Swinley Forest riding

KateCBR600

Can anyone tell me if you can ride your bike in Swinley Forest in a general sense, as well as riding the trails? I'm only a beginner, so want to do the green and blue trails, but it'd be nice to make a day of it - are you allowed to ride elsewhere in the forest? Kate

rockmonkeysc

You can ride anywhere in the forest.
You would be fine on the red trail as well, there is nothing on it a beginner couldn't get through. It's easier than quite a few blue trails.

roger_merriman

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19750529#p19750529]KateCBR600[/url] wrote:

Can anyone tell me if you can ride your bike in Swinley Forest in a general sense, as well as riding the trails? I'm only a beginner, so want to do the green and blue trails, but it'd be nice to make a day of it - are you allowed to ride elsewhere in the forest? Kate

It's all roll able, The Blue is very short, the green is quite fun, the red also, they quite often do work on parts so not uncommon for parts to be taped shut.

I took my CX bike around it in the summer, bit jiggly in places but fun never the less, fair enough I'm not a beginner but equally I'm a hardly God's gift either!

does get busy on the weekend, though less so if the weather is poor.

HardrockRob

What are the trails like at the moment. Never been to Swinley but want to get my 9 year old out on her bike and wonder if the blue/green trails would be good for her to start?

Also as have never been would like to try and get there early. What time does it tend to get busy from or can it be busy from the off?

Thanks!

BigAl

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19772306#p19772306]HardrockRob[/url] wrote:

What are the trails like at the moment. Never been to Swinley but want to get my 9 year old out on her bike and wonder if the blue/green trails would be good for her to start?

Also as have never been would like to try and get there early. What time does it tend to get busy from or can it be busy from the off?

Thanks!

Certainly nothing there that a 9 year old shouldn't be able to do

As for state of trails at the moment, I don't know. But with the rain we've had over the last few days I don't imagine it's in great shape. The surface doesn't hold up too well in the rain

cycle monster

Any update on the trail conditions? Planning a trip there tomorrow (best part of two hours driving) so wouldn't bother if most of it is closed, slop not an issue.

jamski

RockmonkeySC wrote:

You can ride anywhere in the forest.
You would be fine on the red trail as well, there is nothing on it a beginner couldn't get through. It's easier than quite a few blue trails.

I'm going on Saturday and planning on doing the red, what's the small black section like? I take it there are bits you have to jump in that?

nozzac

No that black section is a mystery to be honest, unless they've changed it since I was went. It's just a tiny section through some trees. I remember it before it was part of a route and the only challenging bit was an uphill section when it was very muddy.

I heard they've done more work on the downhill "extreme MTB area" which might be more of a challenge. Not actually seen it htough

jamski

Went to Swinley yesterday. Only did the first few sections of blue, a few changes but was much the same sort of thing as always. Noticed some nice changes to red though. The man-made drop offs were a nice addition. Rollable but something to get better at. Some nice extra downhill sections, and those that were already there seem to be a bit more technical now. More roots and natural drop offs. Had a blast!