Hi - does anyone have experience of decent MTB routes and riding in South Derbyshire? I moved to Melbourne at the end of last year and just getting a new Full Sus bike for visiting Lakes/Peaks etc. but also wondered if there was some good riding around this area.
Thanks,
Andy
Yup, I grew up in Ticknall.
Robins wood is where the locals used to dig dh tracks and dirt jumps, there was an mtb group that left from the John Thompson at 6.30 on a monday night that would do 15-20ish miles before returning for a pint of gold (mixed reports suggest it may be less sociable than it once was).
Or grab an OS map, the good bits are Robins wood and Repton Scrubs, the good linking bits are the bridleways up seven spouts and hangmans stone, across to Milton, round foremark (including the b****** sandy climb), and back round bretby gallops.
Over the winter when its all hub deep in mud you can link bits of that with the trail arround calke abbey, then sustrans route from Worthington to the canal, and back to the pub to keep fit.
Basicly there's lots of your basic English Bridleway riding to be had, nothing that would test a full suspension bike, perfect rigid singlespeed territory.
The local trail center is Hicks lodge just the far side of ashby which with a bit of cheeky riding you can link together with calke abbey, jaguar woods, and some quiet lanes to make a long-ish 40+ mile ride over the winter with enough interest to keep you entertained on a hardtail.
Lots of lovely road riding to be had arround there too, find some quiet lanes early in the morning and you get some spectacular inversions owing to the Trent floodplain.
