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I've got a family weekend coming up next month in Weardale. I've never been before but will take the bike to escape for a 3-4hrs ride.
Has anyone got any CX/gravel/hybrid friendly routes to recommend?
Also, are there any decent 2-day bivi routes up that way? I was going to see if I could go back later in the year with some mates.
thanks
I'm not sure how well this lends itself to a CX route as we ride it on mountain bikes ..but it should work ok ..
At least it will give you a starting point..most of the route is on rocky terrain .
Despite the starting point showing that we started half way up a hill from Westgate we did in fact start from the car park ( that's where I remembered to switch Viewranger on )
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[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/156204930@N03/46587540354/ ]Screenshot_20190307-180732_ViewRanger[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/156204930@N03/ ]Neil Hodgson[/url] - [url= https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dariogf.flickr2BBcode_lite ]Flickr2BBcode LITE[/url]
I should mention that the section from Wearhead to St.Johns Chapel was on footpath ( The Weardale Way )which you access from the bridge in Wearhead ..very scenic and we didn't encounter anyone giving us grief..
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[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/156204930@N03/47310843191/ ]Screenshot_20190307-181133_ViewRanger[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/156204930@N03/ ]Neil Hodgson[/url] - [url= https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dariogf.flickr2BBcode_lite ]Flickr2BBcode LITE[/url]
Thats about the best I can do for you ..get your climbing legs on its brutal from the start !
Edit : that particular route is not showing the time we took the Weardale Way ..but you can see it marked on the map ..
Cheers, that looks like blummin' hard work. It might be best not to do it with a bad head !
Also on the drop down towards Cowshill ..don't go all the way down to the bottom ( you will get grief as the bridleway turns to footpath and there is a very mouthy gent living directly opposite..instead turn left onto the bridleway to Burtree Ford turning left onto the road and then immediately right onto a bridleway to take you down to Wearhead ..
Aye ..hangover not recommended 😁
Or ignore the gobshite. That’s what I do.
Don’t forget the Waskerley Way runs high above Weardale on a variety of surfaces. The descent into Rookhope has been rather sanitised lately but is fast and fun.
Also from Wolsingham there’s Hexham Lane, a Byway to Saltersgate. You can link by tarmac to the WW.
Also from Wolsingham you can ride up the road on the south side and follow the byway west to the Elephant Trees, then either drop down into Frosterley or continue on as far as you can find a track through the heather. Some unrecorded rights of way are just about to be added to the Definitive Map here so if anyone bothers you, tell them you’re looking at them for research purposes!
Cheers, I'll get the OS map out and do some planning
I lived outside Durham in the 1990s and did what would now would be called gravel rides. I'd say it's a great place for that sort of ride. Looking at the map look at Sustrans routes 7 and 14 work well, they meet just south of Consett. Really big sections of old railway path. Not as level as you might think as they were pre-steam locomotive and static engines were used on steeper inclines and horses on the more level bits. Loads of potential for loops with some road link up. Easiest to see on here. I use to love those old railway lines
https://www.sustrans.org.uk/map-ncn
green is off road
You can ride from Wolsingham over into Hamsterley. Loads of forest roads there to explore. Then you can exit the forest and hit the Bollihope road. Back via the road or pick up the track that comes past the Elephant trees up on the top.