Surrey Hills in Summer
With the UK summer in full swing (pretty much) there are even more reasons to get out on two wheels. Blue skies, dry trails and longer days make a quick spin that much more attractive, even more so if you live in the city. For those in the UK capital, this usually means a short train journey out to the Surrey Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty which is also home to some of the best riding in the South East. It may not be the riding that our future Whistler Bike Park guides are enjoying across the Atlantic, but it's pretty much the next best thing!
![Surrey Hills]()
Nearly empty Waterloo Station, must be the weekend.
![Surrey Hills]()
Heading out of London Waterloo train station, you can get out to Gomshall and after a short pedal get to the unassuming village of Peaslake. Arriving early morning, you could be forgiven for thinking this was just another picturesque village in the Surrey Hills and not a trail hub for cyclists of all disciplines. But gradually the arrival of numerous vans, road cyclists and cars adjourned with bikes of various sizes go some way in showing just how popular this place is.
![Surrey Hills]()
Blue skies in the UK
From the village you have access to the three main hills of Winterfold, Holmbury and Leith Hill (the second highest point in South East England), all of them criss-crossed with trails built generously by locals. The sandy nature of the soil means building is relatively easily, and the abundance of trees holds it together pretty well and give the trails a characteristic feel. You won't find much in the way of technical rock gardens, but will instead find slippery roots and fast flowing corners. There are some classics like 'Barry Knows Best' and 'Yoghurt Pots', and some self named ones like 'Rad Lane' and 'Super Nova'.
![Surrey Hills]()
![Surrey Hills]()
Finding flow on 'Rad Lane'
What is great about the terrain is that during the summer new sections of trail can open up quickly. Especially around Hurtwood, the steep and loam covered slopes of the hill mean a trail can be raked out in no time, with berms waiting to be smashed and pull ups doubled.
![Surrey Hills]()
![Surrey Hills]()
It's not all steep though, most recently a new jump line has appeared giving riders the opportunity to get some airtime in and amongst the trees.
What's great about riding here is the density of trails in the area. You can head out and take in 3 or 4 descents within a 20 minutes pedal of Peaslake, that all give you a different flavour. It also means you are never far away from a cuppa and sausage and leek pastry from Peaslake Village Shop (well worth a visit on its own).
![Surrey Hills]()
Well earned cuppa brew
Trains run regularly from London Waterloo direct out to Guildford or Dorking, where you can then change and get a train to Gomshall and make the short pedal across to Peaslake. So if you recently arrived in London, there is no excuse to not get out there and explore some fantastic riding close to home. Hope to see you out there!
John Inman
Ski, Snowboard & Mountain Bike Instructor Courses & Camps
www.peakleaders.com | Tel: +44 (0) 1337 860 079
Join us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter @PeakLeaders
MENTIONS: @peakleaders
Heading out of London Waterloo train station, you can get out to Gomshall and after a short pedal get to the unassuming village of Peaslake. Arriving early morning, you could be forgiven for thinking this was just another picturesque village in the Surrey Hills and not a trail hub for cyclists of all disciplines. But gradually the arrival of numerous vans, road cyclists and cars adjourned with bikes of various sizes go some way in showing just how popular this place is.
From the village you have access to the three main hills of Winterfold, Holmbury and Leith Hill (the second highest point in South East England), all of them criss-crossed with trails built generously by locals. The sandy nature of the soil means building is relatively easily, and the abundance of trees holds it together pretty well and give the trails a characteristic feel. You won't find much in the way of technical rock gardens, but will instead find slippery roots and fast flowing corners. There are some classics like 'Barry Knows Best' and 'Yoghurt Pots', and some self named ones like 'Rad Lane' and 'Super Nova'.
What is great about the terrain is that during the summer new sections of trail can open up quickly. Especially around Hurtwood, the steep and loam covered slopes of the hill mean a trail can be raked out in no time, with berms waiting to be smashed and pull ups doubled.
What's great about riding here is the density of trails in the area. You can head out and take in 3 or 4 descents within a 20 minutes pedal of Peaslake, that all give you a different flavour. It also means you are never far away from a cuppa and sausage and leek pastry from Peaslake Village Shop (well worth a visit on its own).
Trains run regularly from London Waterloo direct out to Guildford or Dorking, where you can then change and get a train to Gomshall and make the short pedal across to Peaslake. So if you recently arrived in London, there is no excuse to not get out there and explore some fantastic riding close to home. Hope to see you out there!
John Inman
Ski, Snowboard & Mountain Bike Instructor Courses & Camps
www.peakleaders.com | Tel: +44 (0) 1337 860 079
Join us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter @PeakLeaders
MENTIONS: @peakleaders
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Member since Feb 3, 2009
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Shame the surrey hills MTB scene doesn't take a more community focused vibe regarding trail building like people do up north. ThisIsSheffield have done a pretty good job at organising dig days, mates races and the like and lobbying local land owners to try help build more sanctioned trails just from promoting the riding scene and encouraging participation around there.
Don't get me wrong, being someone who helps out at dig days, I know it is disappointing when stuff gets broken by weapons skidding there way down (people forget we were all beginners once). I agree that this is especially frustrating for trail builders in Surrey, given trail erosion can happen so fast. But if people tried to get others involved rather than vilifying all who ride and enjoy their precious trails, who knows they could get more trails that are regularly maintained, but hey, that's just like your opinion, man!
The current situation, and please correct me if i'm wrong here is that the current established trail system is accepted, allowed and maintained by an authorised select few organised by Hurtwood. A vastly different relatiponship compared to This is Sheffield you reference. Plus there is a great community mainly based around shop rides, where people can join in and discover the network in and around Peaslake and the Surrey Hills.
New trails are essentially not allowed, and its common sense to assume that a trail a none rider would see as a high risk, i.e more chance of injury to the average user compared to a flow trail for example would be, if highlighted to Hurtwood, removed.
So when people or a business like Peak leaders that are essentially self promoting themselves within 8 crap photos and a couple of paragraphs highlight the trail, it is fair that most people to be annoyed with them.
It has nothing to do with not sharing locations of trails , meet me and i'll be more than happy to meet a fellow rider and I would go out of my way to show you every trail I know, and I would hope you would do the same.
It has nothing to do with trail erosion, as a regular trail builder I realise that if we put something in a hill where we build, we will need to go back and maintain it, its a great feeling and sense of achievement that others use it.
What it is about though, is keeping some things sensibly off media etc so that the fun isn't ruined for everyone, and the crop of new trails that are sprouting up around Peaslake stay as best as possible under the radar.
This is my opinion man ! and i think it is a sensible and well informed one. sorry if it got your Knickers in a twist.
But the irony of 'It has nothing to do with not sharing locations of trails' and 'keeping some things sensibly off media etc so that the fun isn't ruined for everyone' is interesting. If you've got a trail and not worried about erosion, why wouldn't you want to tell fellow riders about it? Sharing is caring? Might get more people involved in maintenance? Even more so a 'secret' trail in plain view of all riders that pass down one of the most popular trails around peaslake, and one which in most likelihood will be left alone like all the other new trails that appear around that way.
The location of said trail isn't actually given in this article and I'm not sure a shit photo will reveal many clues either, otherwise I might worry about hordes of riders making their way down to peaslake after a crappy photo they saw on pinkbike. But hey, that's just like my opinion man!