Saturday 23 February 2008

Gisburn Forest Cycle Trail


Last weekend the weather was too good to pass up going cycling. We decided to go over to Gisburn Forest in the Forest of Bowland, near Slaidburn.


Forest Enterprise offer three choices of way marked trails and we chose to do the longest (16Km) red route. We were not alone as there were plenty of other cyclists out enjoying the weather as well. It had been about -5C overnight with a sharp frost, but in the sunshine it felt quite pleasant.


The trails are a mixture of forest roads and single track and, with the harvesting of trees and mixed planting schemes, the ride provided a variety of views, ascents and descents.


Some bits on the way marked trail allowed for a bit of technical challenge, but for those seeking more thrills, there appeared to be a number of 'unofficial' trails with ramps and drop-offs. Quite a few folk were in the trees trying out their expensive gear on these, but we stuck to the trail.



Leaflet (PDF): http://www.forestry.gov.uk
For a larger google maps view: http://www.bikely.com
GPS tracklog: http://www.bikely.com


2 comments:

Tallman said...

Recently Gisburn has had a lot of money spent on it - The new trails are a real improvement. Much more single track, and more technical sections.

http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/recreation/article/mtb-20090910-New-Graded-Trails-at-Gisburn-Forest-0

Psychalist said...

Thanks Tallman,

Did you try them yet? Seems a long time ago now but I did an update with news of these trails when they were being built - and I still haven't been up there.

http://psychalist.blogspot.com/2009/03/gisburn-expands-singletrack.html