[Closed] A Quantock Hello - Some indepth Qs about the area

Short combe is a fairly straight run down, not very interesting.

The run from Black Ball Hill into Slaughterhouse Combe takes you into Somerton Combe. Thats a good one with a fast run across the top, down a flat out cut-in slope, through a hairpin and fast run into somerton. The start of this isn't particularly obvious, its down a bit from the highest point on teh main path at teh top.

If you're over Frog Combe way, have a look at Bin Combe - definitely one of my favourites. From Dead Womans CP take the left road fork. After about 100 yds take a track on the right. There's an open area on the left after a further 100 yds, with a track in a ditch to the right of this. Follow the gulley going as fast as you dare, turn left at the bottom. Along to the road, straight across and round to the right. In the opening past the muddy patch, turn right. This takes you down a fats descent to the road (watch for cars). Straight over, wide sweeping left, jump the roots, and keep left above the ditch. Just follow the singletrack keeping as far left as is obvious, along the top of the bank with the collapsed bits, then where the track cuts left and up either turn off right after 10 yds and drop onto the main path or follow it up until you get to the fence line and turn right for a steep drop down to the gate. Ride back up and do it again, but faster!

thanks, i dont think it gets used much as i'm currently fastest this year down slaughterhouse on strava after going down it again this w/e just gone 🙂 (was guiding someone, and a sheep was in my way too!)

thanks for the tip on bincombe - i'll try to compare what you've said against a a map & strava. i've been across 'great bear' quite a few times. sounds like you're describing the open area part way across there?

only other fun thing ielse in that area apart from what strava calls "joes path" which someone i work with showed me a few years ago. i go down to the the wall near Dead womans, follow it left, at a big opening there's a stile just up hill.. and fly from there down to ramscombe area before heading on fire roads towards the quantock farm area

+1 for Bincombe, found this one last year and is one of my favorites, make sure you stay above the ditch especially in wet weather. Always deserted down there as well.

Great Bear - yes

I've not found much else that side of Great Wood, but there's loads of new runs in the woods around Cockercombe.

I'm not local but visit a couple of times a year staying in the scout hut at Aley, so have got to know the Q's fairly well over the last 10 years or so. Always a great weekend. Was up there a couple of weeks ago - I've found the perfect bike for Quantock action, my fatbike with Blutos on. So much grip, I was way faster than on my full susser! Even got a beach ride from Burnham on Sea up to the fort on Brean Down!

[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1644/26019435363_347ddf2868_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1644/26019435363_347ddf2868_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/FDfpCx ]P4237551[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/47933770@N07/ ]Allan[/url], on Flickr

ah!.. i live in BoS.. the down is fun riding from the uppermost point down to the top of the steps over those "ripples" (jumps) in the grass.

+1 for Bincombe, found this one last year and is one of my favorites, make sure you stay above the ditch especially in wet weather. Always deserted down there as well.

its surprising how quiet a lot of the quantocks are.

triscombe aside, north of crowcombe park gate & dead womans i rarely see other people on bikes in places other than the main ridge route, stert/somerton (must be those two jumps), ladys edge, weacombe, smiths, and frog combe (think thats where i see them popping out from on my way up holford edge)

There is also two routes down the hill / across the moor between Slaughterhouse Combe and Steart Combe - an area on the map near the label 'Lowsey Thorn'. It is only a sheep track, but good fun blast. At a trail cross about 200m before the trees you can go left to drop into Slaughterhouse Combe, or continue straight on down the ridge to end up in Somerton Combe. The right-hand trail option isn't worth riding in my opinion.

There are at least two ways in to Frog Combe too. The obvious one down the combe bottom is great, and there is a steep and narrow entry in on the Western side, starting approx ST148386, near a little stunted tree. I usually do both 🙂

ah found lowsey thorn on the os map ( [url] http://www.streetmap.co.uk [/url] uses OS map at right magnification).. straight over sounds easy to remember, like the fast fast route from the visitors cairn on higher hare knap -> lower hare knap -> hodders combe descent on a smaller scale 🙂

i'll have to give both frog combe ones a go.. just need to work out a way of integrating it into a loop. not actually ridden back down holford edge either now i think about it.

Just been looking on Strava and it appears I haven't been down Slaughterhouse Combe since 2011. Looks like I've been spending too much time on the CX bike, Slaughterhouse used to be one of my favourites.

happy to remind you 🙂 i really like it, especially that first bumpy section. certainly enjoy it more on my the full susser i bought in the new year than i did on my hardtail

...as I'm currently fastest down slaughterhouse this year on strava...

Or it could be that some people just go riding without the need to have strava accompanying them everywhere they go... 😉

...as I'm currently fastest down slaughterhouse this year on strava...

Not any more it looks like a couple kicked your arse yesterday.

[url= https://www.strava.com/segments/5376030 ]Slaughterhouse[/url]

Hah - a guy I know and his mate.. Who I think I may have met a couple times 🙂 looks like they were gunning for the real KOM. not too arsed, I wasn' t trying, as was guiding guy behind me, and a lamb got in my way.. I was surprised at how quick i was. I'm riding tomorrow (Sunday) but depends on where I take who I'm with wants to go if I hit it again.

Looks like they're reading this thread as they hit bincombe together too.

Art : lol - Mainly used to tell where I've been if I get a bit off track. Been a great way to nail my inner gps down.

well.. revisted slaughterhouse today.. sadly the really heavy rain we've had, in the early hours, over the last few dayshas caused it to be super slippy. so i know to gauge conditions for that one

did the north side frog combe route though. bit gnaerly going in.. my mate fell off apparently.. nothing major.. nice proper singletrack twisting through the trees 🙂 and made a change to be flying down holford edge

did go across great, bear, might have spotted the bincome trail heade but wasnt sure. will swot up on bincombe properly for next time i expect

I went down there late this afternoon, it was pretty dry by then.
I found the is video I made, can't believe it was nine years ago.

🙂

well it was certainly a lot wetter than last week. my strava time is double last weeks. even though also i went faster! because.. i stopped at the point around the 1:30 mark on your vid to put clear lenses on and drop seat before going down 🙂 still. a good way to familiarise myself with it some more. the friend i was with was on his 3rd ever quantocks ride 🙂

I video'd yesterday's ride, if I remember I'll post it when I get home from work, it's amazing how much video quality has improved.

did the north side frog combe route though. bit gnaerly going in.. my mate fell off apparently.. nothing major.

that's where sharki punctured a lung and dislocated his shoulder.

on his own.

at sunset.

ouch!

not close to it, but i was riding solo and went OTB near the top of smiths in march (wasn't even in it - was cutting across the rougher ground to get to it) i was really enjoying getting fitter. fortunately only the only things bruised were my ribs and ego, couldnt ride for a few weeks. taken a while to get my fitness and confidence back.

bump:)

ok.. still not found bincombe.. in two attempts. 1st time i was trying to come down from the upper most great bear track, but couldn't see a way.. and yesterday i did the first section from ladys wood to the road, then kept going straight across the lower great bear track instead of hanging left. so.. next time!

yesterday i did also find a nice bit of singletrack running down into holford combe from lower hare knap.. got stuck behind some people on horses on the way up so took a detour, glad i did. i went over the stream pretty much as soon as you get into the grass area in holford combe. I cleared the fallen branches on my way up, only to get stuck looking at a bobbing sheeps arse for a section. didn't much enjoy the climb up.. but it paid off on my return journey 🙂

after doing the "descent from the stones" (hill bomb from the cairn on high hare knap) you can turn back around to get to it. i went over over lower hare knap, like going towards hodders combe car park, then took right across a pair of tracks, rode back up a bit, then hang left by the hanging fire beaters

i did do short combe, last week maybe? (i know i rode with a mendips group the week before that - which resulted in new cassette, chain, mech hanger and rear mech!). i liked the ride down from longstone to the plateau, but after that it was a short-ish slide through leave mulch, avoiding deadgall to the bottom. no free rolling or pedalling 🙁 so pretty much what 40mpg said above

further south from the main quantocks i explored some really nice looking singletrack up in buncombe wood coming from cothelstone - so that might get ridden soon. didn't see a tyre track in sight there, but i remember riding up to it from taunton

so i've got bincombe on my list.. the bit between slaugtherhouse and somerton, concrete block and to investigate are routes the other side of hare knap and other off piste bits 🙂

check out paradise combe as well at cothelstone. there used to be a DH track in there built by the guy who lives in the house on the corner. he's moved away but it might still be in use.

Anyone here fancy getting together to share some trail knowledge? Email in profile.

i'm down 🙂

check out paradise combe as well at cothelstone. there used to be a DH track in there built by the guy who lives in the house on the corner. he's moved away but it might still be in use.

cheers. i'll have a peek. looks tricky to loop in to my usual sunday dawn raid... but everythings doable eventually 🙂

btw.. i wonder if our paths have crossed..[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/honiton-blackdowns-hills-devon-living-and-riding#post-7750946 ]honiton post[/url] seems we grew up in the same area of taunton. at roughly the same age.. (i don't recall meeting sharki, but he's mates with two people i grew up with on facebook and only a couple years older than them, and i know a handful of others on his page too). i left foxes in '92.

check out paradise combe as well at cothelstone.

Shh!! it's a secret. 🙄

A lot of hard work has been done there lately.

I didn't grow up in Taunton. Worked there from 2000-2008 at the droggy.

droggy? lived in north taunton til i was in my mid 30s (40 now), place i mentioned from 1983-2011.

would ride from home up through kingston st mary to buncombe & cothelstone area and lydeard hill, and across to fyne court and spent many many days in the woods at [url= http://www.hestercombe.com/ ]hestercombe[/url] - now publicly opened, but it was barely managed woodlands with ruined buildings and a man made waterfall when i was there in the late 80s

might be heading up to try that cothelstone trail on thurs, as for a change i'll have my bike with me when i visit my parents, and a mate who's up for an evening ride 🙂

check out paradise combe as well at cothelstone. there used to be a DH track in there built by the guy who lives in the house on the corner. he's moved away but it might still be in use.

There are hints on the triscombe facebook page that it is in use this year. I'm not sure DH is my thing.. i'm more a fast n flowy guy.. no "jumps" too large. I like going pretty fast down singletrack and don't mind the rock/rooty bits (e.g. I love Smiths apart from the last part of the rocky section..) but as I ride a short travel full susser that isn't slack ('10 Santa Cruz Superlight)...

I finally found bincombe, it's really nice.. its not quite clear where the trail goes near the bottom, but you basically have to keep left of the bank (i learned on here) and head up hill after a certain point to get to the walfords gibbet junction. later review on strava showed I went the right way. since there were hints elsewhere on here and have seen that other people have had trouble finding it I'll re-iterate. Also did the 'other' more obvious frog combe entrance I prefer the one proper narrow one with the less than friendly bumpy start though..

So here we go.. bincombe..

Coming up from holford edge.. at the muddy section instead of proceeding round right to the wooden post and going straight over the road to the upper great bear track go left about 10m, and go through a gap in an old bank (wall?).. there's a 1min fun stretch of twisty single track and that pops you out opposite the lower great bear crossing.. do not go straight over into the trail marked with the post (mistake I made the first time i went there), and go downhill slightly into the more opened out trail that drops away from you.

Coming downhill from the 'concrete block' pass the obvious first road crossing, ignore the second on the right (that has a way maker post) and take the third right that is much more opened out that you can hop right down into. theres an area i've seen cars parked on the LHS opposite it.

luckily its aon street view https://www.instantstreetview.com/ @51.143189,-3.196118,-216.77h,-36.41p,0.67z (notice the layby directly behind, and other (lower) great bear traverse slightly uphill with the marker post mentioned above)

As i'm solo this w/e I'm going to do some bits I've never ridden in reverse (like hodders combe car park -> hare knap) and explore/find the two routes to the north of hare knap into to the somerton/slaugterhouse area

There are hints on the triscombe facebook page that it is in use this year

I don't think it was ever not in use, just not ridden regularly like the stuff at triscombe.

Some of the d/h guys I was riding with at triscombe recently said they had built some new stuff up there but apparently it had been vandalised by the local chavs 👿

before planning tyhis w/e iw as tempted to explore paradise combe.. i came across old posts here saying it was left for the lydeard kids to use

hopefully now back in to my regular quantocks routine.. explored a few places yesterday. i tried to do a non-conventional day where i didn't use a route that's been in any "guidebook".

found "steep combe" which is found by coming straight down into/over ladies edge plateau from the summit of longstone hill and keeping straight (instead of going left into "short combe"). way too steep for my riding ability, some knee high jumps too. way too gnarly for me.

after crossing the stream at the bottom i carried on straight over in a straight line and popped out on "rocky horror", which is the mirror image of the singletrack i found that runs off the middle of lower hare knap, higher hare knap. after some riding around the top i went to the high hare knap cairn, waited for the sheepo to clear, and hit that fast descent and hung a left straight into "rocky horror" - really liked it, will definitely be doing it again. followed by a climb up ladies edge and tried one of the further along weacombe descents (meh).

next week (if i'm not elsewhere with people) i'm planning on hitting Willoughby Cleeve for the first time (which has a good rep on here), wrapping round to hodders, going up and doing the descent down from the fort as not hit that for a while. (and not when its not covered in leaves)

I enjoyed Black Ball into Slaughterhouse, which going by Strava doesn't get used as much as the other combes.

Have you found Bin Combe yet Canopy? It's such a perfect piece of singletrack, at that perfect gradient that just keeps giving you the right amount of speed.

I love the Quantocks. Wife and I are in the process of applying for jobs in the area at the moment, can't wait to get down there.

Sounds like we have similar taste 🙂

Bin Combe - I finally found it about a month ago, really nice! not a fan of the ending and climb back to the road though, a bit like Smiths which I love but also has that unfortunate thing about ending in a place that isn't suitable for a loop.

Slaughterhouse - Also love it, I think at this time of year its going to be pretty overgrown as the bracken is high elsehwere I and recall it gets like that at this time of year. The first slope shouldn't be too sloppy. I might make it down there on way back around next w/e if I think I have enough energy left in the tank to get back up ladys edge. (when its less windy I'm favouring starting at staple plain, climbing to up the trig point on beacon hill (above smiths) and heading on out from there so i'd have to go back up this week. week after, maybe I'll start at hodders..)

Good luck on the job hunt. I work in Taunton (as I grew up there) and live in BoS. Quantocks has a decent catchment area townwise so hopefully some options for you 🙂

Anyone know what the eastern lower stert/somerton combe route is like? (it avoids the cross moorland entrance with the rooty bit down to the smaller jump & switchback. I spotted the entrance riding across the western side of higher hare knap.

Anyone know what the eastern lower stert/somerton combe route is like?

i rode it once.

only worth the once to strike it off the TODO map then?

Do it for completeness. I lived there for 8yrs and never did it again.

there were a few like that that never really flowed or put you in an awkward place. It's why I don't really like smiths. Weacombe is a much better descent if you are at that end and the climb out is better.

I think what you refer to as steep Combe used to be called oblivion.

i will if i'm feeling particularly knackered or it starts chucking it down and i need to get to hodders car park quick 🙂

i called it steep combe because that's what its called on strava. can't find a video of it under either name, and its not named on any maps. i've looked on google and all the old posts on here from you and sharki 1) confirm the location and 2) describe its layout and difficulty accurately. don't feel so bad about climbing down the last part of it now 🙂

smiths will be OK once i get fit enough to climb out more easily. need to try it again before the weather turns as everything seems to be a touch faster now the grounds drier

when i park at staple plain i often do the weacombe descent and the easier fireroad route back up round the plantation.

Did Willoughby Cleeve for the first time yesterday.. really nice, and what I'd start to call technical compared to some other descents.. plenty of roots and small drops and careful thought about line choices when heading towards trees etc. I can imagine how it'll ride when its wet as slaughterhouse has dried up in a similar way.

It's like a longer version of the first part of Slaughterhouse, more steppy but without the fast run-out. def one of the more challenging descents north of dead womans ditch. did Slaughterhouse later in the day, and had a puncture 😡 also did the Dowsborough Fort descent to top of holford descent, wasn't as long as I remembered, and forgot to unlock both shocks after the climb up. was fun though 😀

did Slaughterhouse later in the day, and had a puncture

Pinch puncture on one of the stream crossings? Used to get one nearly everytime I rode down there before I went tubeless.

Is the corner before you go into the trees still overgrown with ferns, last time I rode it there was hardly even a gap there.

i don't recall willoughby cleave being another other than a pretty straight run with a couple of small steps in it.

dousborough fort is only worth it if you all the way to the a39 layby for the greasy spoon van. it sucks big time if the van isnt there....

Pinch puncture on one of the stream crossings? Used to get one nearly everytime I rode down there before I went tubeless.

I think so, didn't look at the old tube in too much detail as my policy right now is to replace with new. it did seem to be leaking on the underside. some of those stream crossings are hard I know my pressure was pretty low and they are pretty harsh hits - even on a full susser.

i don't recall willoughby cleave being another other than a pretty straight run with a couple of small steps in it.

I guess being less well known it hasn't been widened by usage like other singletrack in the area? its dried right out and very rooty/stepppy and tracks you towards a tree on the left at one point if you aren't paying attention. certainly a little more challenging than the first part of slaughterhouse, and bit longer to boot. fairly unique for a quantocks descent, at least north of DWD where I've been concentrating my efforts.

Is the corner before you go into the trees still overgrown with ferns, last time I rode it there was hardly even a gap there.

At the top of the slope (the right-hander) from the top - yes pretty overgrown with gorse and bracken (ferns). down the bottom (the slightly banked left hander) its not as grown up as last year where i got surprised by around 8 jersey cows sat hiding in chin high bracken!

depends on the time of year though - in april/may when there was no bracken it was nice n clear and a much faster ride in.

dousborough fort is only worth it if you all the way to the a39 layby for the greasy spoon van. it sucks big time if the van isnt there....

yeah i just hadn't been up there for over a year, and wanted to strike it off the list. after doing willougby went down to hodders car park and climbed up from the a39 layby. most interesting things were 1) the view over to higher hare knap 2) a dew pond with lots of tadpoles in. won't be back in a hurry. actually, first time i noticed the van there was passing again on my way back home from where'd i'd parked at staple plain.

We used to use Willoughby Cleave climb as a challenge for the kids on the Ralphies Saturday rides back in the day.
It's hard enough as a climb alone but you also need the skill to get over the root steps (I could never get over the third one).

Was that when knottie was a nipper. 😉

We used to use Willoughby Cleave climb as a challenge for the kids on the Ralphies Saturday rides back in the day.
It's hard enough as a climb alone but you also need the skill to get over the root steps (I could never get over the third one).

hmm thats interesting.. it kind of parallels (in the sense you leave hodders combe car park on a track, cross a stream and climb up to the right) the other climb on the track which goes through butterfly wood and goes from the first open area on the way holford combe to the bit between higher hare knap and lower hare knap.

i'm trying to work out some rough loop start/ends where i can add some variations rather than 'just' always riding up holford combe+edge or ladys edge/sheppards every time. so i can do say 3 ups and 3 downs in an outing (starting parked low down of course).

the other climb on the track which goes through butterfly wood and goes from the first open area on the way holford combe to the bit between higher hare knap and lower hare knap.

i seem to recall that used to be called horizon. used to drop the tight singletrack on the north side of frog combe, climb up this, ride the ridge down higher hare knap and drop into the bottom of hodders combe into ladys edge.

you know what this thread is missing? just for dibbs...

that sounds like a perfect description 🙂 I tend to do the "descent rom the stones" (as its called on strava, typo intentional!).

Horizon eh 🙂 It's a pretty fast left hander, with few rocky bits

IIRC. bombed it the day I first rode it after going up earlier in the day and ended up staring at the ass of a sheep for a bit.. so didn't get down it full pelt.

strava : https://www.strava.com/segments/12279961
been ridden 252 times. fastest ever (strava tm) by someone only 3 days ago.

re: willougby cleeve.. strava's got 70 people gone up, and 409 down.

the up: https://www.strava.com/segments/1248220
the down: https://www.strava.com/segments/12896916

btw there are e-bikes out on the quantocks now.. saw my first on sun! hoepfully they're not cheating strava. bit demoralising when you're granny ringing and they're in turbo mode going 20+ up hills..

ah. thats not what I knew as horizon. horizon is the climb that starts where frog combe meets holford combe and hauls pretty much straight up the hill out onto higher hare knap. the one you've shown i think i've ridden once.

https://www.strava.com/segments/3864743

this one ^^

frog combe north is the first bit in that video.

https://www.strava.com/segments/6769251

the second bit in that video is this

https://www.strava.com/segments/4263668

ah ok. removed horizon.. other segs aren't mine (i'm only creating when absolutely necessary )

first one: not been near that apart from riding round that edge of higher hare knap. another one for the list. (done both frogs now)

second one: yup done that.

third one: not done either 🙂

so many little sidetracks to explore. still not done concrete block or one that runs from DWD in either

current heatmap for me, give an idea where i've been : https://www.strava.com/athletes/5745957/heatmaps/1d239fc8

a lot of gaps to fill. all this talk of the quantocks is making me want to arrange a visit. I've only ridden it about 3-4 times since I moved away 8 yrs ago.

Was that when knottie was a nipper.

Even I'm not that old! 😆

And there's no way I'm going to click on that video.

a lot of gaps to fill.

lots of nooks and crannies 🙂 enough to keep me entertained on the weekends other people cry off / I don't feel like be punished on the Mendips. Way I look at it, the Quantocks is my gym, exploring is motivation 🙂

all this talk of the Quantocks is making me want to arrange a visit. I've only ridden it about 3-4 times since I moved away 8 yrs ago.

you havent even touched whats in great woods and cockercombe yet...

hard to choose a favorite but the north side of frog combe would win it I reckon.

Make the most of today, it's going to rain tomorrow.
That said, the dust could do with damping down a bit.

you havent even touched whats in great woods and cockercombe yet...

I don't know where to start over there.. I've walked some bits at night and ridden there twice which isn't on strava - nothing i'd remember much apart from coming all the way up Cockercombe Bottom on a hot midsummers day and "nearly dying" (lol) - basically, I have no idea what parts at triscombe would suit me or are too gnar-core.

A friend of a friend rides there a lot and have been meaning to link up for some rides with him. I was thinking of looking at Narnia which I believe starts on the left just off where I have been coming up over from a descent that side of DWD after passing Quantock Farm

( this descent "Joe's Path" https://www.strava.com/segments/2565285 )

So I struck another one off the list.. (click to make bigger)

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It was warm-ish out, but really misty and quite slippery and started raining a bit.

After some poking around online yesterday, I rode up from Holford, via DWD.. and did.. (these are the "trailforks" names)

Narnia & Sharki and Jambo's - rooty, not that slippery considering conditions few puddles. reminds me a lot of some trails on the mendips I get taken around, there was one quite tricky bit (I think in Narnia?) that has a sign on it, a sharp dip into a gully that goes off left. A case of learning the trail I guess 🙂 S+J's.. seems well looked after, some nice little stacked wood jumps on teh LHS in a few places, and notice a root cut out to riding easier..but not in a manner that makes it unchallenging.

whats the best route back up? if you were to session this or take an alternate route at a point?

last bit of The Chimney. meh. just like it looks on camera. looks like it gets a LOT of traffic. Is the beginning much different? might try dark tunnel next instead. (and a sign at the start of the chimney saying the exit was altered, which I knew from when it was announced on fb goes right parallel with the road instead of popping you out direct)

Going to try mix in some great wood and push more towards triscombe exploring..

Concrete Block. bumpy rocks for a bit, a few fun/tricky roots for a moment after a rocky start. but it then pops you into a rocky bed.. then meet that lovely bit after frog combe where I had climbed up only an hour before

bit with sign saying its been altered is at [url=

sessions 5:30[/url]. there are now less trees on the right (only one biggun at the back) and tree/branch thats a bit in the way there right now.

its a much much more established, obvious trail than in the video - i guess 9 years or so's riding will do that! its barely recognisable from the video

weekend just gone i did...

staple plain -> up to beacon hill trig point -> willoughby cleeve - character has changed even after a little rain.

up holford edge -> down bincombe which just gets better! there is a
"fallen" tree right near the start which you to ride round. its just as you turn to point down hill - kinda looks intentional, can't remember how long its been there? i also couldn't recall there being a quite small root jump near the end last time, but that was fun - even if my legs were getting tired by then

up to concrete block, then down it 🙂 -> up "horizon" (first time over) -> over the lower part of higher hare knap, across to "rocky horror" into the junction of somerton/slaughterhouse/ladys edge.. up ladys/sheppards combe, down weacombe, and back up to staple plain..

out this weekend with my 'once' a month mate, and for the first time an old friend who has just ditched his roadbike for a mtb (says he's got fed up of drivers trying to run him off the road!!) who I hope might be out a lot more. plus possibly another friend.

gonna run take up from hodders combe to bincombe, do that, up past DWD to higher hare knap, do the fast descent and turn left into "rocky horror", go up ladys edge/sheppards and come back down stert/somerton. with some decent sized rest breaks. So i don't kill em 🙂

but, since i've started heading towards triscombe - any ideas what trails i should push towards? (given that one side is closed right now too). something with some small table tops to build confidence would be awesome

[IMG] [/IMG]

Cheeky ride up there this morning while visiting my mum. Hit most of the classics, chimney, great bear, concrete block, stert/somerton, weacombe, frog Combe and a flat out blast down triscombe Combe back to my mums.

My legs are baked.

https://www.relive.cc/view/696611031

Awesome 🙂 did you hit S+Js on the way to the chimney?

Hard to tell from Strava as the maps suck when using a phone, not near a computer til tomorrow to use the full site

Nah. Did the old classic entry into the full chimney.

https://www.strava.com/activities/696611031

That's what I thought from the segment names 🙂 couldn't remember if it was a hidden segment

its a much much more established, obvious trail than in the video - i guess 9 years or so's riding will do that! its barely recognisable from the video

I doubt I'd recognise it despite the fact I built it.

The sliver of singletrack alongside the road from triscombe stone seems to have turned into a motorway.

yeah i rode up that earlier in the year and was amazed how it was just all mud and smoothed up.

anything else seem to be heavily used? or just the same? in my weekend warrior role i rarely see more than 2 other groups of riders north of DWD (unless its a Bank Hol :))

The sliver of singletrack alongside the road from triscombe stone seems to have turned into a motorway.

On the other hand some of the stuff we used to ride all the time is getting pretty overgrown.

Snaggletooth was overgrown 10yrs ago. Must have vanished by now. 😉

I didn't come out where I expected after concrete block, I'm sure there used to be more stream crossings and a little climb.

Halfway down stert Combe just before you hit the trees I suddenly realised I sass riding a track 3ft parallel to the old track.

Weacombe hasn't changed much, lady's edge climb is still a bastard. Frog Combe is still the best bit of singletrack ever although again I noticed the lead in has changed and you ride alongside sharki's rut.

Snaggletooth is still there, but hard to find and pretty overgrown, I don't think the CX bike was the best choice for it 3 or 4 months ago.
I think it may be covered by the harvesting/thinning operation currently in progress, so it may make a re-appearance soon.

just googled snaggletooth and found your old directions dibbs, looks like you're right that its in the current closed off section.

problem with the internet is, i guess - the popular stuff gets more popular and the lesser ridden things fall out of usage

i noticed that trail into stert before the tree line went a foot or so left last year, before that there was only the lower track/rut but seems like possibly after a controlled burn or hot weather there it was more exposed and got ridden on and now thats the desire line. IIRC after the new line theres still a drop into the rut, then the little rooty steps/drops to set you up before the first little log drop off.

i've got some folding saw on the way and am thinking of looking into exploring to 'curate' (not creating) a few routes over the winter.. we'll see.. find a lesser used wild trail, make it passable.. ride it more.. etc.. at the very least fix any issues i come across in normal riding

This thread is very useful - thanks guys!

Does the bridleway from Dead Woman's Ditch to Halsway Post have a name?

Definitely useful! Moving down week beginning 21st November, can't wait to explore some more...

[b]Esme [/b]> there are at least four ways to do that route? the most direct, but not easiest goes up "the pipe" (strava name) a rock gulley, and straight along down/up past "old devils galloping path", the entrances high hare knap, for frog combe (which has two routes in, nothern is better) and once you're almost at halsway post stert/somerton (big mud puddles mean you've gone past it) i assume this is the one you mean?

second is up to wilmots pool (aka withymans pool), and you can join the same track after the pipe (which i often prefer, depending what state i'm in!)

third up, best avoided. to the second car park and a small climb up over the top of black hill and go left or right to join route 1 or 2

fourth 🙂 up right to the end of crowcombe park gate and follow the fence line along the "macmillan way west" route up over to where the gate is for hurley beacon and fast rocky down to the post

[b]jonostevens [/b]> hey 🙂 where did you end up moving? feel free to ask any questions on here! i'm more than happy to help, suggest a route etc 🙂

since its also quantocks related. i've been [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/what-are-the-unwritten-rules-of-trail-pixieing ]talking about Bincombe in this post [/url]

just read back through this post..

i don't recall willoughby cleave being another other than a pretty straight run with a couple of small steps in it.

its like that again now sadly 🙁 weekend before the quantock quake it was lovely, its now very flattened out after they put however many riders down it.

since finding "rocky horror" (at least one of em, i know there are several called the same! don't know where the other 1, more? are yet) i've been solely doing the higher hare knap descent straight into it.. at the weekend other people were doing it too. (happy to see i'm in top 5 for that at the mo :))

https://www.strava.com/segments/13294343?filter=overall

a quick thing about smiths combe too..

i've decided the only way to do it is flat out from the beacon 😀
https://www.strava.com/activities/731899315/segments/17951450258

i'd seen sharki calling the bottom bit of smiths dead sheep alley on here in old posts on here, there have been a coupple dead ones down there lately. right now the bracken is higher than i've ever seen it, and the stream is dried out apart from the first crossing.

as the bracken is so high, the 3 or 4th crossing is pretty tight.. mate of mine mangled his finger and scraped himself up pretty bad firs time down it

Thanks for that information, Canopy.
I shall sit down with a map, and try to get my head round it all.

That's a new Rocky Horror to me (No 3).

[quote=Dibbs ]That's a new Rocky Horror to me (No 3).

me too.

i thought rocky horror was the bridleway that drops from cockercombe road straight into quantock combe. you cross it to get to the chimney etc if you ride narnia/dels-stump/etc.

I thought as much from old posts on here.. It's called that on Strava. so i guess it'll stick! 🙂

I've ridden narnia/sharki+jambos right through to the lower chimney twice now.. don't recall anything particularly rocky there though?

an old post from dibbs said

One starts at ST 16834 36499 and the other if I recall correctly starts at ST 15841 38714

the second one.. appears to be uphill from the area that Concrete block spits you out in into. when you join what seems to be a a rocky river bed. there's a descent i've heard of, but not looked for yet at the top of that area that goes from DWD down? other than CB the only thing in that area i've been down (a long time ago) is old devils galloping path, which certainly qualifies as being horribly rocky but thats 1/4 mile further west

I'm pushing my explorations into the Triscombe/Great Wood when I can and have mate who I'm swapping notes with. Til now he's been riding from Taunton up to cothelstone, lydeard and triscombe, whereas i've been coming from staple plain/hodders. so even when we don't ride together we're now finally covering common ground.

In case you haven't already found it, there's some useful stuff on [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/quantocks-you-lucky-south-west-folk ]this old thread[/url] . . . including a slightly different name for the Willoughy Cleeve descent 😉

@canopy : Bought a place in a village called Halse, about 4 miles south west of Cothelstone.

Will definitely be in touch about trails. It's nice to see someone else who gets as excited about plotting a route! 🙂

In the past I've ridden Stert, Slaughterhouse, Hodders, Somerton, Smiths and Weacombe combe. Found the start of Frogs Combe when walking with the family a couple of weeks ago, so looking forward to giving that a run.

awesome 🙂 i know of halse. theres a guy from oake who rides from there up to weacombe and back a couple times a week doing 30-40 mile loops and he holds KOMs for almost all the non-descent based, routes.. thats climbs and tracks/bridleways across the top of the quantocks!

out of the popular natural stuff like you're only missing.. bin combe and higher hare knap.. plenty other bits too.. nice little decent south of DWD (joes path on strava) that i do quite often if i'm heading over to great wood area

plus all the great wood/triscombe stuff that some people never leave!

In case you haven't already found it, there's some useful stuff on this old thread . . . including a slightly different name for the Willoughy Cleeve descent

haha yeah. I think about that every time I type it 😉

other thread talks down smiths a bit, which is a shame. as i said above, its far more fun flat out from the trig point on beacon hill, bit tamer from the junction. some people i've taken down found it too scary, and as i said on prev page.. mate of mine came a cropper about 3 weeks ago down there. certainly not to be sniffed at. strava says i'm doing 25mph by the tree line (before anchoring on the breaks and pinball machining it through the rocky stuff and hoping to not carry too much speed into the corner above the first stream crossing! after that its "just" a fast twisty path with small one root drop and some tight turns through the stream crossings.

its the getting out of smiths thats the bugger and makes it less fun to put in a loop, especially if you're not fit enough. if its windy the greenway is a sod, but you can pick your way following the fence line across to the clearing above holford world war memorial trees. there are great views across to lower hare knap/higher hare knap and cyou can see all the northern combes that connnet with holford, and it looks straight into..'holly willoughbys cleavage' (willoughby cleeve). also, you're at one end of longstone hill, and "the longstone" itself is visible from there too if you know there to look for it.

This picture i've nicked from that other thread shows the area dibbs prev post says that rocky horror #2 is in.
since i still have no idea where it is, and can't find it on strava or trailforks. i've done concrete block a few times and old devils galloping path once (the line to the right of the words "frog hill").
[img] [/img]

(forgive dodgy english above.. working and typing.. breaks=brakes! and ashamed to have done the decent=descent one :o.. you wouldn't think my mrs is a secondary school english teacher - lol)

i thought rocky horror was the bridleway that drops from cockercombe road straight into quantock combe. you cross it to get to the chimney etc if you ride narnia/dels-stump/etc.

That's the one, It used to be pretty rough back in the day, but they've "improved" it and now I can ride 2/3rds of it on my cross bike. 🙁