Straight Outta' London: Best Riding Spots from the Capital

1. Hadleigh Park
Fancy sampling the London 2012 Olympics XC course? An hour by train from central London will take you to Hadleigh Park in Essex. Whilst you might think it would be a walk in the park given its location nestled just next to Southend-On-Sea, the twists and turns rack up almost 200m of climbing on each lap of its singletrack. It also has a number of technical features to develop and test your skills, including wooden gap jumps and challenging tight switchbacks of 'Deans Drop'. There is an active club scene at Hadleigh (Hadleigh MTB Club) too if you want to get involved in club rides and coaching. There is no charge to ride at the park, in addition to a pump track, well stocked bike shop and cafe to refuel after cutting some laps!



Hadleigh Park mountain biking trails
2. Lee Valley
If you really want to keep things central, the Lee Valley Velopark gives you the chance to sample some off-road style obstacles just minutes away from Stratford station close to the Olympic park. The MTB trails has 5 miles of dedicated trails covering a range of difficulties and obstacles to bring technical XC to central London. If you want to get a taste for small wheels too, the Olympic BMX track is located within the park in addition to a road bike circuit. There is a £5 charge to ride here but well worth it for being so close to central London!

3. Swinley Forest
Jump on a train in Waterloo and an hour later you'll be in Martins Heron station, just a mile or so out from Swinley Forest MTB trails in Bracknell. Located on the Crown estate, there are 24km of all weather trails to ride within its contoured forest all free to ride! Start on the blue and get a feel for the rollers and burms and if you want to step it up a notch try the intermediate and advanced sections to get a feel for more technical features and jumps! There is a well equipped bike shop with a whole host of demo bikes and coaching if you want to up your game. There is also a strong club and enduro scene, check out Swinley Riders for more info.

(George Newbold Photo)

(Alex Gann - Grip Media Photo)

Swinley Forest mountain biking trails
4. Epping Forest
For the XC lovers amongst you, head out towards Chingford in Essex for some good old fashioned muddy cross country trails. Based on a 6000 acre estate, there are plenty to trails to explore that wind there way through the trees. Given the lack of signage, going out with the local club ride is a great shout to get to know the local loops. If you do want to head out by yourself and explore and you do end up taking a wrong turn, you are never more than 4km from a road to orientation yourself on!
Check out Essex Herts MTB for more info on club rides.

Epping Forest mountain biking trails
5. Surrey Hills
Probably the most well known area close to the capital, home to Brendog and Olly Wilkins, only an hour away from Waterloo on the train. With loads of trails to choose from, there is the opportunity to link up multiple areas and create all day epics among the hills. Heading out to Peaslake is a great place to start, from here you can spin up to Leith Hill (One of highest points in South East England) to admire the view before dropping into the fast, flowy and technical natural singletrack of Surrey. The three main other areas are up from Holmbury St. Mary, Pitch Hill and Winterfold. Make sure you stop by in Peaslake to pick up some mid-ride fuel and stop by the Pedal and Spoke bike shop for your spares.



Surrey Hills mountain biking trails
John Inman
Ski, Snowboard & Mountain Bike Instructor Courses & Camps
www.peakleaders.com | Tel: +44 (0) 1337 860 079
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