[Closed] Dryish trail in western Peak District

Macc forest holds up pretty well, charity lane can be a stream but rarely muddy, can go over to cumberland clough which is mainly rocks.

I feel your pain though, it is rotten out there a the minute.

Stuff round Marple, Roman Lakes, Drisley, Hayfield, Mellor all run ok. Nothing to techy at all but you can put together a 30km, 1000m ride easy enough, whist avoiding the worst of things

Half decent ride out from Derbyshire Bridge to Combs and back via The Goyt, drop into 3 Shires and out via Turn Edge a couple of lanes to get onto Cheeks Edge (prob the only soggy/boggy bit) before heading back to DB. Or start in Macc and link it to the above.

charity lane can be a stream but rarely muddy, can go over to cumberland clough which is mainly rocks.

Good call. Was thinks by about that one. For some reason the riding round Macc always exhausts me. The thought of trigging up to Cat n Fiddle is a bit daunting. Maybe I should just Mtfu. The 3 shires head. Bit is rocky too, si you may be onto something....

Carlos. Did you used to ride with marpleriders years ago? Might give the misty Marple loop another go. Been a while.

Carlos. Did you used to ride with marpleriders years ago?

Nah, never ridden with or heard of them tbh.

I'm Macc based but tend to pop over that way quite often for night rides as its just the other side of Lyme Park. Easy access riding from the door, lots of options and a good Pub back in Bollington for a pit stop on the way home.

You can ride 25km ish and say 900m from The Leather Smithy and hardly leave Macc Forest with only repeating one section twice. No ones about at night so just get creative and utilise the proper footpaths through the forest. No point in heading onto the stuff in the trees as its just be a proper shite fest

Rather than start a new thread can I ask for something suitable on the east side, or in the middle? I drive in from east of Sheffield.

I haven't been out this year so don't want anything crazy I just need to spin my legs and get my mojo back without suffering through endless slop. Something the girlfriend can join me on.

I've also got a new Garmin which I haven't used yet so any tips for GPX's very welcome.

something suitable on the east side, or in the middle? I drive in from east of Sheffield.

Stanage causeway and plantation should both be fairly rock and dry ( apart from a few bits in the plantation itself)
Burbage valley will be dry.
As will the trails round Lady Cannings ( not sure about the trail IN lady Cannings)
Stanedge pole is rocky.

So basically the Stanage Loop in vertibrate book should be good.
And not too tech apart from the plantation itself.
Shout if you don't know the route and I'll note the key bits.

I'm in the West, my defaults in these conditions are Goyt and Macc Forest.

Good call. Was thinks by about that one. For some reason the riding round Macc always exhausts me. The thought of trigging up to Cat n Fiddle is a bit daunting. Maybe I should just Mtfu. The 3 shires head. Bit is rocky too, si you may be onto something….

When we do the classic macc loop we don't tend to bother going up to cat and fiddle, the decent isn't worth the climb IMO.

The only really muddy bit on the macc loop is the climb out of 3shires up to the farm. That field is dreadful! I don't know the footpaths as we only go over in the daytime. Be careful with the off piste stuff. there's been some real problems with tracks supposedly through a nature reserve. Its got to the point the rural crime team have been involved. I doubt they are around at night though...

Marple is an obvious choice. Nothing is stupidly muddy at the mo, just plenty of decent size puddles! Hayfield holds up well in places. There's just a lot of running water.

Im wondering if we've met OP we used to sort of be Marple riders, met at the ring o bells pub on a Thursday. NBT of this parish used to organise a lot of the rides..  not actually been on a night ride for years.. must look at changing that!

I live in Dilsey! If someone fancies a ride out with me drop me a message.

The only really muddy bit on the macc loop is the climb out of 3shires up to the farm. That field is dreadful!

That field is horrendous, so if you're stood on 3 Shires bridge with the track up to the field you mention on your right. Go Left up the sandy track (the river will be down to your left). It can be quite a challenge as its quite loose and there are some decent sized baby heads. At the top go Right up the lane. At the main road go Right and the start of Cumberland Clough will be on your left not far after the layby.

must look at changing that!

I live in Dilsey! If someone fancies a ride out with me drop me a message.

Hooray.
Tonight?

The only really muddy bit on the macc loop is the climb out of 3shires up to the farm. That field is dreadful!

I'm with Carlos on this one. Surely you go down that field, past the bridge he mentions and up the baby heads to the farm track...

Though of course that does pretty much necessitate having gone uphill to the cat m fiddle just beforehand.

we rarely went up to C&F on our version of the macc forest loop, from Botton o' th'Oven we'd go all the way along the valley bottom past Crag Hall and drop into 3 Shires head along the track yo;re using as a climb, then bacl up the muddy field, left at the top and then down cumberland clough

We've actually recently re-started night riding, we've avoided MTB since lockdown started as the trails have been rammed with buggers coming over from Manchester 🙂

we’ve avoided MTB since lockdown started as the trails have been rammed with buggers coming over from Manchester

Young man, I think you'll find that I'm from Altrincham*, not Manchester. And I don't appreciate that sort of attitude....😜

* Assuming you arrive by post.

I live in Dilsey! If someone fancies a ride out with me drop me a message.

I will live in Dilsey( 😉 ) soon! I'll be in touch (I am $h1t, mind, just to forewarn you..)

we’ve avoided MTB since lockdown started as the trails have been rammed with buggers coming over from Manchester

Cobblers. We did the Jacob's ladder, Hollins,Rushup, Roych, Hayfield loop last week and didn't meet a single other rider.

We live in marple and have been out a LOT road-riding on the tandem and walking. We've been riding and walking here for well over decade, there are trails where I'd never seen another person but come lockdown we were finding entire families out for a sunny wander. It's got better since the clocks went back, hence we're now resuming MTB riding. Glad you feel that your're safe enough though

I will live in Dilsey( 😉 ) soon

Shit, I thought you were heading for Sheffield? Why Disley though, will they not let you back in to Whaley after the last time?

Classic peaks routes featuring the Beast, Hagg Farm, Potato Alley, Screaming Mile are all fine, we did a loop yesterday and it was fine, 2 of us got sticking brakes because the grinding paste siezed up brake pistons though! But I think the pads were really low so it was inevitable.

There's no such thing as a dry ride this time of year, you just have to choose your route wisely, we ride Hebden Bridge a lot and at the moment everywhere is a swamp, the mud tends to really stick as well, so it's not grinding like in the Peaks but your bike weighs 2x as much afterwards, and it doesn't just rinse off.

Best thing is to build up a cheapo hardtail (I have a Genesis Tarn single speed which is amazing) and just rag that around until it gets drier.

why Disley though, will they not let you back in to Whaley after the last time?

Well, given that the furious wailing and gnashing of teeth in mourning and despair by the residents of Whaley when we left was seemingly enough to make the dam collapse, we thought it best if we didn't cause them to inflict further damage on themselves with the wild rejoicing that would doubtlessly result from our return.

That and we couldn't find a house in Whaley, and found one in Disley.

Sweet. Local pints then when this is all over!

Classic peaks routes featuring the Beast, Hagg Farm, Potato Alley, Screaming Mile are all fine, we did a loop yesterday and it was fine, 2 of us got

Assuming I start at the foot of Hagg Farm
I go along ladybower round to the dam
Up Roman road or the one next to it to Hope Cross
Down the beast or potato alley
Up Rowlee farm
Down the screaming mile....

Then what's the least muddy way back up to the top in order to descend Hagg Farm back to the car?

All the way along the lake to Crook hills, or is the bridleway half way along reasonably surfaced?

I can't recall...

The climb up Hagg Side is a much better option than Crookhill for me, the Hagg Side climb (sometimes knowns as Son Of Beast) is a forestry road so usually pretty well surfaced, and the much less traversing along the top of the ridge

Or there's a forestry road that starts near the dam and leads out at Lockerbrook / Hagg Farm - not officially a bridleway but has been used in the past (I've not ridden ladybower for a coiuple of years in truth)

Local pints then when this is all over!

Aye, if you're lucky I'll let you try my homebrew 😉

The climb up Hagg Side is a much better option

Right. Sounds like a plan
Anyone fancy a trip out tonight.
Hagg farm at 8pm
Bring lights.

Ah. I'm so ****ing funny.

Mellor was all right a couple of weeks ago at night, wet though. Tree down across Linnet Descent thugh, but you can get under it if on the right. Would have had a PB down it if I'd seen the tree earlier (it's wet).

Tame Valley/TPT around Woodley is a grinding paste. We also crossed over Reddish Vale - big mistake under the M60 - absolute mud bog (should have done Ross Lave Lane) - had to clear the bike a couple of times and got a jammed chain. We then had a bt of a laugh round woodbank park, bog fest. The bikes sounded horrendous and it finished off my chain ring and two jockey wheels.

I'm Woodley !

Tree down across Linnet Descent

Gone now, it was only there a couple of days. It's more or less a stream down the track though. The Shielan (Strawberry hill) descent and the Fox Inn descent both have a couple of patches of mud where you'll be a bit sketchy

Well that was as shit as any sane person would expect a cold, wet, muddy, difficult, solo night ride in December to be.

WTF do I keep doing this to myself . Any fool could see if would be miserable out there. Why didn't I just go for a quick spin on my road bike instead. Save myself two hours driving and another 30 minutes washing clothes, shoes and bike.

Ended up just doing Whinhill and the beast. Couldn't even get down the bloody beast without hundreds of dabs. God I need the Lake District so bad.

[img] [/img]

It's a fekkin bog out there at the minute. We need some dry days and wind... At least you have a mahoosive butt guard....

Have you seen keeper of the peak? Its good.

Have heard mention in the past, but not sure what it can offer just now.

it's a source of ride reports from people who have been out so they tell you what the conditioms are and you can make an informed decision about how awful it's going to be

it’s a source of ride reports from people who have been out so they tell you what the conditioms are and you can make an informed decision about how awful it’s going to be

I can however save you that trouble.
It's been raining literally all day here, the trails were already a swamp from all that snow that hung around for a day before turning to complete slush and basically even the Middlewood Way is a total mudbath.

I had to jetwash the singlespeed road bike the other day! That's how bad things have got when a winter road bike with mudguards is so caked in shit that its almost invisible.

So, the memory has faded a but and once again I'm thinking that a lovely day out biking in the peak is on the cards tomorrow.

Lovely crunchy grippy snow.....

Ahfuggit, no chance.

Anyone got anything yo add to kotp's view?

Anyone got anything yo add to kotp’s view?

I was out round Marple today and it was fine-ish. Got drenched and caked in mud but all ridable at least.

Snowing heavily this morning in Marple. We were out on the tandem yesterday and there was LOTS of standin water

What @nbt says - snow even down at low level now around Marple/New Mills/Hayfield. It won't stick around long, it's not cold enough but it'll just turn everything into one gigantic puddle of freezing liquid grit!