Anybody know any good trails in swindon

jaxurbody

I love going out on my bike, but can't find anywhere new to go

gnasher5

I guess you have been to Clouts Wood (Wroughton), Elcombe to Bassett Down, Croft Woods - Burderop Hill The Ridgeway, The Old Quarry in Sparcells, I am going to take a look over Brinkworth Way in the not too distant future, Will let you know how it goes.

jaxurbody

is the old quarry in sparcells the one on top of the hill? sometimes called shaw ridge

gnasher5

Go up the old Railway Track From the back of The Rivermead Industrial Estate and it is on the left just before the old bridge. It's pretty short but good for a quick blast. Takes me about an hour to get up there ride round and then back to Swindon town centre.

jaxurbody

thanks, i might try that when the ground isn't completely filthy. I had to wait weeks to clean my bike last time, because my dad turns off the outside taps to stop them freezing up.

gnasher5

I always use Sainsburys jet wash £1 for 3 minutes but then I only live round the corner

jaxurbody

cool. I live in sparcells, so you can see it might take some time to get there in the first place. might be useful for when i take the long way to lydiard though as I pass right by sainsburys

dirtbiker100

woah woah woah who what where are these places? old quarry at sparcells i can now get to from gnashers description and i actually used to work in rivermead ind est. but the others?
Clouts Wood (Wroughton)
Elcombe to Bassett Down
Croft Woods - Burderop Hill

and where do you normally ride the ridgeway from and to?

I'm from south cerney but normally head north to cheltenham area to ride so wouldn't mind coming south sometime.

strodey

Ridgeway between Ashbury and A338 near wantage is your best bet, some great downhills, nothing too scary but if you turn right at some woods just after going down after white horse hill you'll find about a mile of wooded singletrack to die for!
not easy to spot fortunatley as i only ever see my trax in it!
I cycle up from Lambourn on a circular via some other wooded singletrack (v. nice) and all the bridleways are great. Watch out for slippy clay though.
Can be a nightmare with walkers in the summer so get some pro 2 hubs or a horn!
grid references available on request!

dirtbiker100

strodey wrote:

Can be a nightmare with walkers in the summer so get some pro 2 hubs or a horn!

have been bought and are waiting for use ... any use

gnasher5

woah woah woah who what where are these places? old quarry at sparcells i can now get to from gnashers description and i actually used to work in rivermead ind est. but the others?
Clouts Wood (Wroughton)
Elcombe to Bassett Down
Croft Woods - Burderop Hill

and where do you normally ride the ridgeway from and to?

The top three I take in as part of a (roughly) 15 mile loop from my house in Bridgemead. Depending on how energetic I feel I sometimes go in reverse and go up Burderop Hill, up to Barbury Castle then out onto the Ridgeway towards Avebury Last time I did that though it was too wet to explore any of the tracks that lead off the Ridgeway but looked like some good trails for the summer.

Strodey, I might give that section a go in the next couple of weekends.

forgotrafe

I know the Ridgeway between Ashbury and A338 near Wantage well, but have asked Strodey for clarification on this here wood he's found. Think I know where it is, just never dared venture into it!

In the summer I get a lift into work, then cycle home from Wantage to just near Waylands Smithy, where I drop down to do the last 4 mile on road. Usually 6pm by time I set off, and nobody around.

Anyone grid refs / GPS tracks for any of these other places? I live in Watchfield so all of this is on my doorstep.

I've only been once but there's loads down by the Ogbournes. For me that means a drive, but that's okay as I can get bikes in my old Landy easy.

Rafe

gnasher5

Croft Woods and Burderop Hill. Croft Woods is where the Arrow is.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=415500&y=181500&z=3&sv=415500,181500&st=4&ar=N&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&ax=415745&ay=182725

Once at the top of the Hill you keep going til you see the Old Married Quaters for the old RAF base turn right, once past the houses there is a Bridle way that takes you right up onto the Ridgeway. Just East of Barbury Castle.

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=415500&y=178500&z=3&sv=415500,178500&st=4&ar=N&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&ax=415395&ay=179035

forgotrafe

The arrow doesn't appear for me, but it makes sense.

Thanks!

Rafe

jaxurbody

Hi there thanks for all the interest. I wasn't sure if there was anybody from Swindon or thereabouts around, but its nice to have some help. Now I just need to find out how to get my bike to the places further away.

cofe@VP

there's a bunch of rides near swindon, based around the ridgeway, in our latest south east england guidebook, including a free one if you scroll to the bottom of the page.

jaxurbody

Thanks!

Bossangel

I Live i Cricklade and do the ridgeway, Barbury castle loops, and a flat 11 mile loop round cricklade area. If you go for a ride and looking for people to ride with in swindon area drop me a line. bossangel@hotmail.co.uk

Simon

dirtbiker100

ah where do you go on your cricklade loop? i'm south cerney so quite interested!

Bossangel

we go up the back of cricklade leisure centre, towards ashton keynes for approx 4 miles and then onto south cerney across the fields and cross over by the quarry then start heading towards the water park then back down the track to cricklade. This is mainly flat with some good muddy single track to hone the handling skills. The friend i ride with is more experienced than me but i think i have the most fun

Bossangel

Just spoke to my neighbour who tells me the loop i do is part of a 50 mile track that you can ride down to lechlade

yarocin

Is this post still alive? I am looking for someone to ride with. I live in Swdon in Kingshill area. Anybody interested?

Bossangel

i'm always up for a good ride round, i'm in love with the ridgeway at the moment but i do a i'll ride anywhere really. Always looking for other riders to ride with

Englishsid

Mapped my route from North Swindon to South Cerney on Bikely

http://www.bikely.com/listpaths/by/Englishsid

I've also put a single ridgeway route up there too.

Would also be interested in joining others on a ride sometime.

lexiekay

Here's my favourite after work route starting out from Swindon, its about 30km:
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Bincknoll-Castle-Ridgeway

Apart from the obvious road bits in and out of town it has some great twisty singletrack in the woods near Bincknoll Castle, and takes in some of the Ridgeway too.

dirtbiker100

ooh nice routes. might try them some time soon. especially the one that goes past south cerney!
30km? no wonder your fitness ain't that bad. i did a 20km the other day and it half killed me.

Englishsid

Is Clouts Wood worth a trip in its own right? looks small on the map and I am in North Swindon

lexiekay

Is Clouts Wood worth a trip in its own right?

Clouts wood is okay, there's a few good bits of trail there, but it gets pretty muddy... You can always combine it with a ride up to Barbury Castle though...

30km? no wonder your fitness ain't that bad.

I have been known to get off and push sometimes though

forgotrafe

Thanks for the route info. Must get round to publishing some of ours. But also thinking of starting a regular riding club in the Ridgeway/Swindon area if anyone is interested.

Englishsid

with regard to the riding club... anyone here use facebook? might be a good place to set-up a group and plan rides out.

dirtbiker100

Good shout on that one englishsid