[Closed] Glentress- Pennels Vennel

Loads of trees down. Rumour is its trashed and wont be reopened....

One of the trail fairy said the same.....the forestry can't even figure out how to get machinery and men in there safely so it's looking very unlikely it will be reopened.

Was there today for first time in years. Great fun, though that fireroad climb from buzzards nest to spooky wood single track climb is a drag..

that fireroad climb from buzzards nest to spooky wood single track climb is a drag..

Spotted there are a few new trails around spooky wood, between it and the black route. How are these going to fit into the routes?

PV was always a dissapointment and it was even worse since it was sanitised.

<in the absence of an actual FC person>

There's a few things going on with it I gather- it's got a load of dangerous hanging trees which would be a heck of a lot of work to clear safely without just driving in a harvester and taking out a load of timber. Which in itself often does a lot of damage but it's not a block that's due to be felled either so there's the basic conflict of trail vs tree factory.

But also, it was being widely bypassed anyway. I really miss it from the lap, it's a nice wee descent and a good climb, plus it was a good taster/qualifier but you can see the logic there of not investing effort in a less popular trail. Lots of people just want to get to spooky as fast as possible (I'd rather have pennel's vennel and the racelink back and close spooky 😉 )

And yeah, the rebuild done to replace the washed out section was sadly crap, I think just a big rush job. There's a maybe 4/5ths finished handcut line in there that I think will probably never be finished 🙁

Last I heard they're considering putting a new start on it, using the really old bit we reopened for the GT7 a couple of years back, at the top of the blue climb. But I don't know if that'll happen.

i'd rather have pennel's vennel and the racelink back and close spooky

TBH I was completely underwhelmed by Spooky Woods. Felt like a badly designed kiddy BMX track covered in speed sapping loose gravel (i think it had just rained heavily, washing it onto the line, but it didnt help). Maybe its better than i remember, but it wasn't worth the hype.

And loved PV (that was the last few blue bits down to the car park wasnt it?)

Nah, PV was the first red descent. You'll be thinking of BV, BB, EB or GG 😉

PV was indeed a good qualifier. A lot of people I know Rode it and we're put off because it was 'tricky', and then loved the sanitised version. But mostly it's not worth people's effort for the climb back out. Be a shame to lose that link somehow - made more a ride of the red.

thisisnotaspoon - Member
TBH I was completely underwhelmed by Spooky Woods.

Glad I'm not the only one, I think I believed the hype, having read a couple of reviews in mbuk/mbr.

Apart from the start there is nothing tricky on spooky

as per my earlier post, first time to GT yesterday in a few years. I used to go loads, as it's only just over an hour drive. but I tend to have ridden much more natural local stuff in the last decade. I was on my own with around 2.5 hrs available so did the red, with a repeat on Spooky Wood and at the end of the red back up for falla brae blue descent.

Compared to last time I was there : very busy traffic on the fireroad up to Buzzards nest, some inconsiderate folks with bikes on back in a rush I guess 😯 (this was around 0945)

Loads of kids at Buzzards Nest car park, looked like some organised coaching groups - excellent

Pennels Vennel I remembers as nice way of breaking up the climb, shame it's gone as fireroad climb is a drag.

Spooky Wood - good fun as ever, repeat climb has seen some resurfacing so a bit easier

Section after Spooky - seemed better than before, more rocky, nice and fast and flowy.

Falla Brae blue - superb 😀

So for me, yes, worth £15 or so in fuel and parking as a nice occasional change from muddy natural stuff

[i]TBH I was completely underwhelmed by Spooky Woods. Felt like a badly designed kiddy BMX track covered in speed sapping loose gravel (i think it had just rained heavily, washing it onto the line, but it didnt help). Maybe its better than i remember, but it wasn't worth the hype.[/i]

IMO even the most mild of trails eventually have a point where they become 'fun', you just need to ride it faster.

Next time try it from the mast using the EWS 'stage' before and after.

Is the climb after the descent on PV closed too? To be honest I just go up Anderson Road 99% of the time. Get's the climbing over quicker.

[i]Is the climb after the descent on PV closed too? [/i]

No, rode it last week.

What was/is that trail that shoots off PV at the second hairpin (PV goes left and theres a little trail that goes straight on).

So if you're doing the red now do you just continue up the fireroad up to the nice zig zag singletrack climb towards Spooky Wood?

Is the blue outward trial from marker post 11 to 17 open?

Sad to see Pennel's Vennel go. Before it was sanitized it was probably the trickiest bit of trail on the Red Route, it was certainly the most "natural" feeing

Still you can always ride down Berm Baby Berm instead and just meet up with the bottom of Pennel's Vennel then climb up the Blue

Still you can always ride down Berm Baby Berm instead and just meet up with the bottom of Pennel's Vennel then climb up the Blue

What was/is that trail that shoots off PV at the second hairpin (PV goes left and theres a little trail that goes straight on).

I think that was referred to as the race link, some of the more interesting drops to the fire road got fenced off and i seem to recall there were a lot of very big fallen trees over it before Pennel's got shut so I think that is gone now too.

There's also a nice but short wee trail at the bottom of the PV descent/ start of the climb. Instead of doing the climb veer right down some singletrack. About 10 metres in take another sharp right rather than straight on. Short but nice and natural. At the bottom just continue up the fire road and rejoin the climb.

IMO even the most mild of trails eventually have a point where they become 'fun', you just need to ride it faster.

Whilst I agree with your central point that speed is your friend in making trails fun (and often a lot easier if they're rough), that wasn't the issue.

I think I was expecting it to be more like the stuff Rowan Sorrell builds in S.Wales/Swinley.

Having said that I was on the wrong bike with my Pitch, it was great on every other trail there, but on Spooky wood I think I needed something much more responsive. The Pitch just had me overshooting every jump and doesn't feel that fast sprinting out of corners.

Nah, PV was the first red descent. You'll be thinking of BV, BB, EB or GG

I was thinking BBB into FB and GG, although I can't remember which was which of GG and FB, I do remember thinking I was on a blue then missing a 'P' shaped corner (90deg right, switchback left, 90deg right)and clattering over a medium sized drop and wondering WTF was that!

Only spent one weekend at GT, but have a lot of memories of it! With the exception of spooky wood I don't think there was a single trail that I didn't hit hit flat out and leave with a mahoosive grin on my face! Changed my opinion of Trail Centers having only ridden Dalby, Cannock, Keilder and Swinley before. First morning I did the Black route, then went up and did the Blue, next morning did the Red, then climbed back up the red to the bottom of Spooky wood and did the blue back down again, then went over to Inners, died on the climb and took almost 3 hours to do the lap!

Spooky wood in the EWS WTF!

Always liked PV. As a few have said above, it was one of the most natural-feeling bits of trail at Glentress, certainly on the Red.