White Peak Mountain Biking E-Book

Jon Barton

• Herausgeber: Vertebrate Digital
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

White Peak Mountain Biking - The Pure Trails ebook is the digital version of our bestselling guidebook to the southern Peak District. Clatter down tricky limestone descents, dodge roots on twisty woodland singletrack and cruise along easy cyclepaths through green fields and pretty villages. Featuring 24 routes from 10.5 to 45 kilometres in length, it's suitable for riders of all abilities. This digital edition adds downloadable GPX routes, zoom-able Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 maps and weblinks to local pubs, cafes and bike shops. Researched, ridden and written by a local rider, each route features easy-to-follow directions and details of distance, timings and difficulty. Also included is a bonus section listing the top ten climbs, descents and singletracks, information on family riding (including the Monsal Trail) and a detailed Appendix. Compatibility This ebook is available as an epub or Kindle file and is compatible with all e-reader and Kindle Fire devices. It is readable on most smart phones. For Android, Windows 8 and Blackberry 10 phones we recommend downloading the free Kobo ebook app. PC and Mac users may need to download an ebook or Kindle reader. We recommend the Kobo reader for PCs and iBook for Mac. GPX route files will require a relevant device, app or programme.

Leseprobe

The Pure Trails

Design and production by Vertebrate Publishing, Sheffield www.v-publishing.co.uk

The Pure Trails

Written by Jon Barton

The Pure Trails

Copyright © 2014 Vertebrate Graphics Ltd. Published by Vertebrate Publishing. First published in 2006 by Vertebrate Graphics Ltd and reprinted in 2009. This second edition first published in 2014 by Vertebrate Publishing, an imprint of Vertebrate Graphics Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, or mechanised, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without the written permission of the publisher. ISBN 978-1-910240-05-2 (Paperback) ISBN 978-1-910240-11-3 (eBook) Front cover: Kim Russon on the Calver Circuit, near Hassop. Photo: Tim Russon. Back cover: Singletrack above Coombs Dale on the Great Longstone ride. Photo: John Coefield. Photography by John Coefield unless otherwise credited. All maps reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright. 100025218 Designed by Nathan Ryder. www.v-graphics.co.uk This ebook edition has been created using CircularFLO from Circular Software.

Every effort has been made to achieve accuracy of information in this guidebook. The authors, publishers and copyright owners can take no responsibility for: loss or injury (including fatal) to persons; loss or damage to property or equipment; trespass, irresponsible riding or any other mishap that may be suffered as a result of following the route descriptions or advice offered in this guidebook. The inclusion of a track or path as part of a route, or otherwise recommended, in this guidebook does not guarantee that the track or path will remain a Right of Way. If conflict with landowners arises we advise that you act politely and leave by the shortest route available. If the matter needs to be taken further then please take it up with the relevant authority. PLEASE GIVE WAY TO HORSES AND PEDESTRIANS.

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Contents

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Introduction vii Acknowledgements viii How to Use this Book x A Note on Trail Resurfacing xi Rights of Way xii The Bike xii Essential Kit xiii Night Riding xiv General Safety xiv In the Event of an Accident xv Rules of the (Off) Road xv Planning Your Ride xvi Maps & Symbols xvi GPS Routes xvi White Peak Area Map & Route Finder xviii SECTION 1 – Classics Classics Introduction xx 1 u The Quarry Trail – 10.5km 5 2 u Shillito Woods – 14km 9 3 u Ashover Singletrack – 13km 13 4 u Dark & White – 13.75km 17 5 u Grangemill – 17km 21 6 u Bakewell Circuit – 17km 25 7 u Middleton Circuit – 17.5km 29 8 u Linacre North – 23km 33 SECTION 2 – Enduros Enduros Introduction 38 9 u»u Calver Circuit – 20km 43 10 u»u Eastern Moors Tour – 20km 47 11 u»u Cheedale & the Wye Valley – 21.5km 53 12 u»u Great Longstone – 18km 59 13 u»u Cromford Circuit – 21km 63 14 u»u Buxton & the Goyt Valley – 25+15km 69 15 u Holymoorside – 21km 75 16 u Bakewell Slice – 25km 81 17 u»u Manifold Valley – 24.5km 87 18 u Gradbach – 26km 91 19 u»u South Buxton Circuit – 15/26km 97 SECTION 3 – EPICS Epics Introduction 102 20 u Macclesfield Forest Classic – 23km 107 21 u Five Dales Circuit – 36km 113 22 u Linacre Classic – 35km 119 23 u»u Hope Valley Circuit – 45km 125 24 u Rowsley Circuit – 38.5km 131 Section 4 – Bonus Section Bonus Section Introduction 136 Hollinsclough Descents 140 The Pennine Bridleway 143 Family Rides 144 Top Ten Downhills 148 Top Ten Climbs 150 Top Ten Singletracks 152 APPENDIX 154

CONTENTS

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Limestone, characteristic of the White Peak

Introduction It would be a real shame if the White Peak, an area so full of potential, of deep valleys, high limestone hills and thick, leafy woodland, were not also full of legal trails. Happily enough, it’s laced with them. Not only that, but they’re some of the best trails in the country, the sort that leave you wondering ‘who built this, and if it were not specifically for mountain biking, then why?’ Whether you like to ride smoothly and delicately, flitting through the trees and over roots, or in a less subtle manner, being knocked sideways by a big block of limestone whilst pinballing downhill at mach 39, there is a contender for your personal favourite piece of trail in the White Peak (I know everyone says this, but it’s true, honestly!). Although less well known than the more barren Dark Peak, the White Peak boasts some tremendous riding and, for some, its relatively unspoilt aspect is of great appeal. This guide complements its companion, Peak District Mountain Biking – Dark Peak Trails, describing all of the excellent biking in the southern half of the Peak District National Park, and also providing a little reminder of what’s further north, in gritstone land. The routes cover not only the limestone plateaux and dales, but all the idiosyncrasies of the area as well: the upper reaches of the River Dove and its rocky byways, the intricate singletrack traversing the open moorland of the Eastern Edges, and the magnificent vista of the River Wye, as it carves its way through the beds of limestone. It ventures upon the industrial relics of the Peak – the abandoned railway lines, viaducts, disused (and active) quarries, mines and waterways. This new edition features four new routes, numerous tweaked routes and untouched classic routes. And of course the now standard OS maps. Indeed, researching, re-riding and re-writing this second edition has been very rewarding; a fine reminder of the wonderful landscape, wildlife and mountain bike action in the White Peak. Enjoy. Jon Barton

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Acknowledgements A big ‘Thank You!’ to all my riding companions over the years. In particular, thanks to everyone who has helped in compiling this book. Andy Heading has been a great inspiration, not only a superb snapper for the first edition but a great source of route info, local knowledge and general support. Thanks also to the hard working team at Vertebrate for their second-to-none efforts in production; John Coefield for his Herculean work compiling and editing this second edition – John and Tom Fenton also wrote most of the new content, Nathan Ryder and Rod Harrison for their excellent design skills and Tom Fenton for being editor-in-chief for the first edition. Thanks also to Nick Cotton for his excellent Traffic Free Cycling book, the inspiration for our Family Rides section, and to Rachel Bennett and Danny Udall from the Eastern Moors Partnership for their help with the new Eastern Moors route. Thanks to John Coefield and Tim Russon for their great photography, and to the photographic models: John Horscroft, Tom Fenton, Richard Barson and Tim and Kim Russon. And, finally, thanks to Gráinne and of course Thomas James. GPS Routes GPX Route files are available for all of the rides in this ebook. Click on the red GPS ‘cog’ at the top of the introduction to each ride – this links to a web page with the GPX files available for individual download, as well as instructions on how to use them. You will need to have a compatible device, app or programme in order to download and open the files. More details and full instructions can be found by following the link. Please note that these GPX files were created on a computer and as such many not always be 100% accurate. In the event of any confusion, cross-referencing with the route directions and appropriate map should see you right. Please email any feedback to [email protected]

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How to Use This Book Riding in the White Peak This book should provide you with all of the information that you need for an enjoyable, trouble-free and successful ride in the White Peak area of the Peak District. There are rides on the Peak’s eastern fringe, on the singletrack of Linacre near Chesterfield, bigger White Peak tours around Bakewell, Rowsley and Chatsworth, honorary Dark Peak rides against the western edge of the Peak near Macclesfield Forest, and actual Dark Peak rides up towards the upper edge of the White Peak and the Hope Valley. There’s great variety – in trail surface, difficulty (both up and down), scenery and length. Something for everyone. As with the riding in most of the UK, it’s worth bearing a few things in mind for some of the rides (these are things we’ve generally pointed out in the individual routes): Some of the rides, such as those around Linacre, Holymoorside, Cheedale and Bakewell are definitely best attempted in dry weather – or rather not after prolonged wet weather – as they can get rather muddy. Not only will they be not much fun to ride, but those precious strips of singletrack will get wider and wider, and nobody wants that. The Linacre area rides can also get very overgrown, painfully so, from midsummer onwards. So they’re definitely better suited to spring, early summer or autumn days. In terms of all–weather riding in these parts, the Macc Forest stuff is your best bet, as it’s predominantly on well surfaced forest trails and rocky trails. The new ride which takes in the concessionary bridleway along the top of Curbar and Froggatt edges also holds up fairly well, although we'd miss out the Totley Moor section. The Routes This guide contains 24 of the best routes in the southern half of the Peak District, with a few Dark Peak routes thrown in for good measure. Some of the rides are just as good in reverse and many get better on the second and third ride as you learn the best bits. Classics are fairly short (but not necessarily easy), Epics are a little longer and require that bit more effort and Enduros step things up again.

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