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Following up my post last week (thanks for advice)
I'm in the area for the first time, and I've got Sunday and Monday to get some North Downs trails in, solo-explorer style.
I've got the Singletrack Easy, Medium and Hard routes printed off.
Questions for any locals out there -
Which direction is best clock or anticlock, starting from Hurtwood Inn, Peaslake.
Which ones are do-able mid-morning to mid-afternoon at my medium biker pace?
Anybody around Sun or Mon to join in? (aka help me avoid wrong turns due to crap map reading...)
D
Couple of points mate:
First off it's a mess up there at the moment. All three hills are sodden and in pretty bad shape with mud.
Most locals won't do a 'set loop' so much as they will take in the best sections of trail on the hills they're choosing to ride. The routes in Singletrack are OK but the problem is that you'll struggle to find the best bits on all three hills.
Your best bet is to ride Homlburry and Pitch hill one day, parking in Peaslake and then just exploring the two hills or asking people as you meet them to show you the best bits and then do the same on Leith Hill. For Leith, you can park at Westcott and ride up the green lane onto the top of the hill.
I am going to head over that way myself on Monday if you wanted to hook up?
i went out this morning and it is super muddy and super slow. I am hoping to go out monday starting at Wesctott heading towards ranmore, pitch hill, peaslake, leith and back to wescott. Some crackng bits of trails like barry knows best, the yogurt pots and summer lightning.
muddy and slow? bugger. Presume there's no alternative though.
geetee1972 - I can see Holmbury hill, can't find Pitch hill on the map - I can see "Tower" and Leith Hill. A hook up on Monday would be great if you don't mind being guide. Email in the profile.
Found this one too
Any better? Which way round?
What about box hill? Equal mudbath?
If it stays dry over night it won't be tooooo bad. A lot of it drys out fairly quickly. Yogurt pot's and some of the other favourites are in a poor state.
I've not seen the Singletrack route and am no expert, but I'm sure I could come up with a reasonably route if you get stuck. I'm free tomorrow (after the Grand Prix!) or Monday fi you need some company.
Id agree with gettee, potter up Holmbury and have an explore, same with Pitch although it doesnt hold up quite as well. I can happily pootle up and down Holmbury a fair few times using different trails, definitely worth taking the time. You could park up in Holmbury St Mary and go between Holmbury and Leith.
I always do loops anti-clockwise starting from Westcott, heading along Pilgrims Way, up and down Holmbury a couple of times, up Pitch if Im feeling energetic, back up Holmbury and then over to Leith, up and down that a couple of times and back to Westcott, there are good trails from the top of Leith all the way back via the Redlands and Summer Lightning, a nice easy end to your day, downhill pretty much all the way.
Should be a fair few people about to point you in the right direction.
I'll probably be up there Monday if tomorrow's reasonably dry, otherwise I can't be arsed with trashing the trails even more!
[i]If it stays dry over night it won't be tooooo bad. [/i]
Well its peeing it down currently 🙁
Personally after riding around Leith and Box in the rain this week (...and consequently getting through a new set of disc pads) I'd say its pretty much lay off the singletrack and stick with an XC route. The singletrack is muddy as hell and is just getting mashed up aside the odd well drained one (Summer Lightening was okay yesterday)
[i]can't find Pitch hill on the map[/i]
On the map in your link, Pitch is just under where it says Duke in the bottom left corner.
[i]Which way round?[/i]
Anti-clockwise imo...Westcott, cycle out on Route 22 before heading south around Abinger Hammer and finish on Wolverns
dazzy drop me an email on sunday to check plans happy to guide
nuke - confused (never been here)
is "singletrack" different to the "XC routes". I presume you mean the hills have DH routes up and down em but if I stick to the routes on this here Singletrack ( http://www.singletrackworld.com/trailguide/uk/south-east/the-north-downs/) and in the cakeride link above, there's a chance they'll be less cackmired?
Basically the routes you have links to are bridleways and fire roads, all the nice singletrack in the Surrey Hills sits inside or around these tracks, unfortunately much of it will be a quagmire at the mo, some of it however will have held up pretty well, BKB, Summer Lightning etc. If you followed these routes without going off piste youd have a pretty dull ride, Im sure the chaps above will show you the light tho.
Nirvana Cycles in Westcott sells maps of Holmbury with lots of the main trails marked and named, well worth it if you fancy going solo.