[Closed] Haldon Forest... worth a trip?

If you're that local then yes. Otherwise, No!

Forget the Blackdowns, Woodbury Common is worth a look, but needs a guide to find the best bits, you really need to make the effort to get over to the Quantocks.

from honiton I'd go to the quantocks over haldon.

however, if you have kids/family in tow then the pump track, adventure playground and cafe at haldon are a worthy distraction while you do a couple of laps.

Not quite as big as Swinley unless you combine a few trails (I like the blue, in the evenings, its swoopy). Quantocks is better for a big day out or an evening if you know where you're going, but Haldon is an easy post work pre dinner bit of fun (which is how I used it) - I'd imagine if I lived there it might get old after a while. Lots of off piste though which is apparently very good, as a visitor I avoid it in case I annoy anyone.

Haldon is a drop-in on the way home from Dartmoor.

i liked Haldon, we did the blue, lots of swoopy fun.

(apart from the 'extension' which is just a bit dull)

more than good enough for a 30 minute drive.

Haldon is one of those places thats pretty easy technically but gets much more fun the faster you attack it.
Personally I prefer the Blue as it has a bit more "flow" (swoopy) than the Red which is breaking up quite a bit.
Woodbury and the Q's are great, as mentioned above. I don't like to say one areas better than another, they are just different and you have to accept that.Thats why we rotate our riding areas (Q's get used the most this time of year) just to keep the variety and interest going.
If you decide which spot you want to ride, give me an email nearer the time and I could try and show you some trails (Haldon you obviously wont need a guide)

Brilliant, thanks everyone.

If I can fit the bike in, I might well give it a go!

Cheers

John

As has been oft repeated, Haldon is great if you can access the off piste (there's probably 10-15 miles of off piste stuff up there if you know where to look).

Find a friendly local or follow your nose.

is there a black at haldon anymore? i've missed it in my two visits thus far. i think from looking back at strava + comparing with the map its off the wide fireroad area after doing some steps a good chunk of the way around the red?

i ride haldon every month-ish with a friend who's just starting out riding this something. i've maybe scared a couple times on the quantocks (his second ride ever i took him down smiths? third slaughterhouse? :D).. as he likes it i'm happy to go there and push myself to go faster til he's bored of the place and wants a change 🙂

also, have spotted some off piste.. already done a little bit but nothing solid. any tips would be welcomed!

is there a black at haldon anymore? i've missed it in my two visits thus far. i think from looking back at strava + comparing with the map its off the wide fireroad area after doing some steps a good chunk of the way around the red?

Pretty sure by your description you've found it - I rarely bother unless I'm in a 'completeness' mindset. I've picked my way down it on a rigid bike in the dark before now, maybe its more fun faster, but it seems most people skip it.

thanks. I guess its easily missed as the steps drop you pointing right towards the fireroad up and missed it as i haven't looked over my left shoulder?

Black is the bit at the bottom of the red on the left before the climb. Takes you down to further annoying fireroad climb. It's over in a minute.

Maximum gnar factor of the black at the start of it...

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Which warrants a warning of 'severe' !

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😉

hmm don't recognise it, there's bumpier rocks than that further back in the woods? 🙂

btw. i read on the fb page a few weeks ago a fallen tree had closed black and there's no up date there since.

last time out we did 'spicers' (short blue) then 'ridge' (red) then 'kiddens' (longer blue). quite a good order IMO.

Woodbury Common is amazing. Get lost for a day up there. You'll always pop out in a village with a good pub and there's fantastic riding all around.

Dartmoor and Exmoor are fantastic.

Haldon - meh. Thar's from someone who's seen the best of the off-piste as well as the marked trails. They've done a great job around there for families walking, riding or exploring but it falls flat as an mtb spot.

a coworker found this page that says black currently closed. i'll have a nose next time i'm down there

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/EnglandDevonNoForestHaldonForestParkHaldonGatewayRidgeRideExtreme

"Black" is closed, has been for ages

Blue is ok as long as you hit the whole thing at a sprint to make the flat corners sketchy.
Red is ok, shrugs.
Great trail center for local families, not for Gnarcore

The off piste stuff is better.

can you see this route?:

https://www.strava.com/activities/646641636

Head up to the "bird of prey" viewpoint, and head off the end of the hill into the bushes. Two obvious routes become maybe 4 options over that side.
Keep an eye out for turns off the blue too, they are nearly all cheeky descents.

How much time have you got?

spend another 10 mins on the road and you can be in Bovey tracey to hit the MBR nutcracker loop, which is a much better use of time.

Also, the quants are v good too. Probably getting on for an hour from honiton though, by the time youve wiggled through the lanes

Haldon marked trails are average at best. If you can get someone to show you a well put together loop of the off-piste stuff then its worth a visit. There is a fair bit more than in Olly's strava link aswell.

Woodbury is closer but in my opinion pretty poor, its a flat area of commonland with a lot of dogsh*t.

If you had a little more time then a Dartmoor loop will give you far more smiles than either Haldon or Woodbury.

Burchy1 - Member 
Woodbury is closer but in my opinion pretty poor, its a flat area of commonland with a lot of dogsh*t.

I managed to find some pretty good stuff there without really knowing it. Follow the edge around.

Far more interesting than Haldon even with the off piste (last time I went there much of the off piste wasn't that rideable).

yeah I know of the trails in the yettington plantation, but even with that I never choose to ride there.

Pretty much all of the off piste stuff up at Haldon is open again (cafe side included) now, with a few extra bits added by the trail pixies.

It depends on what you're after really.
Haldon off-piste is technical and twisty, it's the sort of stuff you can ride but to do so very quickly takes a lot of skill in bike-handling and line choice to keep it rubber-side down.
Woodbury is mostly old-school 90's style singletrack - there's not really any hard, steep downhills but it's a different kind of riding. It's quite Thetford forest-like and swoopy.
Dartmoor is so big there's something for all. The east dartmoor loop rivals the best loops anywhere in the world.

Why not do it all?