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I went to Thrunton once over 10 years ago so all I know is what I've seen on YouTube. It looks like it probably doesn't handle lots of water and traffic very well due to being mostly au naturale.
Does anyone know what state it's in right now?
When I come up north I usually meet old mates for a ride at Hamsterley but we all feel like a change of scenery. We'll stick to Hamsterley though if Thrunton is in bad shape.
According to the Forestry Commission the woods have still not fully reopened after the damage from Storm Arwen. Hopefully someone here has some first hand information.
A LOT of the trails were wiped out by storm Arwen a few years ago, basically all of the steep stuff north of the carpark and almost all of the trails from the top Coe Crag are gone, what's left was riding well last Sunday but it's mostly around 1 minute trails that are left
There's still plenty to have a decent few hours riding if you are more interested in steep than XC. Plenty has been lost but much hasn't.
Strava heatmap will tell you where most of the riding is
It has been holding up fine in the wet. It's not as reliable as the main trails at Hamsterley but is better than the off piste stuff at Hamsterley this time of year.
Thanks for the info. Definitely more interested in steep stuff than xc. Hopefully it doesn't rain too much before Saturday.
Last time I was there, just before Christmas, I was quite surprised at how eroded some trails were, given we'd not had that much rain.
There's plenty to keep you busy though, including some new post-Arwen stuff.
Not due too much rain with this storm up here so you should be reet.
Although given they're now forecasting gusts of wind up to 75mph here for tomorrow... Maybe pack a chainsaw.
I’d expect it to be pretty damaged again if the wind they’re predicting is that bad.
Personally don’t find it that great there anymore and would skip it but if you’re in that area there isn’t a great deal else around.
Yeah the forecast looks pretty bad. I'll check tomorrow evening to see what the damage is.
A last minute reroute to Hamsterley won't be the end of the world.
Not been up even for a walk since Arwen as it was absolute devastated, like others have said routes have started appearing but you’d be nuts to ride there or most other forests tomorrow.
Hopefully there won't be too much damage but the amount of trees that were either felled in the storms or the subsequent forestry works mean the remaining areas are far more exposed to wind than they used to be, fingers crossed. The trails that are there, as I've already mentioned, are fairly short and steep and personally it's still my favourite place to ride locally. I'd probably be heading back this weekend at some point but I've promised to take my nephew to Hamsterley instead as he prefers trail centre stuff to rooty off piste trails
Just to clarify we're riding on Saturday, not tomorrow. Driving up Friday night.
While we've got some northerners in is there anything decent at Chopwell these days? Not looking for an epic day out just happy to mess around in the woods. I've seen videos of jumps and gaps but never managed to find them.
I might try to talk the Mrs out of the whole thing to be honest and come up when the weather is a bit less apocalyptic.
While we’ve got some northerners in is there anything decent at Chopwell these days?
Chopwell is around 10 mins ride from my house and I haven't bothered for a few months now, it's not bad for a couple of hours if you know where to look for trails but I'd go to Hamsterley or Thrunton over Chopwell at this time of year
Just to clarify we’re riding on Saturday, not tomorrow. Driving up Friday night.
Personally I’d not be driving a long journey in such weather either.
I'm about on Sat if you fancy Chopwell. Only a few miles from me and I love the place
Personally I’d not be driving a long journey in such weather either.
I've made my feelings known but it's not my decision, I'm just a passenger. I bring the bike as an excuse to avoid the in-laws.
I'm about on Sat if you fancy Chopwell. Only a few miles from me and I love the place
I'll drop a message on here if that's where we go. I'll let you know what bike to look out for as I haven't decided what I'm taking yet!
No worries. I'll either take the blue badge bike or the Amish bike
Well, it looks like things have been a little spicy up in Northumberland today! All I've seen is news photos but it looks dramatic.
Needless to say, we're not on the road. The Mrs is still determined to drive up in the morning but I won't bother bringing the bike.
Hopefully she'll bump her plans back and we'll have another go next weekend.
Stay safe everyone!
Understandable.
It is still blowy but nowhere near as bad as earlier.
Not as many trees down tonight in the local woods as I thought there'd be, so hopefully Chopwell won't be too badly affected tomorrow.
Just FYI, it's not as bad round here today, but they closed the woods yesterday and are asking people to stay away today. Don't know if they'll be patrolling per se but worth knowing.
Edit: this is for Chopwell
Yup we ended up getting battered more that they were expecting, there’s a lot of tree damage around. I would say Thrunton won’t be great as the exposed trees are the weaker ones due to the Arwen wiping out the stronger ones.
Was at Thrunton this morning. Plenty of trees down, including a massive one in the main car park, but nothing causing any major problems on the trails I rode.
A few on the fire roads that need climbing over. I took a saw and removed a few smaller ones blocking trails.
A couple of trails had makeshift barriers at the entrance, presumably to warn that they're blocked? But only an old one that's been blocked since Arwen and a new one that isn't really worth it IMO anyway.