The Great British Mountain Bike Trail Guide

FACILITIES

Car park and charges: Yes; free

Cafe: No

Toilets: No

Showers: No

Bike wash: No

Nearest bike shop: Pearce Cycles, Fishmore Road, Fishmore, Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 3DP (01584 879288)

Bike hire: No

Accommodation: There are holiday homes, B&Bs, hotels and campsites in the area. Cavern Arms has the usual amenities.

Other trails on site: Blue route and taster loops, downhill tracks.

Ordnance Survey map: Explorer 201 & 217.

ENJOYMENT FOR SKILL LEVEL

Beginner: 3/10

Intermediate: 10/10

Advanced: 8/10

Getting there: Located on the Welsh border near Ludlow, Hopton Woods can be approached from all directions. From Ludlow, head west on the A4113, take the B4385 on your right just after Kinton and head north. Take a left then right through the village of Hoptonheath and just after the railway take a narrow lane on the left to Hopton Castle. Go through the village and climb uphill to the woods. The entrance is on your left and the car park is up the forest road beyond the fields.

Grid ref: SO 34811 77757

Sat nav: Hopton Castle, SY7 0QF

More info: www.forestry.gov.uk

CROSS-COUNTRY TRAIL

On-site grade: Red

Clive’s grade: Red with Black sections

Distance: 12km

Technicality: 8/10

Ascent: 440m

ENJOYMENT FOR SKILL LEVEL

Beginner: 3/10

Intermediate: 10/10

Advanced: 8-9/10

DOWNHILL TRAILS

Clive’s grade: Orange/Black.

Distance: N/A.

Technicality: 8-9/10

DOWNHILLS: ENJOYMENT FOR SKILL LEVEL

Beginner: 3/10

Intermediate: 7/10

Advanced: 10/10

Hopton is steeped in British mountain biking history: the hillside here has hosted national championships and regional competitions since the early 1990s. Local riders have ridden this hillside since the 1980s, so it was only time before the hard work paid dividends and an official marked trail was opened at the beginning of 2012.

One of few trails in the British Isles that begins with a downhill, the trail starts from the low side of the car park and twists its way through some tight trees. The lack of light in the trees makes visibility hard and on a wet day one can see it would be very slippery. At the bottom of the hill you cross a small ford and then run down the valley, crossing back over the stream before joining on to a forest road.

The forest road is fast and runs along the bottom of the hill before you take a tight right turn and climb up on single track. This section leads to the old quarry and has some steep gradients. It is worth thinking about the large climb further round the lap and conserve some energy here.

Crossing through the old quarry the trail becomes very rough. The last part of this section has some high-speed compressions, some of which have steep gradients leading you in and out. You rejoin the forest road and continue to traverse around the bottom of the hill with views to your left over towards the Castle.

The forest road turns and climbs up the hill, the gradient is quite steep and at the top of this section you will continue to climb in single track. The trail traverses the hillside out into the open and there’s a steep ramp or two within this section. When you exit the single track however the climb heads up a steep forest break.

The trail now follows a forest road and continues to climb. The forest road is more of a break in the trees than a well-established gravel road, and you will end up crossing open ground with a knoll to your left. The trail runs around this knoll and it is from here that the majority of the downhill track starts from. You join in a trail that was once the original 1990s National Championships racecourse. As you can imagine, this is quite a technical descent: the speeds are high and the trail surface is natural and therefore rough. There are lots of roots, stumps and rocks to deal with and it’s quite dark in the trees in the upper part of the trail too. When you break out off the trees the trail continues to pick up pace and you have to be on your guard not to let the large hits and speed get the better of you. You will turn right off the downhill track and into a built piece of trail and start to traverse the hill.

When you exit the single track you join on to a forest road at a switchback. The signage here can be confusing, just keep to the left-hand side of the switch and after a few metres of forest road the trail drops into a single-track section on your left. You pop out of the trees and traverse the hill – this section has recently been clear-felled and the trail swoops and snakes its way downwards across the hills.

A short section of forest road links you into a single track. This section is quite tight in the trees and there are plenty of natural features to keep it interesting. The climb is made up of two halves, you exit at the trees taking a left turn and traverse along a terrace. After a short rest and the chance to ease the legs you take a right turn and continue to climb up through a series of switchbacks. Here, once again, the trail feels very natural and some good skills will see you right when it comes to finding the flow.

The single track pops out onto a forest road and continues to climb up around the hillside. Signage is great and there are only a couple of junctions to deal with, and none of which should cause you any problems. The majority of the hard work is done now and there are some fun single-track sections and odd climbs to deal with before the loop is over.

The single track in the next section drops off to the left of the forest road. Here there are some tight switchbacks and some steep gradients, payback for all the climbing you’ve just done! Nearing the end of the section the trail levels out and you climb up through the trees. Take care at the end of this section as you drop out onto a forest road very close to a forest gate.

Just over the public road to your left is Bedstone Hill Car Park, where there are some fantastic views and this is also another place where you can park the car and start the ride. There is signage here giving route information and showing you where you are on the trail. The trail itself takes a right turn from the last single track and climbs up the hillside through the trees. The trail joins an old 4x4 track and this section looks like it could become very wet and boggy on a winter’s day. Continue to climb uphill into the trees before blending into a forest road. After a few metres the final section of single-track runs downhill back to the car park. There are some tight corners through this section and the trail surfaces are quite loose so take care.

There are a multitude of downhill trails at the Marches. They can be accessed from the main car park and are very well signposted. The downhill trails are very technical and it is essential to have the right sort of bicycles and equipment to safely partake of these trails. For more information and to download a map visit the forestry.gov.uk website.

THE MARCHES – HOPTON WOODS