Bristol area trails

j_l

Hi

Looking for a place to ride that is mid point for me and an old mate to meet up (he lives in Reading I live in Devon) and I just wanted a quick heads up as we were looking to visit the Aston Court Trails.

Are they worth the drive/ time is there enough for a good 4 hours of riding?

if not where else (apart from the obvious welsh stuff) forest of Dean maybe??

Looking for rippable stuff thats fun (as apposed to short loop's of XC dullness)

Thanks

Horton

Could have sworn I'd replied to this, but evidently not...

Ashton Court is great fun now the new trail is fully open - fast, flowy, loads of berms, little drops, some small jumps etc. but it will be nowhere like a 4 hour ride - although there are little sections you can do over and over for a laugh.

You have got Fifty acre wood across the road though, part of the old Timberland trail, as well as Leigh woods so you could easily while away 4 hours on a bike. Not sure what state Leigh Woods is in at the moment as there is a new trail being built at the moment but there are loads of trails through there (some err on the unofficial side so aren't always obvious)

Alternatively, get him to come to you and head to Gawton or Tavistock... UK Bikepark isn't a million miles away either, but they're DH orientated

j_l

Thanks for info, the idea was to meet half way to keep costs down so Tavi and Gawton not really an option TBH i would prefer the Quantocks if he was coming my way.

Is the Forest of Dean any good?

butternash

Just for future reference really, there is a forest called Wentwood just over the Severn Bridge into Wales....it's over 1000 acres of stunning woodland that is teaming with fantastic single track trails. There's even a man-made downhill course (although on both counts you need to know where you're going to find these.....locals have justifiably been trying to hide the best routes from illegal motorcrossers).

So unless you're being guided round, it might still be tricky to launch into a 4 hr ride round Wentwood, but it is easily possible if you know where to go (as proven in recent, hugely successful 'Wentwood 50km Enduro'). We (locals + council + forestry commission + woodland trust) are developing a waymarked set of routes at the mo (with help of Daffyd Davis,,,who created Coed y Brenin), so anytime soon you'll be able to get the most out of this secret wonderland!

Re: forest of dean - again, tons of great trails that have been used in XC and DH races but not marked the rest of the time. The marked routes in forest of dean are pretty tame and more oriented towards family/kid riders.