We could ride the rolling ridges above Micheldever and the Candovers and link up with the Oxdrove above Alresford or we could head out westwards towards South Wonston and Sutton Scotney and not forgetting the tracks in Micheldever Wood itself. Whichever way we go there are good tracks, nice downhills, and interesting single track. Please note that gravel fire roads in the woods will be good going. Off-piste will be a bit muddier.
Swinley Forest is an area of Windsor Forest located between Bracknell and Bagshot to the west of the A322. The car park is at The LookOut Discovery Centre which has toilets and a cafe (with outdoor seating for a drink and cake after.) You will need to pay for parking - we try and park in the car park to the far right adjacent to the road. Meet up either in the car park or at the start of the trail (blue) by 10am.
There is a blue and a red trail and we normally combine the two trails to make one big circuit. To get an idea of the riding have a look at this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jsm320gWyk Everything is rollable or has a non-jump line. It is a great place to ride and we have had some great rides here over the years. A lot of the single track is gravel but there is some mud, and the tank traps may be full of water!
Tea/coffee and cake after in the cafe!
(ref SZ 333 955)
This will be a day ride starting from the Lymington ferry terminal and starting on the Island at Yarmouth and it will be a fun day out. Whatever happens, the choice of riding is excellent, the views from the ridges are stunning and the pubs are friendly and welcoming. Remember to bring loads of money for the ferry, the pub, the catering facilities on the ferry and most importantly, a selection of coinage to feed the meter at the car park.
NB this is a hard ride and not suitable for newbies to mountain biking. The medium group will be riding approx 30miles with 1,000m of climbing - but do able by any regular medium group rider we have all day and the views are worth it.
Please be ready to load at 8.45 - people have missed the ferry!
Parking is £9 for the day but you can park in Lymington for less (£5 Long Stay car parks) or you might find some on-street parking without restrictions on a Sunday. (Allow time to get to the ferry!!)
The medium group are taking sandwiches and if time will have a tea and cake stop in the afternoon
The fast group ride leaders will confirm if a pub lunch or sandwiches nearer the time.
Fordingbridge Town Centre Car Park
(ref SU 147 143)
This ride can be reached either by driving all the way to Corfe, or in the past some members have parked in Poole and taken the Sandbanks ferry and ridden the short distance to the start point. Whatever your point of origin, the ride will start officially from the Norden Park and Ride facility just near Corfe Castle and that is the map reference given above. Please note that there is a car parking charge payable at meters in the Park and Ride facility. The start time will be the usual 10.00am roll out of the car park. Please allow a bit of extra time to get to the start as the roads may well be busy if the weather is good and the tourists will be out in force.
(ref SU 164 083)
This is a popular location situated at the Moyles Court sand pit. From here most of the available routes start with a short sharp rise but once that is out of the way, there are options for rolling on across Rockford Common (firm going) towards Linwood, the Red Shoot and Milkham, or taking a course over Ibsley Common (soft, gritty sand and a little bit of a slog) towards Abbot's Well
and Hampton Ridge. We might even make a foray westwards across the River Avon and have a thrash around Ringwood Forest, Boveridge Heath, Ashley Heath and Horton Common, all well worth a visit.
(ref SU 188 689) (What3Words – busy.relief.crawling)
Lunch stop: bring something with you, such as sandwiches for a mid-ride break .
The map reference is the public car park behind the shops on the main road but you get to it by taking the B3052 local residential road that runs south of and parallel to the High Street which is the main A4 road. There is never a guarantee that car park charges will not apply on Sundays, so it’s best to take some coins for the parking meters, just in case. We could cycle up onto Barton Down and then head east towards the western end of the Ridgeway near Avebury. After this, we could follow the Ridgeway to Barbury Castle and then take a variety of loops to Ogbourne St George. This is good riding country so we don’t have to stick to that route suggestion.