are not heading in quite the same direction as most of the tourist hoard.

Having passed Herefordshire Beacon we thread between the summits of Millennium and Hangman’s Hill and taking a long descent down to Chase End Road, locally known as Warp Speed. This is a fast, wide stone track that looses all but a few metres of your hard earned elevation. It’s not particularly technical and there are other routes down.

There is an alternative route taking the summit of Swinyard Hill from which there are several descents dropping either side of Gullet Quarry but we chose the former as it gave us the opportunity of completing the technical climb up past Gullet Quarry before we made our way over to our most southern point, Midsummer Hill.

We had made it. Now for a really good, technical descent; natural in form but shod with plenty of made features including some big jumps towards the bottom. This descent weaved its way through the north east side of Midsummer Hill, spitting us out back at the head of Chase End Road, from which we doubled back up Warp Speed (not so fast this time), to re-summit the ridge line. We retraced our earlier route back to British Camp.

From here one could simply re-trace their steps all the way back to North Hill using the ridge line but my shoulder was properly playing up by this point and we were both knackered so we bailed off, heading down the A449/Wells Road in to Malvern with just a light spin through Great Malvern to the cars.

The Ridgeline is the classic route over the Malvern’s. However these hills are littered with other interesting snippets. I rode here earlier in 2017 and we had a blast sampling the descents of Swinyard Hill. Much of this additional off-piste riding is local knowledge based and not really legit like the Bridleway designated ridge line. This is what we stuck, mostly, to for this trip.


We rode the Malvern’s in February, which was perhaps not so wise (we had four seasons in one day, literally). It’s now October and my shoulder is finally better; Rotator Cuff injuries take such a long time to heal properly. Anyway, I’m thinking its now time to go arrange a return visit. I’ll just have to pay a bit more attention to the weather forecast and ride accordingly next time.  Health and safety warning heeded!




Here's the Strava entry for the route: Malvern Hills

Altura Trail, Whinlatter

Altura Trail, Whinlatter

Length: 26km (including Blue trail)
Climb: 677m
Time 2-3hr
Grade: Red (Altura) + Blue
Rating: 3/5

As locations go, the Lake District is hard to beat.  Big mountain riding is a lure for many and I am no different. The dramatic and rugged terrain and sheer scale and impressive scenery on offer creates a very different experience to that which I am more familiar with back in the midlands.

I live on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border and find my rides to be of the classic variety; stereotypically characteristic of England. Nice bits of deciduous woodland singletrack linked with open bridleways passing across farmland to open heathland and moorland. We have a few small hills here and there (250m tops) and, if I’m lucky, some rocky outcrops to challenge. All too often joined up with tarmac though.

When one spends much of their time riding this type of trail it can be important to taste something different every once in a while. Its partly why I set up the blog in the first place. A different technical challenge or something to really push the stamina.

The lake District offers a very different palette offering a range of challenging big mountain trails such as Borrowdale Bash, Sticks Pass and Walna Scar; their of remoteness equalled by their technical difficulty. Being up in the clouds can be very rewarding. Dipping a toe in these waters (so to speak) can do wonders to balance a troubled mind.

The ‘pureness’ of it seems to really invigorate the mind and soul and reignite a passion for mountain biking. I really get edited riding places like this. The Altura trail at Whinlatter was fun and yet, despite this, I came away feeling somewhat short changed.

Whilst the trail was fun to ride, and there are some genuinely fun sections - the south loop descent/jump line and north loop descent were highlights - i think the manicured trail surface and lack of natural technicality meant it fell short of my expectations for a Lakes trail. A hard tail would be quite sufficient.

In isolation, the Altura rolls well and was fun to ride. It has a good rhythm about it. It is split in to two loops; a north and south and there is also an interesting blue trail too. Combining the three trails made for a good day out despite some sketchy weather.

The trail is interesting from the off with a nice bit of weaving single track contouring around the hillside through the trees with a few false descents and sharp climbs thrown in. The trail then comes out from the tree line to begin the main climb.

Labelled the Slog, it suggests at a sustained upward journey but in all honesty any fit rider would find the climbs fairly straightforward. There are plenty of switchbacks to reduce the gradient and with the full trail split in to two halves, so is the elevation gained split fairly evenly.

This trail is located high up the hillside west of Keswick and the south loop, in particular, does verge on feeling remote at its southernmost tip. Rising up to the highest point along the north loop, views can be had looking north and eastwards across Bassenthwaite Lake towards Skiddaw whilst the southern loop provides views towards the equally bigger terrain of Eel Crag, giving the impression of being immersed in such big hills, whilst always remaining, just, within the safety net of the Beckstones and Hospital Plantations.

The main descent of the north loop is fast, flowing and superb fun. There’s no obvious ‘start’ but it rolls quickly, always working with camber to create a very flowing and roller-coster type affair with plenty of big berms. Its camberlitious. You can go as fast as you dare really, it was great fun.

A quick jump over the connecting link to the south loop leads to further climbing; again short and sharp with plenty of switchbacks to elevate you skywards. The trail is not particularly eventful, technically, in the middle, eventually arriving at the southernmost tip and the start of the south descent.

The south loop descent comes complete with ‘black’ grade jump line. It starts off by rolling a large rocky outcrop with quite a technical drop-in but speeds up quickly with a similar, gravelled, character to that of the north side. The line opens out on to a fire road crossing where the jumps, which are all rollable tabletops, begin. The jump run is particularly good fun and continues and otherwise enjoyable descent, again packed with berms galore. Worth the climb for this alone but the views were good too.

One could not characterise the Altura trail as being particularly natural, feeling very man-made throughout. Nevertheless, in isolation, it is a great trail and I would be quite happy if my local trail were it. Unfortunately it isn’t and, as I mentioned earlier, I did come away feeling a little.. …Meh!.

I think, being in the shadows of the more famous, natural trails such as Sticks pass and Borrowdale, trails that really do reach much higher echelons both literally and in the technical department, I left Whinlatter feeling a little underwhelmed. The Altura is simply not technical or long enough to fully justify a trip this far on its own. Nor is it really a big mountain (hills, we are in England after all) adventure.

Taken out of in context it is fine but if I were coming back, I wouldn’t go out of my way to have another go. That said, it would be a reasonable stocking filler for a longer biking trip to the Lakes. Providing a break from the more technical stuff - its a bit like trash telly, something you don’t really need to concentrate on.

I think for this place to truly compete with some of the more successful trail centres in Britain, it could really do with a black graded trail to compliment the existing network of Red and Blue trails; one that ventures further out in to the remote hillsides of Keswick with a greater degree of technicality and much longer. As it is, it is too much like my local trail centre to offer anything new and fresh.

Just looks like Forest of Dean

Here's a link to the Strava route: https://www.strava.com/activities/1030022857

Marin Trail, Snowdonia

Length:   25km
Climb:    450m
Grade:    Red
Time:     2 -4 hrs
Rating:   4/5

A new year and time to get back on top of my blog...

In September I had the pleasure of completing the marin trail at Penmachno. It is one I have always wanted to do and I wasn't disappointed.

It feels very much a natural trail at heart and there are some very interesting sections, including a hike a bike part, which had my entire party confused temporarily. It also has the charm of a true classic with some wide open double track sections and plenty of km to cover.

The final descent is good and long. A thin ribbon, winding down the hillside but the middle descent is by far the best section. Rough, rock strewn; and every bit a challenge to maintain momentum through the whole section. Clearing it fast was a whole heap of fun.

As much as I enjoyed individual bits of the first half of the route, much of my time was spent stop/start constantly waiting for others in the group to catch up. As such, I was beginning to think the trail didn't flow particularly well but, feeling slightly fed up, I pushed on through the second half and felt far more comfortable with the trail.

The rise and fall isn't that much of a hardship if you're fit. The climb out of the car park is pretty long but never really that steep. It is mainly fire road and easy rolling, and is preceded by a nice little taster ribbon of singletrack countouring the hillside for about 1km. Perfect for getting those legs nice and warm before the treadmill turns skywards.

At the top, great views (although better to come) and a descent, naturally. Not long but great nonetheless. It offers a fast paced down-bit racing through the pine wooded hillside.  The trail is made up of hard packed earth with a generous dusting of loose slate gravel, a lighter dusting of needles and plenty of rocky outcrops.

The first descent is not a hugely technical challenge, nor is the final descent for that matter. Both are probably red grade but mainly due to the less manicured trail surface over any particular obstacles (jumps/drops etc do not feature highly throughout this trail). The faster you ride, however, the more technical the challenge.

The middle descent is really where it's at; I believe labelled 'Dragon's Tail' on the trail card. Rough and rock strewn but, rather than loose rock /gravel, this section traverses upturned strata buried deep in the ground, the ends exposed creating an unforgiving, jagged surface. It's roll-able, don't get me wrong, but still requires good concentration to maintain a good pace and clear well, and fast.  It's a good km or more in length and is a particular highlight.

The views that precede it though. Oh my. Beautiful... Undulating landscape more pronounced than the hills of Herefordshire, with mountains stretching towards the sky beyond; the foreground, a beautiful lake and plenty of woodland. The colours completing a full palette from the greens and blues of the lake and woodland and the bright orange of the odd dying tree.

Anyway, I digress. The trail continues, following a long fast double track for a short while, covering a km or so, followed by the hike-a-bike section where the trail scales an unrideable set of steps. It threw us for a while but the trail does continue, passing through denser woodland with more needle titter, emerging eventually alongside the lake we were overlooking at the top of the first climb much earlier.
 

Another climb follows (this trail does go up and down) that brings you back to the top of the hill ascended first, crossing the fireroad at the top of the hill before embarking on the final descent. This was great fun as the trail snakes its way down the hill, the noise of my colleagues rattling behind me spurning me on. Corners were, aside from two sharp switchbacks, open and gentle allowing speed to rise and the rocky surface offering quite good grip.

Halfway down there's a nice new section, offering the briefest of 'trail centre' style big berms and jumps were perhaps more accustomed too nowadays but the natural surface resumes to see you to the car park.

I arrived at the car par with a big grin on my face. I can't wait to come back and attack the trail from the beginning.

Dragon's Back, Coed Y Brenin

Length:   25km
Climb:    450m
Grade:    Red
Time:     2 -4 hrs
Rating:   3.5/5

Classic at heart - venturing out into the picturesque mountainous countryside - but with plenty of very good, and technical, singletrack elements.

Dragon's Back is one of the jewels of Coed Y Brenin and does share some sections of trail with MBR. Particularly the final descent. It does segregate though, and carve it's own path in to the surrounding hills and valleys.

Starting at the shared gate adjacent to the visitors centre you embark by passing through a large set of sculptural suspension forks. the trail immediately lets you know what's in store with its characteristic boulder fest; yard after yard of well placed rocks - the trail is anything but smooth.

After a good kilometer or so, following a brief rise in elevation, the route eases off to hard packed earth (with a smattering of exposed rock patches to keep you on your toes) and the trail heads downwards. Speed ramps up and one is treated to the first real, flowing descent of the day. You don't loose a massive amount of elevation but the distance covered is fair and with gravity on your side the fun factor is immediate. The descent ends with some nice bike park style surfaced berms [pic].

But, the inevitable does happen and you do have to go up. A long climb ensues.  The farthest most point of the trail, around the tail of the dragon did feel slightly tedious and, dare I say, pointless. Mainly all fire road with altitude gained and wasted in equal measure. It felt a little like a tool to help increase the distance but what follows puts all thought of wasted elevation and pointless fire road right to the back of your mind.

A couple of singletrack sections (Hermon for example) break up the monotony of the double track but it was this portion of the trail that gives Dragon's Back its classic and remote character. The tail section does have one major selling point; opening out above the tree line upon some wondrous views across Snowdonia National Park. A major bonus for the effort exerted to get there.

The loss in altitude that follows seems a shame, initially. Hurtling down fire road is never a great way to descend a hillside but it does level off and, eventually, leads to some very very good trail. 'Gomez' to 'Uncle Fester' just flow, are fast and offer a very engaging technical challenge.

Singletrack the entire way, a good 3 or 4km of downness is split only by the ascending fire roads in to 5 or 6 chunks, but the fire road does little to really slow you down. The descent also incorporates sections of the traditional rock slab trail surface common to Coed Y Brenin and with its testing gradients to boot it provides a proper roller coaster feel, particularly 'Lurch'.

After a brief interlude, the ride opens out at the bottom of the hill. You pass along the bi-directional link and then there are two options, complete the trail with a final (long) climb or head back to the trail head along the public road. We opted for the climb but with a slight tinge of panic as the day was fading and the sun was getting low.

The climb is fire road and slowly winds its way back to a pretty fair height. It is best taken at a modest pace and use the time to chat with your riding buddies. It can lull you in to thinking you've reached the top with its mini crests but the rise keeps going. Once, finally, at the top take time to have a break too as the descent that follows leads all the way back to the trail head and gets pretty full on in places with very rooty/rocky trail surface.

Coed Y Brenin has an absolute myriad of trails to explore and Dragon's Back is a great trail. I would certainly like to try some of the black trails but this red graded loop was worth the effort, just. Whether I would recommend over others, only time will tell; better to just spend a few days here and try them all.

With such great facilities there seems very little reason not to spend a few days here. The trail centre itself has everything you'd need for the day. Great cafe, workshop, toilets/showers etc. There are also plenty of places offering accommodation, so get booked up and get riding.