Cranham Woods

Reeco

living where i do i cant find many places to ride that are even slightly challenging (though aprantly they are around but just very well hidden). but recently after asking around a bit i have heard some good things about cranham wood, im considering heading up there with my friend this weekend, but i was wondering if anybody else has ridden that area, and if they have what they think of it and if it is worth going there?

uk_mr_brownstone

There's probably bits of Cranham I've not found yet, but I wouldn't class much of what I've ridden as really 'challenging'. Don't get me wrong it's fun enough but gets very boggy in places. Definately try to arrange to go with someone that knows the area and can show you the best directions to ride what's there- i'm fairly new to Cranham and find it hard to link up the best bits. Map's aren't much help as a lot of it isn't synced with marked paths on the maps. Definately try to go with someone!

If you combine Cranham with going over to Leckhampton Hill there's more variety and there's a lot of fun riding in a small area over at Leckhampton.

the most 'challenging' ride i've found locally is the last section (through the woods) that you hit if you do one of the classic routes on Malvern- very rooty, often steep singletrack- I'm no where near good enough to even think about cleaning that section- it's very technical

Reeco

cheers, i have only realy been mountain biking this past year (well properly anyway) before that i was into bmx, so im not very good yet,So as long as it isnt another boring, foot path like ride i wont mind. just nice to have some variation.

I think the most exciting places we have ridden so far are the tiny trial we built in some woods and a track from the edgworth area to chalford. dont know if you ever ridden that track?technically i dont think your supposed to, but apart from the odd snotty walker nobody seems to mind, and at the end of the track theres a canal track that leads to "Noahs Ark" bike shop so gives you a good excuse to go there and buy stuff

i have talked to alot of people about the area, and have been told where to go, and my friend knows the area...roughly :oops: . and his mum knows the area well so even if we do get compltley lost ,as long as we can get out of the woods we should be fine.

And from what you have said i think i will keep off that last section...for now 8)

Another local mountain biker also told me he heard sombody who lives close to the woods has been putting wire from tree to tree at neck height in some places and he has also been putting nail boards under the leaves, so if you plan on going there any time soon keep an eye out for stuff like this.

do you know any other half decent tracks around that area?

thanks again.

Reeco

went there yesterday, it was freezing cold, but brilliant fun, we didnt realy know which track we were supposed to following so we ended up doing a whole lot of small tracks that didnt directly link without crossing rads etc. but never the less it was still brilliant, one of the funnest parts of it was riding across the golf course at the end :oops: but after getting of there pretty swiftly we decided to go home and to come back when it slightly warmer, so we can get up hills without the wheel spinning in the ice , meaning you had to put twice the effort into getting up every hill, and maybe it will be a bit clearer where the tracks start and ends in the spring.

uk_mr_brownstone

I went up this morning- not quite as cold as yesterday I don't think, but the ground was still frozen and pretty slippy, but I prefer it frozen than boggy!

Reeco

yeah i can imagine it gets very boggy from what i have seen, lets hope we have a half decent summer so it will stay rideable.

dave_hill

Reeco wrote:

yeah i can imagine it gets very boggy from what i have seen, lets hope we have a half decent summer so it will stay rideable.

Have you read this thread?

You ought to...