Verdley Woods. The Hills Have Eyes....
Today saw the convergence of two not-quite celestial events: 1) we have always looked at the woodland on the north side of the A272 between Petworth and Midhurst and thought that it must contain some decent riding and 2) following three days of constant downpour in Brighton we were desperate to get out and ride. As usual we headed into the woodland with more enthusiasm than preparation, I was wearing a thin shirt and shorts, my buddy had wisely chosen a heavy shirt and riding trousers. Verdley Wood was a mixture of deciduous woodland on the top of the hill with densly planted conifers on the hill side and the bottom of the valley.
Highlights included me getting attacked and de-biked by a patch of brambles that had overgrown part of the trail at the narrowest point and were just waiting to pounce on the unwary. We found an old DH run through the conifer section of hillside, this was great fun with berms, jumps and a really nasty little drop-off to finish. We didn't cover many miles as we had to keep stopping and checking where we were, but no doubt familiarity with the area would result in a day of technical riding both up and down hill.
More worrying was the fact that we always seemed to find ourselves near the relay station south of Bexleyhill where a couple of guys were clearing trees and thinning branches. Each time we passed we heard a noise but when we looked round the two guys were just stood staring at us. Weird!
Highlights included me getting attacked and de-biked by a patch of brambles that had overgrown part of the trail at the narrowest point and were just waiting to pounce on the unwary. We found an old DH run through the conifer section of hillside, this was great fun with berms, jumps and a really nasty little drop-off to finish. We didn't cover many miles as we had to keep stopping and checking where we were, but no doubt familiarity with the area would result in a day of technical riding both up and down hill.
More worrying was the fact that we always seemed to find ourselves near the relay station south of Bexleyhill where a couple of guys were clearing trees and thinning branches. Each time we passed we heard a noise but when we looked round the two guys were just stood staring at us. Weird!
We set out from the carpark on the A272 at Benbow Pond and climbed to the ridge via the bridleway through Gosdensheath Farm, past Heathend Copse, Vining Farm, Grevatt's Common and uot to the relay station just south of Bexelyhill. From Bexleyhill we followed the bridleway along the ridge to Henley. The singletrack runs were on the steep hillside dropping from the
Bexleyhill to Henley bridleway down into Verdley Wood, if you don't fancy these then try the bridleway and woodland track descents, although these were very steep and covered in lose rocks. It took sometime get our bearings as everywhere looked similar. We returned to Benbow Pond via the bridleway climb from a parking area on Highstead Lane just south of Bexleyhill.
All in all a good ride. We explored a new area, found some good singletrack descents and it didn't rain.
If anyone knows of more goood riding in this area please let us know via the e-mail address in the site banner.
Bexleyhill to Henley bridleway down into Verdley Wood, if you don't fancy these then try the bridleway and woodland track descents, although these were very steep and covered in lose rocks. It took sometime get our bearings as everywhere looked similar. We returned to Benbow Pond via the bridleway climb from a parking area on Highstead Lane just south of Bexleyhill.
All in all a good ride. We explored a new area, found some good singletrack descents and it didn't rain.
If anyone knows of more goood riding in this area please let us know via the e-mail address in the site banner.
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