Gonna ride the north downs on the 23rd with a few mates and have read good things about the redlands trails. Can anyone tell me how long the whole trail route there is (time/distance) and how close is any other good singletrack in the area? if anyone knows of any published maps showing where to find the better singletrack, so much the better. Thanks in advance as always!
There is a map of some of the trails Redlands have developed, but thats not all that is on Leith hill there is plenty to try find, the problem is trying to link them into a route., more fun can be had on Holmbury hill next door. If you msg me your email address I will send you a route that i do which is about 36 km and will take about 3.5hrs (ish) taking in Pitch Hill , Holmbury Hill, and Leith hill
You can also pick up maps from Nirvana cycles in Westcott that show you where to find some of the best trails in the area. http://www.nirvanacycles.com/
I have a few variations on routes over Pitch, Holmbury & Leith. If you look on an OS map you can see the bridleways that link the hills reasonably well. However, most of the best singletrack is not so obvious, diving into the trees off the main tracks.
We tend to start at Peaslake, up onto Holmbury Hill, play on singletrack, over to Leith, straight through to Redlands, do the trails there, then back over Leith (tough climb) to Holmbury (more s'track play) then tea 'n' cake in Peaslake stores. If energy remains we then pop up Pitch Hill for a last hour's playing around though you can go on to Winterfold woods where there is a nice long bridleway descent northwards followed by a muddy track back to Peaslake.
All hard to spot without a bit of local knowledge, so try Frichies route if you fancy it, & definitely think about calling in at Nirvana, they're always very helpful. Unfortunately I've not got records of my exact route, would have to look on the map try to describe it & I ain't got one with me.
Surrey County Council produce some excellent colour maps of the whole county. They're good quality, display bike routes, trails etc and are free. The north downs, Abinger Hammer, Leith Hill, Newlands corner, Box Hill, Dorking etc are all covered. Contact Surrey CC to find where you can pick up some maps. I get mine from Basingstoke Canal Centre at Mytchett but I suspect most Libraries & Outdoor visitor centres in Surrey stock them!
I'm pretty certain that the maps only show the legal rights of way though, which doesn't include any of the worthwhile stuff on the Surrey Hills, which just exists, they're not bridleways etc.
Nirvana Cycles in Westcott carry maps of all the decent trails on Leith/Holmbury, and I think you just have to know where to look on Pitch and Winterfold.
