[Closed] Any good MTB action in Cheshire?

I've not been to Delamere for years,but 2 points from what I remember.

A) It's a utter bog of a place when it's been raining.Great in Summer after a dry spell,or in Winter when the ground's frozen.

B) It's the only place I've ever been to,(& I must have been there over a dozen times) where I struggled to find the good stuff.Maybe it's changed but back then you were stuck with fire roads & some good stuff in the forest that you struggled to find.

If you're not looking for anything to gnarly just stick to the fire roads,it's a nice part of the world.

HTH

Around 40 miles away from Delamere but Marple (Roman Lakes) and Mellor are 'just' in Cheshire and make for a kind of Peak District Light sort of ride. You'll be going out of Cheshire and into Derbyshire on occasion but the views over Kinder Scout (you can ride over and do Middle Moor, South Head, Jacobs Ladder etc) are lovely and the terrain is very good (it used to be better though).

From what I've ridden at Delamere, I'd make the journey over to Marple if I was in a car.

Macclesfield Forest too.

Where in Cheshire?

Generally Cheshire is shit for mtbing, it's mostly very flat. There are lots of muddy rural and urban bridleways to go at as well as the canals. If we do Cheshire we link a few tracks up and go for miles over tech. However on the border you've got mow cop which has a great 'red' run across the top. Over the border into Staffs and there's quite a bit more elevation around Stoke and south. If you need info on mow cop feel free to pm me.

I lead a club ride there the first Saturday of most months. Look up Weaver Valley CC online if you want a guided ride.

The marked trails are fire roads, boring on a full on road bike. There's plenty of good, but not really tech, (I tend to ride my rigid bike) in there and across the A556 in Primrose. You could do a day in there and the close surrounding area and not cover the same ground twice easy.

I live 5 minutes ride from Delamere forest and it is as Bustaspoke describes though maybe not quite so much of a bog now days.

Ideal for an old man like me for a quick blast on the fire tracks.

Regards Andrew

Cheshire plain is roadie territory, although there are loads of bridleways that network the fields that make for good mileage riding on the CX bike if you like that sort of thing.

I don't know Delamere well but from what I have done it needs a good sit down with the heatmap beforehand to get a half decent route together.

Nah it's totally rubbish and in no way do I enjoy riding there at all 😉

Marple, Macclesfield and Buxton are great although on the very edge of Cheshire (and beyond). Depends where you are to be honest. I'm in Mac and about a mile from the forest. The Peak District and Wales are both not too far.

Where in Cheshire?

I live near Lymm which is between Altrincham and Warrington.

Compared to places I have lived in the past it would appear to not be great for MTB.

Delamere is great but not handed to you on a plate,  hence always gets mixed reviews (ignore the fire road ones).

Mowcop really? Must be up down up again surely?

Genuine question as I work on a lot of properties round there and have wondered about the riding but drive in from Liverpool so have never thought of doing it at a weekend. After work blast however could be an option for me.

I'm part of a group that rides out of south Warrington, and we used to go to Delamere quite a bit, but they have recently (within last 18 months) done quite a lot of felling, which cocked it up a bit. I went recently and found that most of the trails were OK - felling has moved on, trails have been opened up or cleared by the locals etc. You do have to do a lot of investigating to find the trails though - we only use the fire roads to link bits up. From Lymm its probably the nearest reasonable option, around 20 minutes drive? To be fair Macc Forest area is the far better option, but don't discount Delamere - you just have to work to sort out a decent route tying all the bits together.

You should check out Rivington sometime too, plenty of decent trails around Winter Hill (the one with the big TV mast on).

Loads of off road stuff around Cheshire although 99% of it is flat.  More suited to a CX bike with lots of mud clearance.

Great for long road rides

Near Marple here. Can use canal, TPT and Middlewood Way to get up into the Peaks with hardly any roads. You've also got Tameside MTB route - it's going to be a waymarked route of various tracks and bridleways - it's pretty good - lots of great views around Saddleworth. Roman Lakes etc gives you access to Hayfield, jacobs etc. You can end up with a rather long route, so sometimes worth parking in Hayfield for access to Jacobs etc.

I can ride to Roman Lakes and out into Rowarth/Lantern Pike and can get in a good 2.5-3 hour ride with hardly any tarmac.

For a quick training blast it's out via farm lanes, Middlewood Way and back down the canal - a flat 25 miles, but you can cover it quick - no roads.

@marin To get the best out of mow cop you'll have to traverse footpaths and a couple of stiles and one small staircase. But yes it is very much worth doing. Reasonably technical in places but red graded rather than black. Pm if you want a gpx 👍

wow delamere's getting a real bad rap. It's got a brilliant network of singletrack linked up by a maze of fireroad.You just need to find it. Explore. Parts of it are exceptionally muddy but not all. I went along for a shop ride once so the guys could show me their loops and it was great. There are two sides to the forest split by the main Ashton road and then another on the other side of the hatchmere road. On the southern side, near the cafe/bike shop you've got Old Pale climb and then more stuff over the top down the other side towards Chester road. Once you know the boggy bits you can avoid them. We used to night ride there every thursday when a few guys were getting into mtb, now we generally visit llandegla trail center at night. None of it is gnarly, single-track is all rideable and very flowy and there are some great DH runs and swoopy bits. One section's recently been upgraded. Tracs is the bike shop and i think they run rides on thursdays. Worth going along as they offer a medium and fast group and you'll get to see the network of trails.

You should check out Rivington sometime too, plenty of decent trails around Winter Hill (the one with the big TV mast on).

OP, this area is probably about 30 mins drive from you, and I'm doing our away-day ride there on 27th of this month. Website as above or DM me on here if you fancy it. Anyone else on this thread too, if you fancy a ride out.

And from Lymm, all the MNPR rides are about 30 to 45mins from you as well.

Recently moved to Cheshire myself so thought I would give Delamere a try. I agree that it is a bit of a maze but the guys in Tracs pointed me in the right direction, I followed my nose and found some fun trails, short DH runs and the like. It is definitely worth a visit but I would say you need to ask for hints, etc., on where to head.

At one point, I just followed some guys (don’t think they realised) and found some lovely singletrack.

Ta Jekyll not gpx user friendly yet. Seen roadies up there but never mtbers. Thanks for offer though.

@tthew

Thx. I'm away for a month or so right now but might join a ride maybe next year. Very unfit also need to get some miles in lol over Xmas.

"Near Marple here. Can use canal, TPT and Middlewood Way to get up into the Peaks with hardly any roads."

Or you could go through Roman Lakes, Mellor T, Birch Vale and Hayfield to get up into the Peaks with hardly any roads and use a huge amount of decent mountain bike trails with hardly any roads.

 Very unfit also need to get some miles in lol over Xmas.

In that case just go around the Delamere fire roads,it's a lovely place to just cycle around trying to get fit.

As covered above, you can do a 15 mile + singletrack loop of Delamere. It changes a bit with logging work. You really need a regular rider to show you around though. The Thursday night rides from Tracs (Delamere Bikes) seem to have fizzled out now though. I might start doing a regular ride from the cafe if there’s enough interest. We could do it on a Monday and call it the MiNCeR.

Yup, another Delamere local here.

As all have said, local knowledge is useful. It’s a great spot once you know it..

I've never been to Delamere either. Someone pull out a gpx from their strava please and share it on here. Try and make it a 'best of' the forest covering at least 12-15 miles. That'd be super smashing great 👍

the tracs rides are still going, you can like their facebook page, if you use it, and they announce the rides on there and if they're cancelled. ive got some traces on strava i could dig out for sure.

Might be worth checking out the Woollybacks, they ride at Delamere and also do other rides in Cheshire. Loads of stuff at Delamere but you really need someone to show you it.

I’ve never been to Delamere either. Someone pull out a gpx from their strava please and share it on here. Try and make it a ‘best of’ the forest covering at least 12-15 miles. That’d be super smashing great

Probably not worth it if I'm honest, you'll do really well to follow it. Best bet is find a local to show you round, engage super memory and log everything in your head.

I grew up in Lymm...

There's nowhere decent for MTB riding in the local area. Delamere is shite - I've ridden all the 'hidden' trails, including the ones now destroyed/removed. It just isn't mountain biking in any way... its just off-road, flat forest riding.

I moved away specifically for MTB riding...

Head over towards the peaks - Places like Saddleworth, Glossop, Edale, Stalybridge, Hayfield, Marple Bridge, Mossley, Guyt Valley... even Macc Forest... have some genuinely decent rides. Not too far to drive from Lymm, maybe 45 minutes - 1 hour drive?

Or you could go through Roman Lakes, Mellor T,

There's no such thing as Mellor T anymore... its a full cross again 😉

"There’s no such thing as Mellor T anymore… its a full cross again"
Yes, and they "repaired" the track to access the site 🙁

I’m not far from you in Golborne, if you want me to show you the places I know in delamere I’m happy to, also degla is only another 25 mins further than delamere. You’re also slap bang on the m6/m56 so Cannock, Lakes, Gisburn all easy and I used to live in Stockport if you wanted a tour round the peaks near new mills etc.

I live in Birch Vale and I work in Stockport or Manchester most days. My commute for the last few weeks has been past New Mills Golf Club, Fox Inn and then over to Linnet Clough. I didn't know the cross had been repaired and not that yet more ace mountain bike trails had been flattened in the area. I'll go that way tomorrow so I can have a look.

The repaired road by the cross isn't the right way down anyhow... Cut through the gate, past the cross and down the shute in front of the cross. Only short but it's a little bit of steep.

FB page for tracs and a video shows the recent ride. 

when people say it's "shite" it's very relative. What's shite to them might not be shite to someone else and also what your perception of MTB is. Some people say the Marin or now Gwydir Mawr trail in north wales is "shite" but on speaking to them it's because there are no downhill, knarly runs, it's a pure XC course, natural trails at that and is exceptional, i love it. I also like DH stuff at Bike Park Wales. So depends what you want. Llandegla is only 30mins away from Chester so worth a shot too as it's got blue-black runs. black is slightly overgraded as it's all rideable, no huge gap jumps just some steep descents and steep climbs. you still need a MTB to get round Delamere, suppose a cross bike would work, so effectively it's still MTB whatever you say.

There’s gnar if you want it!

It’s mostly over here in the Peak District

Blimey, Delamere is getting a slagging off here! Just re-read my post, and whilst it may be a bit negative about the recent logging etc, I don't read it as saying it wasn't worth going. As jimxc said, it depends on your definition of "shite" but there's plenty of good forest singletrack riding within a 15-20 minute drive of the OP - a bloody sight easier to access than some of the other spots, especially if you're time poor!  If you want to get a few pointers there are plenty of local riders who could meet up and show you some of the routes, and if you go and just follow your nose you'll find quite a few of them.

Hadn't spotted that Mellor Cross was now a Cross again.

I do usually go out via Roman Lakes on the Longer rides - Also Werneth Low is good for a quick 10 miler with tonnes of climbing and a good descent down 'the gully' and a quick spin round the back of Etherow (bear left at the bottom of the gully, up hill, right at small bridleway, down into Etherow.

Some good night riding out in the Peaks/Mellor/Werneth - great views. Just pray the aircraft don't think your lights are landing lights.

Do wish runners and dogs would come equipped with lights - yes that's why my lights are bright, so I can see you. I do dip them, but I then can't see you and I'm aiming straight.

How long a ride is Delamere worth? Must check it out some time.

Our normal loop is around 12-14 miles round Delamere, so that, plus however far you are from it! We do a road/off-road loop there and back, and if you add in the Delamere loop itself from south Warrington its' around 40 miles for us.

Night riding in Delamere is fun, if you manage to go on a "busy" night. It's like close encounters of the 3rd kind - lights appearing and disappearing throughout the forest.

The place has got some elevation if you add in the Old Pale but, as had been said, the forest can get muddy.

You can add some bridleway stuff on to it (esp. to the north, towards Acton Bridge, Dutton Lodge Farm) but it's more "edge of the fields" than anything else. Not unpleasant, especially if using it to build fitness.

We used to do a legal(ish) loop around Frodsham - defo not gnarcore 18K, 200m elevation - can send the gpx if you PM me.

However, instead of going to the peak district (which is ace) - why not go the other way?

Have a look at the Clwydian hills - if your based in Lymm, it's possibly a similar time to get to Cilcain as to Leathers Smithy (Macclesfield forest).

Website for routes: Linky

A bit of Google Fu will turn up others.

I found the routes not as hardcore (for me) as the peak district rides.

I had no idea so many people on here road around Delamere. I live right next to primrose wood and often do that and Delamere on an evening ride. If anyone on here fancies meeting up let me know, or if there are groups that ride around there please get in touch. I often work away so could never do the thursday night Trecs ride.

Delemere comes into it’s own if you ride a cross/gravel bike, especially if you add in the Delemere Loop bridle way which heads out towards Beeston Castle, and add a couple of cheeky loops around Peckforton.

With all due respect to those who get a kick out of Delamere...

It isn't 15-20 minutes drive from the Op. Without any traffic (never happens) it is 30 minutes away from Lymm, so 40 minutes away from Alty. For the sake of 10 minutes extra driving, go the other way towards the peaks.

There is no elevation at Delamere... You'll be lucky to hit 1,000 feet after several hours riding.

Having said that, it all comes down to what you are after - if pootling round a forest track, looping similar areas, with some 'hidden' sections that don't necessarily link together is what you want, then Delamere works - just getting out there on a bike and riding I guess. Clearly that does give some people a kick.

As also mentioned you can go and do a trail centre like Degla which is great if you want a big bmx track experience... That's more on the hour mark in the Wrexham area. If you want something natural over there, jib off the trail centre and throw in things like mast descent.

If you want endless trails, where you can just keep on going, big climbs, big descents, loamy woods (i.e. ladybower Narnia), rocky tech fests and amazing views - head in the direction of the peaks. There's treats before you get there (several referenced in this thread - Mellor cross/berms, hobson moor, etherow, alphin pike) which are easily in reach under an hour if you want them... also it gets better and better the further you go in.

There's like 14 trees in the entire Peak district, Jake. It's nice to ride under the boughs from time to time, particularly at this time of year.

Feeling the autumnal hues really means the daytime, though, and I would guess Delamere is a bit of a ballache at weekends with all of the walkers? Anyhow, there's a train station right there so I reckon I'll give Delamere a go for a night ride next week.

Is the cross bike the order of the day (it would be my preference)? I recollect a couple of steep rollouts the last time I was there but overall it seemed smooth [never ridden round the masts though].

There’s like 14 trees in the entire Peak district, Jake

Lol... 14 trees.

If you think you need to hit the fireroad all the time to link up the good bits, you clearly don't really know Delamere. That said, the Peaks are clearly a better ride but i'm not seeing this as some form of competition, they both have their place.

OP - The best Delamere advice i can give, without guiding you round, is for you to try and stick to the singletrack at the perimeter of the forest, with most of the good stuff being off this at either at the northern end or in primrose wood at the southern tip (across the A54) using the sandstone trail to link the two.

I ride in on either CX, Hardtail or FS dependent on mood. But preference would be the hardtail. There are a few "fun" gap jumps to be had at the northern end you may want to try .

I can't believe the Delamere bad rap here....I live 5 mins from the Forest and ride there at least three times/wk. From my house in Cuddington I can do a 40 mile ride taking in the Forest, Old Pale, Primrose, Oulton Park, Winsford, Weaver Parkway, Northwich, Vale Royal Abbey...etc, etc....with less than a mile or so of road involved. OK som of it might be "boring" paths but if I choose to, I can easily do a 25+ miler just on the forest singletracks if I do all of it plus several of the seven different routes up/down Old Pale.....one night (and I've only done it once!) I did all 7 routes up Old Pale in one night ride - 24 miles of purgatory - if you want hills there, you can have them! it's a great place to live and ride!!!

If you do make it to Delamere forest and see an old man on a red Pace RC200 stop me and say hello.

The bike is about a third of my age and is over 20 years old.

Regards Andrew

I just found this image of one of my old route maps on a forum, from the time I did the bike club there.

Edit: I give up trying to link photos here

@jaketurbo I grew up in Lymm too, when were you there? I can't believe Lymm Dam hasn't been brought up, that's where I spent most of my youth! Not exactly Peak quality...

@jaketurbo I grew up in Lymm too, when were you there? I can’t believe Lymm Dam hasn’t been brought up, that’s where I spent most of my youth! Not exactly Peak quality…

1981 (born) to about 1998. Then again for a few years after uni.

I'd have been a couple of years above you. Lymm High? I still visit family there occasionally but moved to Sheffield (then Huddersfield) for the climbing and biking.