Swinley Forest for first-timers
Discussion
I find myself in the Bracknell area fairly often for work so want to try riding Swinley forest on my MTB. So far I've been able to establish I should park up in the Lookout car park and I have to buy a permit.
Any tips/recommendations beyond that? I'm interested in XC type stuff more than jumps. Probably with 1 to 2 hours to spare when I'm in the area.
Thanks in advance.
Any tips/recommendations beyond that? I'm interested in XC type stuff more than jumps. Probably with 1 to 2 hours to spare when I'm in the area.
Thanks in advance.
Well, the permit thing is a bit weird if you ask me, I live in Sandhurst and can cycle there from my place, some mates of mine came up for a ride around there, and it was then I saw those signs... we chose to ignore for that one ride, (ut I will be looking closely at why it's needed how it's enforced etc.) and experieneced no issues ior 'permit police'
There are other entrances to the forest off the A3095, and once in there, there are many miles of flat, undulating and sometimes more challenging longer climbs or faster easier downhill to be had . At the southern end is a smaller area where you simply turn off the beaten track on to any one of a number of smaller less used ones, each leading you into the forest and normally ending up with pretty serious down hill sections, technical, tree roots and rocks etc...decent single track stuff, simlpy pick a course that takes you in and out of this area, just make it up as you go along util you're tired or injured.
My mates tackled them on FS bikes and loved it... I have a carbon HT, my nerves were a little shredded at the end.
There are other entrances to the forest off the A3095, and once in there, there are many miles of flat, undulating and sometimes more challenging longer climbs or faster easier downhill to be had . At the southern end is a smaller area where you simply turn off the beaten track on to any one of a number of smaller less used ones, each leading you into the forest and normally ending up with pretty serious down hill sections, technical, tree roots and rocks etc...decent single track stuff, simlpy pick a course that takes you in and out of this area, just make it up as you go along util you're tired or injured.
My mates tackled them on FS bikes and loved it... I have a carbon HT, my nerves were a little shredded at the end.
A workmate got a rollicking from a warden a few weeks ago for not having a permit, so it is policed!. Worth geting one as a lot of work is put into the place to make it a great facility. You can easily spend a few hours riding around there & not see the same place twice. Nothing else comes close to being as good around the area as far as I know..
The money from the permit scheme go's to maintaining the trails in the mountain bike area and i believe the permits give you 3rd party liability insurance in the event of an accident, i believe its run by Gorrick MBC or berks on bikes. You can buy them at lookout or at local bike shops. The land is owned by the crown estate.
I ride Swinley a lot (although have not been there for a couple of months as I had a 'bit' of a crash in the gully jumps - hope to be back on my bike again in the next week.
The permit is worthwhile, it helps to contribute to the maintenance of the singletrack (lots of work happened this year over the winter), plus it gives you very important public liability insurance. Unlike a lot of the bike parks around the UK, Sinwley attracts a mixed bag of people from joggers, to dog walkers to families going for a picnic in the forest. Generally speaking once you get a more than 20 mins walk from the car park things quite down, but I have come across joggers running up the singletrack on a number of occasions - while it is not my plan to kill any, it is good to know that should I hit one I have insurance!
As for riding Swinley, it is a great place with a lot of hidden singletracks, a couple of decent-ish downhill runs, an 'expert' area, a set of small-ish gully jumps and a host of fast firetracks. I can easily ride 3 hours without crossing my tracks! The only issue is that almost none of the tracks are marked, so the majority of them are difficult to find, for instance 'the Labyrinth' is a fantastic short downhill run that leads into some very tight, technical singletrack but there is no way you would find it without a 'local'!
Openstreetmap.com has a fairly decent set of GPS traces on it that mark out the majority of popular singletrack runs, mtbbritain (forum) also has a section dedicated to rides, within the rides section there is a very active thread dedicated to Swinley - quite often informal rides are organised on the thread.
I should be back on my bike in the next week or so, if you fancy a ride drop me a PM - would be happy to show you around Swinley (only conditions are that you wear a helmet, have a bike that works and are happy to buy a pass). . . .
The permit is worthwhile, it helps to contribute to the maintenance of the singletrack (lots of work happened this year over the winter), plus it gives you very important public liability insurance. Unlike a lot of the bike parks around the UK, Sinwley attracts a mixed bag of people from joggers, to dog walkers to families going for a picnic in the forest. Generally speaking once you get a more than 20 mins walk from the car park things quite down, but I have come across joggers running up the singletrack on a number of occasions - while it is not my plan to kill any, it is good to know that should I hit one I have insurance!
As for riding Swinley, it is a great place with a lot of hidden singletracks, a couple of decent-ish downhill runs, an 'expert' area, a set of small-ish gully jumps and a host of fast firetracks. I can easily ride 3 hours without crossing my tracks! The only issue is that almost none of the tracks are marked, so the majority of them are difficult to find, for instance 'the Labyrinth' is a fantastic short downhill run that leads into some very tight, technical singletrack but there is no way you would find it without a 'local'!
Openstreetmap.com has a fairly decent set of GPS traces on it that mark out the majority of popular singletrack runs, mtbbritain (forum) also has a section dedicated to rides, within the rides section there is a very active thread dedicated to Swinley - quite often informal rides are organised on the thread.
I should be back on my bike in the next week or so, if you fancy a ride drop me a PM - would be happy to show you around Swinley (only conditions are that you wear a helmet, have a bike that works and are happy to buy a pass). . . .
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