Ellwood located in the Forest of Dean is close to the trail centre at Peddle a Bike Away. Unlike the trail centre Ellwood provides a multitude of off piste trails in a surprisingly compact area. The trail start points are grouped together so one climb serves multiple descents.
The trails are cut in by the local trail pixies, these are not sculptures trails as over at the trail centre. They are lines cut in to the landscape using the natural features, with embellishments. Expect drops and jumps, there are some berms but these are where these are built form natural features.
There are some big features on some of the trails, this route however all the trail features are either rollable or avoidable, so it caters for a ranges of skills.We first put this ride together after rounds 3 & 4 four of Borz racing - mates race. This is another Wednesday night ride route so it has to cater for a range of skills and be rideable in the dark. The ride passed the collective test of the wednesday night crew, to the point we almost didn't go to the pub!
This route only touches the surface of what is on offer, there is much more than this route covers. You will be able to see multiple trails snaking through the woods, each with multiple line choices. The trails ridden in this ride are known to us as Bluebell, Sams, Doweys, the Bridge, Cut and Shut, the long one. Other tails include Orion, Slag heap, and more. There is so much on offer in such a compact area of forest, it will easily keep you amused for a weekend.
Ellwood Mountain Bike Route
| Distance | 18km |
| Time | 2-3hrs |
| Climbing | 600m |
| Starting location | Parkend |
| Pubs, cafes | The Fountain Inn |
| Parking | Parkend |
| Route | View route on Strava View route on Komoot Alternative Komoot Route View route on Garmin Download GPX |
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