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Where to take my nephew out for a ride...? They live Newton-le-Willows, looking for a day out with him in a couple of weeks. Ideally some more trail centre ish riding, but happy to look wider than that.
I know the Peak well, it is 30 years since I was in Delamere or over at the Wirral on a bike though....
Llandegla? *edit - nowhere near as close as I thought it was
Rivington maybe?
Rivvy would be my answer
There's no MTBing on the doorstep - not one yard of trail in Merseyside that would be good to ride a MTB on, tbh. There's plenty of good bw gravel riding, and the Merseyside coast is beautiful, if you just wanted to go for a general ride.
Rivington is the closest place where you'd feel like you were MTBing. Other than that it's 1 hr+ drive to the Peak, Llandegla etc. Llandegla is a good trail centre for beginners (if your nephew isn't that experienced), so it's a reliable destination from that pov.
Under an hour from NLW its either Rivi or Delamere. Both will require a bit of planning or local knowledge to get the best out of them.
As covered, not much in the immediate area. What sort of riding level is he/what type does he prefer.
Llandegla is an hour from newton le willows and a safe bet being a trail centre, signposted routes, graded trails for ability etc
Rivington 45 mins away, more natural stuff and best with a local or use trailforks/Strava heat maps. There is a small section of official trails over towards white coppice. Most local area to me but I’d be shite at telling you/directing you. I know it all well and have ridden there for 25 years but can probably only name three trails. I ride them all but naming them pah, not a clue. There’s also havok bike park about an hour away if he is DH swayed, not been to new place but old one was good (but push up not uplift)
Longridge fell can be good but need trailforks or Strava to find the steep stuff off the back, park at hurst green and there’s a bridleway to the fell to make it a nice ride.
Also maybe 1:45 away there is gisburn trail centre.
What’s his preferred type of riding?
All the trail centre trails in Delamere have opened officially now. Not ridden them myself yet so I can't comment on how good they are, blue graded mainly so should be good for beginners, if that's his level. There's a fair bit of it plus all the off-piste stuff. Starts at the visitor centre, but you'd be best off parking in the free Barnes Bridge car park and riding through, (there are signs) as the main one is £££.
I think the effort to get to Llandegla is going to be worth it - he is a handy rider, but very little off-road properly. A trail centre is idea.
There is a good few reasons why I do not live in the area the rest of my family do - and the lack of trails is one reason among many*
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*it's shite....
All the trail centre trails in Delamere have opened officially now. Not ridden them myself yet so I can’t comment on how good they are, blue graded mainly so should be good for beginners,
They suck the joy out of mountain biking. Ride them and depress yourself 🙂 Prefer the old trails.
Llandegla has a great cafe 🙂 and well marked trails with most of the options.
There is a good few reasons why I do not live in the area the rest of my family do – and the lack of trails is one reason among many*
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*it’s shite….
Agree !
Canoeing is a bit limited too, never been brave enough to do the tidal Mersey.
It's Shite
Yup it's bleak to say the least. There's a handful of secret dirt jump spots and pump tracks that's about it. The best spot near the area got bulldozed. Pinnies behind Daresbury Park industrial estate. Amazing little tracks in a small woods, even seen a pro team manager training some juniors there, such a shame. Don't know how much of it has been rebuilt!
Canoeing is a bit limited too, never been brave enough to do the tidal Mersey.
I've kayaked it and dinghy sailed it. Let's just say we had more than one floater empty out the self bailer.... Never ever again. And that was 1993....
There is Pimbo bikepark, off the M58. Have never been.
Llandegla is a good shout as apart from the trails also pump track and skills sections.
The Clwyds are good for more natural riding.
Isn't pimbo near there?
I'd second clywds if it's dry and degla
Oh yeah, Llandegla is a fun day out, worth the extra 30 mins from Delamere if you're in the car anyway.
Macc Forest? No idea whether there are still trails there as I last rode Macc Forest about 20 years ago!
No better suggestions here than Llandegla but one thing I really liked about moving to Cheshire from Brum is how many trails can be easily reached in a day if you're willing to put the effort in.
I've done chunks of the north half of Wales, Grizedale, a couple of the 7 Stanes, peaks, and all back home by 9pm at the latest.
Local trails are shite though, if existent at all
Pimbo is good fun if you like jumps. Lots of lines. Nice atmosphere too.
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; background-color: #eeeeee;">There’s a handful of secret dirt jump spots and pump tracks that’s about it.</span>
Tell me more please, pm if you don't want to post them on here. Always on the lookout for new DJ spots since mine got plowed.
Llandegla sounds sensible, maps tell me it 65min drive…
good places that are a similar amount of travel id recommend that havent been mentioned,
Chapel House, south lakes
Cwm hill, north Wales
CWM woods is the best shout here. About an hour away, trails are ace!