MTB trails In Essex

[Bathroom_Security]

Considering a house move, maybe somewhere like Kelvedon. I know this is an odd priority but it seems very flat around there. I am spoilt with the Surrey Hills, so road biking and trail mtb is decent enough and plenty

Is there anywhere good except for the obvious on trial forks and bike parks like Hadleigh I could check out?

[vwsurfbum]

I live in Danbury, the only decent place to ride in Essex.
Also if you're contemplating Kelvedon, its not far up to Twisted Oaks, but we mainly head back to Surrey Hills LOL

[Sebo]

Is there nothing around Epping Forest?

[Rich135]

I'm from Essex/Herts, just near Bishops Stortford and now live in the Surrey Hill. I think you will be a little disappointed by the trails, but you can head to Thetford and Twisted Oaks near Ipswich which are both great.

It's very different terrain thought. In 2019 I did 2/3's of the distant of a friend from Essex but I did x2 the amount of climbing in the Surrey Hills!

[stuarthat]

Sebo said:

Is there nothing around Epping Forest?

Their is many miles in epping very good but hard to find ,go on a shop ride.

[Bathroom_Security]

Hmm sounds a bit pants. I have looked those places mentioned and they look good enough, just nothing really sketchy

Not gonna lie its put me off

[stuarthat]

Go to twisted oaks

[johnpsanderson]

I live just a bit further up the A12 just outside Colchester - I am not much of a MTBer, but I lived in the Peak District before, so would ride a bit up there.
I would say there's essentially nothing here apart from hacking across farmers fields/small woods that might have a bit of a twisty footpath in them (the 'bike parks excepted - i haven't been to any of them). You can link up bits of bridldeway/path/etc to make a decent length off-road ride, and there are plenty of MTBrs out in the woods/etc but it's what I think of as MTBing!

I used to go up to Thetford for their winter series MTB, which was OK but still very flat. It's a a bit of trek in the car just for a ride though.
East of Ipswich there are a few woods (Rendlesham/Tunstall) which you can ride in, but again very flat and also looking at may 45mins in the car to get there.

[trails]

Chelmsford dweller here who has been digging and riding (mostly BMX) in the area for the last 30 years.

Hadleigh is ste.

Danbury Common is fun but the runs are short, although there are plenty of bits to jib on (shown on Cardy and Pilgrims channels), but there are lots of trails in and around the local woods.

Warley has lots of stuff including some pretty big sets... it's warleybikepark on Insta.

A few private trail spots too, but those are mostly BMX.

[Bathroom_Security]

trails said:

Danbury Common is fun but the runs are short,

but there are lots of trails in and around the local woods.

Warley has lots of stuff including some pretty big sets... it's warleybikepark on Insta.

A few private trail spots too, but those are mostly BMX.

Been considering this topic again as a move to Essex might happen next year. Looks like Danbury would end up being my 'local'. I've seen what's on offer from Pilgrims channel and it looks pretty poor really, probably keep me entertained on an evening after work if I bought a short travel trail bike. I'm not a fan of big step ups, prefer decent sized senders (long 6 foot take offs) that integrate into a flowy bike trail or really steep tech (that's what Surrey has generally). Don't think Chicksands jumps are really my thing, Twisted oaks looks as though it might be interesting for a couple of hours.


Is it best or possible to get involved with a group to find some trails in Essex, there seem to be a couple on Facebook but they look like they might be XCers? I'm no stranger to digging so I'm guessing I might need to pick a forest nearby and go in there with a few tools. Seems like riders in Essex keep trails to themselves like they do in Surrey which is understandable.


Come to the conclusion ill need to sell my 170mm bikes and buy a 130mm trail bike or hardtail.


In this video at 6:18, I'm guessing this is the sort of stuff that gets built or ill end up building which is acceptable (anyone know where that is please?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2kKP7c3KZU&li...


Struggling to accept that Essex is this poor for mountain biking and hoping there's stuff on offer that's just kept hush.

Edited by Bathroom_Security on Thursday 8th September 12:09

[vwsurfbum]

Those trails are Colchester bike park, very very flat but can be fun.
Danbury is still fun but a different kind of fun to Surrey.
Twisted Oaks and phoenix sounds like more of what you're after. Other than that its a lot of XC being technical or otherwise.

[Lotobear]

Sebo said:

Is there nothing around Epping Forest?

only hundreds of cars, luxury cars

[Top Banana]

Lotobear said:

Sebo said:

Is there nothing around Epping Forest?

only hundreds of cars, luxury cars

Cutlery cars, superscars...

Nothing like a good battle in Epping Forest 😁

Im Essex/ Herts border near Bishops Stortford (Hi Rich 😉) - used to be a regular MTB'r around Epping Forest as its the nearest/best area for some singletrack and wider gravel paths. As also suggested you have Thetford around an hour North and also bike park at Twisted Oaks near Ipswich

Nowadays I'm more out on a gravel bike and there's certainly plenty of bridleway and byway/BOAT action to be had in the North Essex area if you look...

[Bathroom_Security]

vwsurfbum said:

Those trails are Colchester bike park, very very flat but can be fun.
Danbury is still fun but a different kind of fun to Surrey.
Twisted Oaks and phoenix sounds like more of what you're after. Other than that its a lot of XC being technical or otherwise.

Ta

Warley looks like it could be good fun although as mentioned previously some big sets. Danbury and Chelmsford bike park look as though I could have a little fun.

I'll check out phoenix

One of the Surrey lads I ride with was at Twisted Oaks recently and said it was an absolute joke. Literally a hill with some flow jumps on it. Videos confirm that. Looks very Essex from what I've seen

I reckon I'll have to buy a van and travel over to Wales on a Fri night or something to get my fix of something dangerous. Surrey Hills is a 90 min drive I could always pop over every now and again.

Think I'll be able to have some fun but it looks bleak compared to what's on offer locally in Surrey. Redlands is my favorite sort of stuff.

[vwsurfbum]

Yeah I do the local (Danbury) during the week and then travel on a Sunday to bigger stuff.
FoD this weekend, SH last weekend and go to wales regularly (2 weeks time)
Saturday afternoons at twisted with my daughter are great fun, watching her progress is awesome.
https://youtu.be/YJ7Tvd73C2E

[mattvanders]

I know Ian (vwsurfbum) from biking and he’s pretty much right with what you can do in Essex for riding, there is a big community and lots of places to ride but expect flat flowly trails as a whole but that doesn’t mean st (just not Surrey hills level of trail). I tell people I ride trail and not xc, I will do a 20 mile ride with 1500-2000 ft climbed and descend, there will be some drops (3ft) and jumps (10ft) but nothing silly. A trail bike or aggressive hardtail are you friends for this. Danbury common or warley for your jumps and Danbury woods, thorndon country park and Epping for you trail rides. Give a private message if you want a guide for the places

Edit - you won’t get redlands in Essex unfortunately, my go to place to scare myself at the weekends. There is meant to be similar stuff to redlands over in Kent but I haven’t had a chance to export it yet

Edited by mattvanders on Friday 16th September 11:57

[trails]

Bathroom_Security said:

vwsurfbum said:

Those trails are Colchester bike park, very very flat but can be fun.
Danbury is still fun but a different kind of fun to Surrey.
Twisted Oaks and phoenix sounds like more of what you're after. Other than that its a lot of XC being technical or otherwise.

Ta

Warley looks like it could be good fun although as mentioned previously some big sets. Danbury and Chelmsford bike park look as though I could have a little fun.

I'll check out phoenix

One of the Surrey lads I ride with was at Twisted Oaks recently and said it was an absolute joke. Literally a hill with some flow jumps on it. Videos confirm that. Looks very Essex from what I've seen

I reckon I'll have to buy a van and travel over to Wales on a Fri night or something to get my fix of something dangerous. Surrey Hills is a 90 min drive I could always pop over every now and again.

Think I'll be able to have some fun but it looks bleak compared to what's on offer locally in Surrey. Redlands is my favorite sort of stuff.

Some big sets at Warley, this is one to watch to get a decent view of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tib6-RfCv6k

Sounds like your buddy had a bad day at Twisted, whilst it's not the best place to ride there are some real gems there like dual slalom that is sooo much fun to race your mates on and the various bits of wooden stuff in the woods, not big, but fun. It's certainly not Wales though...

[Bathroom_Security]

mattvanders said:

I know Ian (vwsurfbum) from biking and he’s pretty much right with what you can do in Essex for riding, there is a big community and lots of places to ride but expect flat flowly trails as a whole but that doesn’t mean st (just not Surrey hills level of trail). I tell people I ride trail and not xc, I will do a 20 mile ride with 1500-2000 ft climbed and descend, there will be some drops (3ft) and jumps (10ft) but nothing silly. A trail bike or aggressive hardtail are you friends for this. Danbury common or warley for your jumps and Danbury woods, thorndon country park and Epping for you trail rides. Give a private message if you want a guide for the places

Edit - you won’t get redlands in Essex unfortunately, my go to place to scare myself at the weekends. There is meant to be similar stuff to redlands over in Kent but I haven’t had a chance to export it yet

Edited by mattvanders on Friday 16th September 11:57

Yeah was thinking of checking out Kent but may as well end up in Surrey for the distance.

That's good to hear actually. Can have fun on flat trails when they are built right there are plenty around peaslake. I figured I'd have to trade my 170mm mtb for something a bit shorter travel good excuse to buy a DH bike for Wales and a transition spur for Essex

I'll take you up on that offer I'd you don't mind I'd appreciate that. I'm in Essex occasionally (inlaws are there) so if you're ever riding on a weekend that would be much appreciated. I'll drop you a message sometime

[Fundoreen]

You need to consider the type of ground under your bike. Places like Epping are a muddy quagmire for ages over the winter.
I think the surrey area drains quicker due to its sandy nature.

[AllyBee]

Fundoreen said:

You need to consider the type of ground under your bike. Places like Epping are a muddy quagmire for ages over the winter.
I think the surrey area drains quicker due to its sandy nature.

I live in Epping and ride the forest a lot, its a great resource to have on your door step, I 100% agree about the mud. However the main gravel paths stand up pretty well in the winter and are pretty good for a gravel bike ride if that's your thing.