Another shorter gravel ride that we like that can be done in a morning or evening. Includes the option of a play on Lady Cannings MTB trails.
Starting at the National Trust’s Longshaw estate which has a popular cafe on site the route heads over Houndkirk Road and past the Lady Canning’s plantation which offers an optional play down one of the blue MTB trails.
Then a road section round the Rivelin dams and up onto Stanage Edge for one of the most panoramic views in the Peak. Then it’s a lumpy (but mainly downhill) to Thornhill via Bamford.
Then onto Shatton and a lovely quiet trail via Offerton to one of our fave climbs up to the transmitter mast on Shatton Moor.
If it’s been wet the bridleway from Offerton can be a bit muddy. If you are feeling brave, as a less muddy alternative you can go directly from Shatton up to the mast via the road which is a bit of a lung buster.
This is followed by a steady(ier) climb up to the Barrel at Bretton you are rewarded with a cracking view of Stanage edge where you were earlier. Then it’s onto the pretty, historic village of Eyam. A closed road section is followed by a loop round to Baslow and a stiff climb up to the Eastern Edges and a ride along the tops back through the Longshaw estate.
We hope you like our routes as much as I do researching them. If you do you can keep us fuelled up with a virtual coffee. TIA.
The Linacre Circuit has been a Peak District classic since it appeared in MTB guidebooks in the 1980’s. It is a combination of mud, climbs and cracking descents.
We’re lucky enough to live a couple of hundred metres from the route and have ridden it more times than we can remember. It’s great for an evening or afternoon ride and is very accessible from Chesterfield.
We thought we’d put out our own spin on the classic route that’s suitable for gravel bikes. There’s still a little bit of mud along the way, but generally it’s rideable in all weathers.
The route’s suitable for gravel bikes and hardtail MTB’s.
The route starts from Holmebrook Valley park and heads up a green lane and off into Linacre. From there its a nice gravel stretch over to Chandler Hill. Then it’s down into Holymoorside and a road climb out of the village. From there it’s an off road section and a bit of a push to the eastern most point off the Peak District National Park.
Then there’s a nice bit of twisty singletrack and we rejoin the road for a climb up onto Beeley Moor.
After a mile or so you turn left and go onto one of our fave bits of local gravel and onto Baslow Road for a small distance.
After that it’s a ride across the tops and a descent into Cordwell Valley. Then follows the best bit of the ride a couple of fast descents back towards Barlow (watch out for horses). And then it’s back over to the start.
Our fave eateries on the way are Hackney House at Barlow and the Peacock in Cutthorpe.
The Peak District is our back yard and where we do a lot of our riding. It’s one of the UK’s original national parks and has a very diverse landscape.
Like many riders of a certain age, for us time and money is at a premium. Whilst we’d love to have the funds and freedom to do epic tours, for the majority of the time we’re limited to a weekend away at the most. One of the great mountain bike rides in the USA , the Greatl Divide Route is the daddy of long distance MTB routes. This got us thinking. How about a MTB route that goes from the northern most point to the southern most point in the Peak that could be done over a weekend ?
The northern most point of the Peak is on a bridleway just south of Marsden in West Yorkshire. The southern most point is a hedge bottom just of the A52. This didn’t sound to glamorous so we decided the end of Manifold Valley trail nearby was a better finish.
Above’s our idea for a suggested route. From a lot of experience riding in the Peak, we reckon the following.
It’ll be a big day out in the saddle. Probably best done over a couple of days with an overnight stop around Eyam.
You’ll probably need an MTB due to the section over Cut Gate and Hope Cross.
The hardest bit is in the first half.
It’s probably one for longer days and dry weather.
If you did not have an MTB alternatively you could head down the Trans Pennine Trail through Wharncliffe then head towards Bradfield and on to Castleton if you fancied a longer and easier route for a gravel bike.
This route was called the Peak Divide – a name I came up with ages ago. However to avoid confusion with the event of the same name we’ve changed it !
Gravel and cyclocross riding is becoming more and more popular. It’s a great way to get off the road and spice up your riding rather than doing the same routes week in week out.
The Peak District, which is close to where Velotastic are based has an abundance of unclassified roads that are ideal for this kind of bike. The Eroica Britannia festival runs over a few of these tracks.
I’ve concocted a route that is based on some of my favourite trails that I’ve been riding for 30 odd years
It starts just outside Chesterfield, but as it is circular could be done from any location. It is 99% rideable (there are a few very short sections that you may need to get off and push). The route is mainly on unclassified byways and quiet country lanes. There are a few bits on busier roads but I have tried to minimise these.
It can be easily done in a day by a fit cyclist. There are plenty of pubs and campsites on the route if you fancied taking a little longer though.
Please remember to ride safe and share the roads and trails with other users.
I hope you like the route. If you enjoyed it and would like to buy us a virtual coffee that would be great.
Having a family can limit the time you have to go off and try new adventures. Gone are the days of heading off for a few days. For many of us a long weekend ride is our only window of opportunity. As such it means that the fun is trying to cram a new challenge into the little time you have got.
Earlier this year I was looking at the 100 climbs list and the climbs in the Peak District area. After consulting Strava for route choices and a bit of planning I decided to have a go and climb the seven ascents that are in the original book.
The first and one of the nearest climbs was Curbar. This hill has the steepest bit at the bottom and then eases off slightly. It was a route I had done lots of times before as it is a handy shortcut on the way home. The only decision I had was at the top to either reverse my route and cut across to Grindleford and Hathersage or head off in the wrong direction and put some additional climbing in. I decided to take the pragmatic approach and turned round and dropped down the same road I had just climbed which left a couple of ramblers scratching their heads wondering what I was playing at.
After following the Derwent river for a few miles and on through Hope and Castleton next stop was Winnats. I’ve always found this a hard climb. I used to be able to climb it on a 42 x 23 but was glad I was on my winter bike with a compact chainset and 28 teeth on the back end. Due to the way the land lies there always seems to be a perpetual headwind blowing down the pass too. I recalled that the road was hardest up by a council grit bin and if you could crack that you had the climb in the bag. Unbeknown to me, since the last time I had done the climb the council had installed a second grit bin 100 metres lower down. My heart sank when I reached this and looked up the road to see a higher bin. Life was not made any easier by the black ice down the edge of the road which meant I had to either soft pedal standing up or sit down to maintain traction.
From the top of the climb it was a fast traverse of the Rushup plateau. Over to the left I could see the houses at Sparrowpit – the top of my next climb Peaslows. This was a new one on me. I had driven up it a few years ago and remembered that it went on a bit, but driving numbs the sensation of the subtle rises in the road. All was going well and I felt strong at the bottom of the climb then ‘snap’ and I was heading nowhere. My chain had snapped. It was a case of cold hands and shortening the chain to do a hasty field repair. Not only so I could carry on, but I was miles from nowhere and did not fancy making the phone call of shame.
Next stop was Monsal. Another regular climb and home of the iconic hill climb. This one is not as brutal as the likes of some of the other ones I was riding and a road I knew well. I took my time and stayed sat down as I wanted to pace myself as I still had three climbs to go.
After the obligatory photo at the top it was off through Chatsworth and onto Rowsley. This is a real thug of a climb and I actually prefer it’s near neighbour Beeley which is longer and gentler. The worse bit is after you have ridden the steep hairpins and think the suffering is all over you have a long slog to reach any flat ground that seems to go on for ages.
Matlock has the only urban climb on the route – Bank Road. Host hill for the 2016 National hillclimb champs. It also featured in the 2016 Women’s Tour and previous editions of the Tour of Britain. The climb starts steep and then has a nasty kick towards the top where it gets steeper still before taking a sharp right turn and flattening off. My main worries were traffic – the road is popular and getting doored by inattentive motorists leaving their cars. I was in luck, for a Saturday afternoon after I had passed the cluster of shops at the bottom the road was quiet. By this time my legs were starting to suffer, but I had one last climb to go – Riber
The descent back to Matlock green was short and sharp and not really enough time to give me chance to recover. I’ve always found the approach to the bottom of Riber through Starkholmes a slog and that my legs were singing before I started the climb proper. Even more this time.
Riber is a short sharp brute of an ascent. 22% it says on the sign at the bottom and you know it’s going to hurt when there are steps on the pavement by the side of the road. There are a couple of sharp switchbacks which seem to get steeper and steeper and then all of a sudden you are at the top.
That was it. I had done the seven climbs in a day. No trips to far off lands, no days away from the family, but an adventure on my own doorstep.
Recommended route..
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