Reviews for Hamsterley Forest Mountain Bike Trail Centre

Summary:
rooty on 1 part, muddy on another but its goot for bigginers i would think

Review:
i have been to 7 stanes that is realy good and chopwell but its short but sweet, hamsterly is great on black route but me and my dad went on a bike adventure and tested out kielder, chopwell, 7 stanes and dalby but the order we put them in for best was 1. 7 stanes
2. hamsterly black route
3. chopwell woods black and red (its short but its great
4. kielder black and red
5. dalby black and red (not realy good because u o downhill no jumps then u go up hill and they have jumps its stupid

Summary:
Great way to warm up and build confidence

Review:
This was the first time I'd been to Hamsterely and the first time in years I'd attempted anything like this. I really enjoyed it. The trail is well designed, you can simply blast down it avoiding everything or try it all. Hamsterely Forest has loads of trails and loads of stuff fr the family - a god place for Average Joe to go and the kids will be ahppy outside. Be warned the cafe is not very family friendly - they interfere in parenting and try to tell off the children and the mums! The outdoor facilities for MTB and families are fantastic, so go on a sunny day and avoid the cafe all together.
My only wish about the trail is that it was longer. But I guess that's waht the other routes are for.

Summary:
enjoyable step up in grade

Review:
being an old codger i have stuck to fairly boring flat stuff so far but decided a trip to hamsterley was next on my list of things to do. having done the green trail which even i found easy the blue circuit was a joy. the first section is just technical enough to make your feel like a real MTBer with lots of hairpins, short climbs and descents, but nothing that is going to wear you out or throw you off. after this the main part of the trail is on fire road and hard packed dirt. there is only one big climb (well, big for me!!) and had to stop for a breather, but the surroundings make it worthwhile. there is a nice long section through the forest and along the edge, dropping down at good speed,so, watch out for the warning signs as you do have to cross other roads and make a big right turn at the bottom which would be easy to fly past. the end section is back on the main blacktop which gives you time to get your breath back and replay the fun you have just had while you take in the beautiful scenery and wildlife. the route is well signposted, easy to follow and, curiously, seemed more down than up hill, which was a big bonus!! the trail took me an hour, and after a rest and cuppa i was off to the skills trail to practice my falling off - magic!! overall, this was exactly what it says on the tin,an intermediate trail that gave a good feel of the bike and the countryside, without wiping me out for the rest of the day

Summary:
Worth more than a 4 but I wouldn't travel miles for it.

Review:
I agree with a lot of what hoppy says but I think a 4 is a bit harsh. There are propper drop-offs if a little small (recently added one shown in ckflip's photo) and it does have it's fair share of rocks and small obstacles which you can fly over or plot a careful course through but, yes it does have lots of greasy roots and yes, in the wet it's a mess of deep muddy ruts which send you too wide or too tight. I think the issue here is that unlike the skills loop it's not an all-weather surface all the way round. They've kind of cobbled patches of natural trail surface and man made stuff together which means you often start a section with a hopeful smile and then leave it a bit disheartened. The sections of well made stuff are a bit short, wet weather leaves the rest a bit of a slippery mess and it lacks north-shore obstacles, bomb-holes, burms and table-tops but it's still fun and worth checking out if you are in the area.

Personally I like natural trails and mud doesn't bother me too much so I'll give it a 6. It could score higher if the sections flowed together better instead of a quick buzz followed by forest road, followed by another quick buzz. I think we'll see it slowly evolve over time.

Summary:
Rubbish

Review:
Maybe I expect too much from FC trail centres, maybe I've been to too many manicured trail centres that follow a format, but then, that is exactly the reason why I go there. I want something that I can't readily get on my local bridleways,I want berms, northshore, rockgardens, table top jumps, testing technical features etc etc. Once a month or so, I like to treat myself to something special.

If you've done the 7 Stanes, Dalby Forrest, Coed LLandegla etc etc and that's your ideal of a FC trail centre experience, then Hamsterley Black route is basically like going out on your local moors and woods. I'm sure alot of great work has been done on the Downhill, 4X and skills park, but I couldn't see much on this route. I think there was one berm and maybe a rock garden, but some features had been lost because there has been no management of what specific line people should take thru sections. So rather than being guided thru an obvious section, you end up trying to work out what is the correct line thru a sea of tyre marks going off in all directions and cutting corners. There is nothing really testing here, other than the roots, which test your patience.

It's a reasonable ride out if your local, but don't travel any distance for this route.