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Morning All
I'm staying virtually in the centre of Matlock this weekend and was thinking about taking my bike. Are there any simple 1/2 hour off-road routes that are worthwhile doing straight from the town rather than putting the bike on the car and travelling? I'd quite like to do a couple of morning rides (solo) before everybody else is up and about.
I'd appreciate any pointers/advice you wise folk could give.
Thanks in advance.
ps - I don't have any GPS trickery to rely on unfortunately
Do you mean 0.5 hour or 1 to 2 hours? 0.5 hour would be tricky, but there are some trails relatively close. For my money I would:
a) Head up the path that runs alongside the railway line (Peak Rail) to Darley dale.
b) Come off and turn right up to the main road.
c) Take a staggered right-left and go up Two dales.
d) Take a left onto Back Lane. (To use the 3 words this is at ///yelled.foil.toolbar)
e) Head up there and turn left into Whitesprings Plantation and follow your nose.
f) Alternately there is a fun track at Ashover Quarries. You should be able to get in from ///study.twitches.option (Near Matlock Farm Park).
Either way you should be able to head back via Farley moor and back into the Top of Matlock.
Pretty much every bit of woodland around Matlock has some MTB trails in it. Do you have an OS map to hand?
If so, have a look at Lumsdale, Farley Moor, Bottom Moor, Seventy Acre Plantation, Halldale and just follow your nose. Plenty there to kill an hour or two.
Or head up the A6 valley towards Rowsley, and follow the bridleways on the East side of the valley through Tinkersley etc. You can then loop through the Carlton Lees plantation at Chatsworth, and then ride back along the river Derwent to Matlock on the new bike trail (or the cheeky old singletrack.
A classic route in the area which can be done from Matlock is the 5 dales route. But it will probably take you longer than 2 hours.
Thanks very much both of you - much appreciated!
Woops, I meant 1-2 hours. I haven't got an OS map but will try to get hold of one. Good to know that there seems to be plenty of stuff straight out of town.
Cheers!
This is a nice loop. The problem with it is that none of the best bits are on the OS map.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1608953384
Some of the stuff in the woods is pretty steep, it's good fun.
Cheers littlerob
Your route is exactly what I did and I had a good morning. About quarter of a mile of Back Lane is completely washed away (I guess with the volume of rain over the summer) and was virtually impossible to ride - even going downhill on that stretch wouldn't be for the faint-hearted. I then got very lost in the woods between Farley Moor and the top side of Matlock. But I enjoyed it!
Thanks for the other suggestions too. A lovely part of the country to ride.
Back Lane always looks like that!
Glad you enjoyed it and glad I could help.