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Wife suggested taking kids to Moors Valley this weekend. Kids a bit wobbly on bikes, but quite capable of going fast enough to get themselves in trouble.
Due a ton of rain tomorrow.
Will the Moors Valley Blue Trail be prohibitively muddy/swampy?
Will the Northshore sections be dangerously greasy?
https://www.moors-valley.co.uk/things-to-do/cycling/
It's not too bad at the minute, but.....
Generally I would say you would be ok, but some parts have been resurfaced recently and are very sticky/slippy after rain (it does not seem to drain as well as it did). Obviously the fire roads will not be affected by this, bu that is probably not what you want.
RE Northshore; The Watchmoor Park Northshore stuff was removed a couple of years ago. Recently a new tabletop and ramps were installed and they are 'solid' so should ride OK.
However, if you meant the wooden 'walkways' on the Moors Valley singletrack they were given a coat of anti-slip after too many issues and are generally much better now. A couple have Rocks in the lead in, but this is more like crazy paving than a rock garden and I have never found them to be slippy.
Despite all this, the overriding thing I would say is; signs have gone up in the last few days warning of logging and closure of some parts of the forest including the single track. Looking at the amount of orange paint scattered all round the park I suspect this is going to be very disruptive at times and there are already very large tyre marks churning in to the undergrowth and vans/pickups parked throughout.
Summary; Come back another time. Sorry!
Just to add, the bit in the photo above and the next section are one of my favourite bits to ride flat out and are still the 'old' surface so will ride well even after heavy rain so there is still fun to be had.
Sorry if I sounded too negative earlier, but I walked the dog there this morning and felt saddened by the signs and the start of the work 🙁
Maybe give it a try and, if it is no good go to Avon Tyrell? I have not ridden there so can't give a review, but it might be worth having as a backup plan
Did 2 laps in the rain last night. The fire roads are fine but the trail is very muddy in places and waterlogged in others. The recently resurfaces stuff is ok but still has some big puddles at the moment. The most fun wiggly section through the trees is closed for forestry work with a diversion on the fire road.
Given the amount of rain predicted tomorrow and the current conditions I would give the mtb trail a miss. The fire roads should be good though.
EDIT: if you are looking for a day out with younger kids and don't mind missing out on the cycling then Farmer Palmers is awesome and relatively cheap.
Many thanks both. That's exactly the kind of local knowledge I was hoping for. We'll scratch and do something a bit more local, I think.
Your comments are very much appreciated - you've probably saved two families a wasted trip.
I wouldn't bother with Avon Tyrrell right now either, the trails aren't really looked after that well (apart from when the Big Bike Bash guys sort it out) and it does get get boggy when it rains and very slippy on clay bits. How about some gravel tracks in the New Forest, easy going really for little ones.