tennyson trail

clarkson

i posted a while ago about goin to the iow, and am going on tuesday now to ride the tennyson trail and beyond...
anyway, what i want to know is, is it signposted? im starting form carisbrooke end and was wondering is it signposted? and does it start down Nodgham lane as i think and the map suggests?

dunker

yeah looking at my map it's Nodgham Lane i think, the trail starts with a small road that goes off it and breaks up pretty quickly into hard-pack slighlty rocky uphill into tree shade. i came out of it saturday and did'nt spot any signs on Nodgham Lane but i was'nt looking for any. there's lots of signs on the trail though at most of the junctions but still take a map. hope tuesday is nice for you

you could check it out on free google earth, you can see the start/exit clearly.

clarkson

i thought thats where it was! thanks for your help dunker, i'll post and let you know how it goes.

clarkson

well, did the ride on tuesday. i did get a little lost finding nodgham lane and when i did find it, i found it from the wrong end, so missed the trail too.

once i'd found it though, it was fantastic!! the best trails that are fairly close to me by miles! hoping to go back in a few days on my enduro to really hammer it; was only on my xc bike the other day and gave it a good thrashing.

there is a dh track in brighstone forest too, i found where it was, so thats on my list of 'to do' when i have my enduro with me!

thanks for your help with helping me find it and that, was much appreciatedl.

dunker

it's not a bad little trail is it hehe i prefer going in the other direction as the climbs are a bit more progressive and it misses out that really steep chalk road climb. usually on breezy weekend days you get alot of paragliders around on top of the downs too, i must try taking some photos of them one day.

you would think that something so popular would be clearly marked would'nt you, i mean the main start/exit of the trail is almost hidden and if you don't know where it is can be hard to spot.

glad you found it okay and had a good day

clarkson

agreed, the start from carisbrooke end is very hard. as i said i missed it, but i was coming from the other direction.

i'm planning on going back next saturday/sunday, wont be on my enduro though; still not fixed, and might be bringing my dad with me, but not sure on that, maybe we should meet up?!

i did both directions, but i prefer coming from carisbrooke end; the downhills are faster i found abnd theres a nice convenient tea shop too at the end in freshwater. perfect after thrashing the trails!!

dunker

i prefer riding solo really but i'll prolly bump into you sooner or later as i like the west of the island alot, but today i explored the east a bit more riding along st martins/shaklin down apparently the highest point on the island at 245m whatever that is in feet? again a pretty tough ride for me (newbie) it was single/double track, grass/gravel with some nice single track forresty bits going up and down with a huge grass hill/mountain climb. could prolly make some nice loops out of it.

clarkson

ive been looking on some maps and the trails on the west side of the island do tend to sort of join up to form a loop starting and finishing on the tennyson trail. they go all the way out to the needles as far as i can see adn then back. the only problem is though i'd get lost through freshwater and all the towns.

you'll know its me if you see my GT (sig) or my enduro which is rusty brown ex demo form 06.