Best for XC trail; Aston Hill, Chicksands or Woburn Sands?

timmys

Was wondering which of these places is most suitable for XC-esque trail riding. I'm in North London and am not sure which is my best bet for some red-ish level trail riding when I don't fancy schlepping all the way to Thetford.

Which of these places actually has marked out trails? Aston Hill seems to according to their website as does Chicksands, but I'm sure I've read somewhere that the route marking at Chicksands is pretty poor or even non-existent. Woburn doesn't have any marked trails does it?

So basically which of these is easiest / most fun to just turn up and ride without having to explore and make your own route?

xcracer

Don't know about the others but the Aston Hill XC loop is short (estimates seem to vary between 4 and 6 miles). You can get round it in about 30 minutes. It is fun, you can do it a couple of times and go on the downhill runs as well but its still not really a full day's riding. You have to pay a fiver to ride there too.

BorisSpencer

Chicksand's XC loop is even shorter at about 2-3 miles, and the waymarking as you have heard is pretty woeful. Woburn is your best bet, but you will have to explore for yourself, or hook up with some local knowledge.

nonnac85

Like BorisSpencer said really...

Chicksands has 2 routes but poorly marked although you could easily just ride round and make your own route. The woods are not that big overall so you wouldnt really get lost.

Woburn - If you grab a map there are some good routes to be made and also you can aim for Stockgrove Park cafe mid-ride.

Have you thought about going South-ish to Epping Forest?
More info in the link in my sig.

snips50

http://www.cyclonemountainbikingclub.co.uk/

gregsd

What about Swinley forest? Just a bit further round the M25/M3, but it must be closer than Thetford. Some great singletrack but you might need someone to show you around to begin with.

timmys

Thanks for the help everyone. Swinely is a good idea, I'll probably end up giving them all a shot over time but though it would be good yo hear what peoples thoughts were.

I ended up making a quick trip to Woburn on Sunday but didn't really manage to find much. Here's where I went, the south east part of that trace is the only place I really found any nice single track.

BorisSpencer

If you go again park at the end of Church Road and try going further south. Looks like you found the downhill/jump area.

snips50

Drop me a line @ http://www.cyclonemountainbikingclub.co.uk/

My tag on there is superflyjim and I'll show you the best bits Fnar Fnar....

Or tag on to a ride that the club runs on a Sunday morning,1st one go's @10 they do an Hour loop, then back to the top car park on Church Rd for 11 then out again for the 2nd hour ( some people do miss the 10am one due to hangovers!).Then @12 over to Stockgrove park for a cup of char and abit of cake.

There are groups for all ability's.

Failing that drop a message on the forum and I'm sure others in the group would be happy to meet up with you either on the Saturday or during the week.



Jim

timmys

snips50 wrote:

Drop me a line @ http://www.cyclonemountainbikingclub.co.uk/

My tag on there is superflyjim and I'll show you the best bits Fnar Fnar....

Or tag on to a ride that the club runs on a Sunday morning,1st one go's @10 they do an Hour loop, then back to the top car park on Church Rd for 11 then out again for the 2nd hour ( some people do miss the 10am one due to hangovers!).Then @12 over to Stockgrove park for a cup of char and abit of cake.

There are groups for all ability's.

Failing that drop a message on the forum and I'm sure others in the group would be happy to meet up with you either on the Saturday or during the week.



Jim

Not sure when I'll be back to Woburn but thanks for the offer!