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I might try and get a cheeky ride on the Surrey hills
I'm thinking of the STW loop in issue 79
Firstly from London is Gomshall the nearest train station?
Secondly are the trails easy to find on my own as all the chat seems to be you need local knowledge?
Cheers
Gomshall is the nearest to Peaslake, but if the loop passes Box Hill then Westhumble is the closest get off point from London.
Don't have the loop at hand, but given it's printed it'll use the major tracks presumably so will be OK to nav. But as ever the devil is in the detail and you'll save a lot of time/find more fun if you hook up with a local.
Yep Gomshall is the nearest. Turn right out of the station and follow the sign posts to Peaslake. It'll take you 10 minutes to get to the crossroads in the photo. From there pop your head into Pedal and Spoke and Howard will point you in the right direction.
Once up on Holmbury you're sure to find someone who can point you towards the main interest points.
Aaaaand as if by magic....a local! RRD when are you thinking of going? And definitely Gomshall, although Dorking is probably easier to get to in terms of regularity and not too far if you are planning an all-dayer XC ride
All
Thank you. Some very useful tips.
Tyredbiker, potentially tomorrow about 4pm. Balancing work versus the present nice weather and tempted to go for a ride but also working out how much daylight I have and return train times... Are you about?
Which London station are you leaving from ?
There's a regular Weds ride from Nirvana in Westcott at 6.45 if you fancy it
Yup should be- I'll be a blonde on a mega. Email me if you need any directions- kathrynannescott@hotmailDOTcom
The train people get all uppity about bikes at rush hour so check that out.
Once again thanks
I'm aware of the train restrictions and as a result was looking at the 1445 from London bridge, it would get me in about 1555. Tyredbiker - can I e-mail you tomorrow (or is that too short notice) if I'm headed out? Depressingly, I need to get a few work things sorted first.
How long is the regular wed ride? I suspect it'll finish too late for me to get back to town? And it hits the train cycle problem departing London at rush hour.
RRD the routes published use tracks and bridleways, for the most part these are not "the trails" people speak of. The published routes still offer great xc type riding and generally pass close to the location of the "the trails". By keeping your eyes open and/or asking people out and about you should have a worthwhile time. Holmbury has some of the best known trails and I doubt I'll get flamed by telling you can find Yogurt Pots 100m North from the stone circle or Barry Knows Best from the Radnor Road opposite the Resevoir. Have a look on Strava and cross reference with an OS map.
London Bridge - my guess is you'd be better off getting off at Dorking / Westhumble and riding Leith Hill and/or Holmbury. If you pop into Nirvana in Westcott they will point you in the general direction I'm sure.
No problem RRD- will be out from midday-ish weather permitting but email will go to my phone- just put your number in your email if you're stuck as can't always send emails as my phone is pretty temperamental.
How long is the regular wed ride? I suspect it'll finish too late for me to get back to town? And it hits the train cycle problem departing London at rush hour.
Leave Westcott 1845 sharp (officially, meet time is 1830), ride a couple of hours give or take, pint or 2 in a pub, back to Westcott 2200-2230ish.
It's quite wide ranging and heads off different directions each week. That's one of the brilliant things of riding here. But if you know what you want is the "Surrey Hills trail centre experience" around Peaslake and Winterfold, you may not get that.