I have used the D.P. bible/ guide to Northumberland mtb-ing and have found it to be outstanding. Comprehensive, accurate, bit of humour and full of local knowledge (is he from Morpeth?) I've ridden most rides in both directions.

To keep things fresh I've started to ride more in the lakes, Scotland and Yorkshire. But Co Durham just hasn't interested me.
Don't know why? Too many closed pits/talented young dancers/gothic cathedrals whatever....

Anyway has anyone tried out any routes from DP's Co. Durham guide? Is it worth buying? Which routes are any good?

cheers TP

i've owned both books for several years now, but unfortunately have never really used them as intended. but now that you ask, i'll have a look tomorrow and tell you what i think.
PS..what kinda riding are you into?

oh, and by the way, that gothic/dancing/pit thing you mention refers more to the city than the countryside. the county of durham covers a huge area. the book is written along the same lines as the northumberland one, but as i say, i'll tell you tomorrow when i've checked.

Ta 4 replying Tony
Idealy I'd like 3-6 hour rides with a good proportion of single track, dry surfaces, a few technical bits to falloff on and a real ale pub about half way round. Is this too much to ask?

Sounds like Hamsterley Forest to me. They have a new trail network up there I believe, which should help navigation. As for pubs, there is a great DH on an old mine road / double track at the back of the forest which takes you back round to Frostery(?) village which has a few inns. Bit of a climb back to the visitors centre afterwards though.

Hamsterley is a good bet. There's a good pub in Eggleston, with a long bridleway downhill that ends close by. Hamsterley has a bit of everything: Monster climbs, excellent singletrack, and a new downhill course, (in a couple of weeks, once we finish building it).

david do you have a grid ref for the "soon to be" down hill course it sounds fun

T-pip, the durham book rides are tame in comparison to the northumberland ones. lots of railway-line stuff. and it omits the breakdown of the route into types of surface, as like the N/land one has got.
why not hire it from the library and see if it's any good before you buy it?

Toodle, I can't help with a grid ref. as I don't have a map with me at the moment, but I can tell you it starts just off Windy Bank road, where an old unsurfaced road joins it. (It's the road along the south end of the Forest. Find Mayland Lea farm on a map.). Alternatively, you can find the bottom of the course about 500m to the west of Grove house, (2 miles west of the main visitor centre). It's on the opposite side of the river to the road though, so you're going to get wet feet! If you reach the really tall pine trees you've gone about 50m too far. In order to cover ourselves and the forestry commission for liability insurance we're going to operate on kind of a club basis. The membership fee will be somewhere around £20 a year, which also covers parking in the forest, (currently £2 a visit). There is also talk of a 'pay as you ride' fee for non members, but that's not been decided yet. We're also talking about getting some corporate type sponsorship, which might mean a reduction or removal of the fees. (Anybody listening up there in BM land?) If you need any more info, drop me a line. I might be able to email you a map.

Tony thanks for checking I'll prob give it a miss until my child is big enough for biking but not quite ready for Salters rd etc.
I will have a look at the downhill in the forest mentioned by Dave
TP