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Mountain Biking In The Peak District Top Ten Downhill Rides . Bringing you information on Peak District Holiday Accommodation , Peak District Holiday Cottages, Campsites and Caravan sites in the Peak District, Pubs In The Peak District, Peak District B&B , Peak District Hotels , Tourist Attractions or Town & Village Business of any kind in the Peak District and Derbyshire.
NB Grid references are approximate - they indicate the start of the downhills.
Graded on both quality and difficulty! Please bear in mind that those of you with dedicated downhill rigs will need probably not thank us for the serious climbing required to access most of these we recommend a tough XC full-susser for maximum riding pleasure!
It goes without saying that the utmost care should be taken on these downhills ? ride with aptitude rather than attitude! Careless riding could really spoil your day/week/season or, worse, spoil it for some of the other folk enjoying these tracks and trails.
1 Cave Dale GR: SK139816
Starting out benignly enough, this limestone horror only reveals it's true colours about two-thirds of the way down, just through a little gate. It's difficult enough to remount from here and the intimidating toothy, nettle infested rocky gully that is the only way down will make most riders keen to stay off the bike and start walking! Fear not! Stay confident, keep the momentum going and easy with that front brake - you may just survive!
2 Mam Tor True Downhill GR: SK126836
From the gate on Cold Side (just below Mam Nick) a steep, stony shoot leads down to a gate. Once through the gate, the track becomes very steep, very rutted and twists alarmingly to create a nightmare of off-camber ridges. No amount of time at Coed-y-Brenin will prepare you for this. Top Tip - make your line choices quickly, then stick with them!
3 The Beast of Hope Cross GR: SK160877
From Hope Cross, this great descent consists of three increasingly difficult sections divided by two gates. The second section is a very fitting intro as the sidewalls of the sunken bridleway encroach and test your steering. From the second gate all hell breaks loose. Top Tips - best to attack the hairpin half way by crossing it at a 45? angle, and keep your concentration up in the closing stages ? it stays loose right to the end! Proceed with caution ? especially on first acquaintance.
4 Derwent Edge GR: SK197884
The descent from the gate at the 376m metre mark is a classic downhill experience that oozes quality at any time of the year ? a real corker that is delightfully varied and only marred by the presence of three gates that interrupt the force of gravity. Starting with a classy, rolling, rutted section to gate number one, the descent then turns into a fast section of rutted singletrack. Through the next two gates the downhill chutes into increasingly rocky territory - culminating in a series of testing mini rock steps that are best approached with caution!
5 Wharncliffe ? 1st descent GR: SK306948
Quintessentially Wharncliffe ? steep, fast and littered with obstacles! From the black waymark on the forest road, follow the short, steep, rocky and rooty chute down into the woods. A smoothish section of very fast track then leads past a couple of serious looking jumps, out briefly into the open, and then curves steeply back down into the gloom where things get tight and tricky! A very steep angle in the slope, awkwardly rutted, then lands you in a position to blast down through the trees before an encounter with the final rooty drop off, just before the forest road.
6 Hagg Farm GR: SK164891
Not a long descent, but a very good one. Short drop to gate then tricky, bermed surface to second gate and down into woods. Don't relax, the temptingly fast gradient still throws in plenty of loose stuff and some awkward rock steps ? you could be eating dirt here! Often slippy.
7 Gores Farm GR: SK166897
The descent proper starts around Lockerbrook. This one starts out straight and turbo fast, with plenty of opportunities to catch air over the numerous drainage bars etc. that criss-cross the track. Things soon get pretty rocky as the descent drops into the woods - often greasy with some awkward off-camber mini drop offs to catch you out ? then it's steeply down to that great little right-hand hairpin right near the finish.
8 Cumberland Brook GR: SK003693
An unusual and fairly out of the way descent this one - never overly steep, good and long (it will test your concentration) and only really interrupted by one gate. Lulling you into a false sense of security, the track actually starts out on an upward incline, this is soon followed a smooth section before things get really rocky down past a sharp bend and into a pleasant graasy hollow where the gate forces a pause for breath.
Past the gate, the track stays loose and technical all the way down to an amenable ford crossing near the bottom.
9 Last Drop to Rowarth GR: SK019885
A real bone-shaker! The very fitting finale to our rocky route round Rowarth demands some concentration to deal with the loose and slabby track that steepens right to its junction with tarmac.
That said, the last right-hander can be satisfyingly smooth if you get the right line!
10 Mam Tor - Hollins Cross Left Hand GR: 137846
Is this a top-ten downhill? We think it just qualifies in the thanks to the steep, technical, rock-step introduction that sets the pace right from the start. Increasingly flowing as the steepness relents, don't get caught out by the deep ruts and adverse cambers that keep things interesting throughout.
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