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Thinking of heading up Cut Gate for the first time on Saturday (early morning). Trawling through past posts, it looks like the top used to be a bogfest until it was essentially paved? Is the route still worth a visit (parking at Fairholmes, travelling north, doing the top loop CCW).
It'll probably be very wet on Saturday - don't particularly fancy spending the morning ruining a lovely bog.
It's been dry(ish) here for the last week. But before that it was constant rain and drizzle. Check with Keeper of the Peaks twitter account.
Its always worth a visit.
We were up and over it from the Langsett side a couple of weeks ago and it was fairly dry. Have had quite a bit of rain on and off since then
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Top tip about the KoftheP twitter, thanks for that!
I'll head up and have an explore then 🙂
It’s been dry(ish) here for the last week.
Has it? You lucky sod, it's been pretty much constant rain since Sunday evening this side (Chapel way).
OP - I'd say that unless someone with on the ground knowledge says it's not just a wet mudfest, find a different route that is in better nick.
Si
Most recent from KoftheP twitter was a couple of days back saying it's a little sloppy up top but passable, and the descent was nice and dry.
Rescheduled to a Friday night ride to avoid the Saturday morning rain.
Always better from the langsett end of me, the bit two and from fairholmes is just dull commute
If people go from the Langsett end, do you bother with the final descent to the bridge or just pick a point to stop and turn around? Coming up from Fairholmes, the first bit is always a push for me!
Drop down to the bridge. Agree though the bit from Fairholmes visitor centre to Slippery Stones / Cranberry Clough is a bit boring.
As above down to the bridge unless we are extending it further which is easy to do
Tracey +1 it is ALWAYS worth a visit, just sometimes it is more worthwhile than others. I’d imagine it would be reasonably Ok at the moment. My favourite is to park at the end of Stocks Lane just past Upper Midhope, then turn left at North America, up as far as Marjory Hill then turn around, straight on at the Mickleden signpost then turn right at the next junction to get back to North America... making me smile just thinking about it 😀
I'm gonna be riding cutgate from Langsett end in a few hours so will report back on how bad the bog is!
Cheers ta11pau1, much appreciated!
Right, done and dusted.
All the bogs are passable with some bog hopping and a choice of lines - maybe not on 2 wheels though. Most of them (going up anyway) I would get to the bog, see 5 different lines and decide they were all dodgy as hell and then get off and walk. 😁
Thoughts as a peak first timer from Kent...
I ordered some tech, but not that much!! The climb from Langsett is long and techy, and long, and techy! The descent immediately after the big cairn is either massive ruts on the left, a quagmire in the middle, and a single dryish line on the far right.
I'm not ashamed to say I hike-a-biked back up a lot of the howden end climb, and multiple times I found myself stopping to say to myself "did I ride down that!? - jesus I did!" I didn't take the right fork on the last descent, and I'm glad I didn't after walking back up it.
The descent into Langsett is absolutely amazing. I kept left at the fork to North America, going down to the river and you get a gem of a cherry on top as the final descent.
I saw maybe 6 trail runners, no one else.
Had a couple of small off's when it was a case of "choose a rut, any rut... Not THAT rut!!" 🤣
Took me 2:50 total, 2:07 moving time.
https://www.strava.com/activities/3772604003
Got another ride tomorrow, an all dayer - out should (hopefully!) have a bit less of strength sapping technical climbing.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks ta11pau1, that's really useful. Heading up there tonight to tackle it from the Ladybower end, should be a good laugh!
It's not bad that keeper of the Peak thing is it?
Looking very euro there Tracy / good to see the brightness out in full effect
Update: popped over last night, it was excellent. Running really dry apart from the soggy bog of doom at the top, but it was possible to pick a line through so I presume it's usually much worse. Reckon it could be a bit grim in nasty weather, but on a warm summers evening with a cold beer at the cairn it was spot on.
I presume ta11pau1 climbed the North America (East fork prong at the Langsett end) BW, as the West prong was very rideable and not tech at all really as a climb. Descending the East prong and climbing the West one is definitely the way forward by the looks of things.
The cranberry clough descent was a corker - must remember to pack my handlebar light as well as my helmet one next time 😂
Yeah I climed up the East bit, where they've done some work to the trail it's OK but just before that is pretty tech. Descending into Langsett on the west prong is great if you don't turn right to go to the North America junction as it continues descending down to the river and wier.
I was over yesterday, as you say, pretty dry considering. Only had to do some bog snorkelling at one point. Pretty dry in general around the reservoirs, just a bit damp up Gores.
Incidentally, if anyone finds a Leatherman Rev between the cairn and Slippery Stones, consider it a gift from me. You're welcome 😀
More very early ride getting dressed in the dark half asleep rather than Enduro effect😉
In answer to the thread title, no.
Of all the trails and rides around Ladybower, Cutgate is the only one I can't really warm to. I really don't understand the love...
YMMV.
Of all the trails and rides around Ladybower, Cutgate is the only one I can’t really warm to. I really don’t understand the love…
It's a really strange one...
I did it years and years ago from the south with a group and it was amazing. Really good.
I tried it one evening from the south and thought it was shit. Couldn't understand why I liked it in the first place. My eventual conclusion is that it's actually quite tricky/unrideable in places from the south so I ended up pushing bits, which I don't like. Since I was on my own I had no comparison on what everyone else was doing, so concluded I was just nesh. In the end I just turned round mid ride and went home because it sucked.
3rd time was part of a Jacobs Ladder/ Cut Gate loop. Did it from the north and managed every single bit of it with only 2 dabs/refusals/reruns. All the way up, over the top then down the steep bit just before the bridge. Loved it.
Did it again with the family from the south. Great day out. Loved it.
Did it as part of Lord of the Loops a few weeks ago from the south. It was pretty good.
So, a range of "bloody amazing" to "bloody awful, never again" from the same person. So I can fully understand why some people hate it.
PS, it's definitely better North to south. All rideable, but hard. South to north doesn't work as well
And also, despite various people's claims above that it's "ok & rideable" just now, it really is miles, miles better when it's properly drought dry. At that point the Bog of Doom becomes part of the fun rather than a chore. But it needs to be proper dry for that.
Its also very good in the winter when we have had a week of hard frost