Dursley, Cotswolds

Distance 36km (22.4 miles) Climbing 1,075m (3,526ft) Time 2hrs 30mins to 4hrs

Route summary For such a peaceful setting, this Cotswolds route dishes out a wonderfully challenging ride, with some great singletrack, tough climbs and technical, fun descents

Start/ inish Stinchcombe car park, Dursley (postcode GL11 6AQ, grid ref ST 744/984)

1

Head out the back of the car park, fork left and follow the Cotswold Way right past the golf club. Go right on a road, then left into the woods and left again. Descend a rough byway to a road. Go left here, then right opposite a house, on a narrow lane, to the B4060. Continue uphill on a byway.

2

Bear left in North Nibley, right at the T-junction by the pub, then shortly left on a bridleway, steeply uphill. Fork right then join the Cotswold Way. Ride to a road and go right, descend, then look for a byway on the left. Emerge by, and pass, some houses, going left on the main road at a T-junction.

3

Go right at the roundabout, keep ahead/left and descend. Climb through some housing. Past a park on the left, bear right on a road. Climb steeply until you reach a bridleway going sharply right. Keep ahead/right on this, through a gate. Continue downhill, through two gates, to drop into the woods.

4

Head left on a road, descend and turn left by some houses. Climb, then turn onto a concrete track to a lone house. Go straight across the grass. Pass through a gate to the left, climb and join the tarmac. Go over the crossroads, left at a junction, then left again past a large house, back onto the Cotswold Way.

5

Keep ahead to a gate and a T-junction, and go left, uphill, to Trasham. Turn left on the road then shortly right, through a farm. Fork left then right, and ride along the field edge before going through a gate onto a rocky descent in the trees. Past the farm, follow the tarmac left and pass through the gates on the right at the crossroads. Continue left, through the park.

6

Keep ahead on the road, fork right, keep ahead/right to a junction with roads and go right. Take the first left turn, then go left to a crossroads. When the road bears right, turn left on a bridleway. In the field, with buildings on your right, go ahead then left, opposite a garden and water feature.

7

Turn left on the A4135, climb steeply and turn right on a bridleway near the top. Follow the signs through some bombholes. At a road go right, descend on a bridleway, fork right, then keep left. Join a road by some houses and bear left at the T-junction, keeping ahead at the end, heading o -road.

8

Make a right on the bridleway near the top and keep bearing left (staying high) until you emerge on a road (which descends to the right). Go left, up to a level road, and then right, back to the car park.

LOCATION DETAILS The Cotswolds AONB may be tranquil and beautiful, with postcard-picturesque countryside and rolling hills, but it’s also home to some great, challenging riding. Expect a wide variety of trails from grassy, rocky, dirt to woodland singletrack and open pastureland with lovely views, with plenty of steep hills thrown in, too. It can su er in the wet, though.

GETTING THERE Dursley isn’t the easiest place to get to from the M5, and the car park is tucked away up past Stinchcombe Hill Golf Club, so you may want to consider a couple of alternative start locations, such as Wotton-under-Edge (GL12 7DN) or the layby parking by the cemetery in North Nibley (GL11 6DS).

MAPS & BOOKS Ordnance Survey Landranger 162: Gloucester & Forest of Dean. Cotswolds Mountain Biking: 20 Classic Rides by Tom Fenton (Vertebrate

Publishing).

FACILITIES For accommodation, try the Black Horse Inn in North Nibley (01453 543777, www.blackhorsenorthnibley.co.uk) or Stroud Tourist Information (01453 760960). North Nibley has a great little cafe in the village shop and there’s a big choice of refreshments in Wotton-Under-Edge and Dursley. For spares and repairs, head to Delta Bikes in Dursley (01453 545480, www.deltabikes.com).