Forest of Dean off piste

[JoeBlow]

I went to Mallards Pike for the first time this morning looking for blue grade trails. I have TrailForks which showed several. Unfortunately I thought the one I did a little tough. I think it was Razorback. Are any of the others more amenable or should I stick to the stuff I know until I improve. Dowies, Shutcastle etc. I thought were fine. In my defense it was wet and it looked like there had been extensive forestry work carried out making the trail possibly harder than it should have been.

Al

 

[pez_cemetery]

The Dowies and Shutcastle trails west of Parkend are quite a bit tamer than Mallards

 

[pez_cemetery]

also Forest of Dean experts - EMTB Forums

 

[JoeBlow]

The Dowies and Shutcastle trails west of Parkend are quite a bit tamer than Mallards

Thanks for the heads up. I might have to save them till such time that I'm capable of doing them justice. Must say it makes you wonder what the point is of having a grading system. I know it's subjective, I rock climb so I know all about that, but even so

Al

 

[pez_cemetery]

Trailforks is graded by its users, and yes a fair bit of it is comically wrong...

 

[JoeBlow]

Trailforks is graded by its users, and yes a fair bit of it is comically wrong...

I found that out to my cost a few weeks ago. Supercross DH was graded blue the same as Supercross. It's silly, pointless and irresponsible. I note however that it is now graded black.

Al

 

[Hob Nob]

The lakeside trails are the easier ones, but there is some tough stuff at Mallards. I wouldn't really call any stuff there 'blue grade' though - you can't really consider gradings on 'off piste' trails at all - just have to go & find out for yourself.

The easier stuff at Dowies/Shutcastle is probably the easiest off piste in the forest, there is a lot of locals trails also there that are pretty wild if you know where to look

 

[JoeBlow]

The lakeside trails are the easier ones, but there is some tough stuff at Mallards. I wouldn't really call any stuff there 'blue grade' though - you can't really consider gradings on 'off piste' trails at all - just have to go & find out for yourself.

The easier stuff at Dowies/Shutcastle is probably the easiest off piste in the forest, there is a lot of locals trails also there that are pretty wild if you know where to look

I'm looking for pretty mild NOT pretty wild I know the area fairly well, can you give me any clues with regard to location. I have found a few lesser known trails within the Cannop centre boundaries but I've never had a good experience on any of them. They tended to be full of bracken and generally overgrown with the odd low hanging branch thrown in for good measure.

Al