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As my wife has some family business in Leeds over Christmas we have decided to stay near Kirbymoorside for a week over Christmas and my wife suggested I take a bike and amuse myself for a few days.
i will definitely go to Dalby for a couple of days as I haven’t been there for nearly 20 years and I always enjoyed it.
Any other suggestions - is Sutton Bank worth a trip? I haven’t been before.
I seem to remember that in years gone by there was something at Hamsterley forest? Is this still the case and if so worth a trip?
Other than the above I might go over to Stainburn
i am not very good at following routes which is why I like the trail centres!
Not trail centres but Kilburn and Yearsley are both within 30mins drive of Kirkbymoorside and are worth considering.
Loads in and around Sutton Bank, Boltby, Yearsley, Kilburn etc.
Oh and Dalby has great way marked routes but is even better if you stsrt to explore a little and follow the many tyre tracks you'll see darting off the side of the fire roads all over the forest.
Sutton Bank has marked routes and my mate rates Hamsterley. Dalby is still Dalby and Stainburn is still worth a visit. Plenty of natural stuff around KM though.
Had a good time doing some of the off piste stuff at dalby not sure if the segments are on strava.
seem to remember that in years gone by there was something at Hamsterley forest?
Yes, Defo go. There are very few TCs I'd recommend, but Hamsters is one of them. Miss out the tedious fire road section leading around the plateau to the mast and the rest is brilliant.
At Dalby yesterday and there are a few trees down but nothing that couldn't be got around or over
If you're in Kirbymoorside then Dalby is the obvious one but you know that already. As others have said, you can link various bits of off-piste (from tame to pretty mental) into a route - PM me if you want some suggestions. The red is also a bit of a slog in places but there are plenty of places you can skip the boring bits and include more fun stuff.
Some relatively easy to navigate natural riding in the area too which should be pretty weather proof - a nice loop from Cropton around Rosedale. Not technical but some ace views etc. Old skool XC...
Yearsley is superb but will likely be unrideable at Christmas as it doesn't cope too well in the wet. Sutton Bank is a nice pedal. Zero technical stuff but stunning views. Again, in the wet, some bits suffer a bit so better in the dry/frozen solid. High Paradise Farm cafe is a must-stop too. Some great techy off-pistey bits in Hood Hill and off the side of the White Horse toward Kilburn.
I wouldn't bother going to Stainburn from Kirbymoorside.
I wouldn't bother going to Stainburn from Kirbymoorside.
I'd agree ... But if you're heading towards Leeds with your wife, it's worth the trip. Note that the 'official' built stuff is quite short - 1 very short red loop, 1 short red loop, 1 not very long black route. They're all good; the black is more a test of trials skills and difficult to get a flow, can be frustrating but it's a good mental and skills challenge to ride the loop fully clean (I've never achieved that!).
The best/funnest stuff is over the road and up the hill, below the radio mast. Lots of short and steepish (and very steep) lines. Generally holds up quite well to the weather (the hill is south-west facing so gets the sun/breeze). It's quite a compact area, and each run is quite short (but then the climbs are quite short too), but there's loads to go at, plenty to keep you entertained for 2-3 hours. PM me if you're going and I'd be happy to meet up and show you around.
Thanks re: Stainburn but I should have said that we will be going through Leeds on our route home so as long as the weather is ok I will give it a go for old times sake. Not been there for many, many years!