Using the Stroud valley sides
The Stroud valley is steep sided and Minchinhampton being at the top of one side allows some great descents. Going down the valley sides does mean that you have to come back up and the climbs are pretty epic.
Minchinhampton common is one of the largest grassland commons in the Cotswold area. It is south of Rodborough Common SSSI. Both commons are on Jurassic limestone and are a central plateau with steep sides. They drop down to the Nailsworth valley on the west side and the Stroud valley on the north side.
The ride does off some challenges for those that fancy it, the majority of the climbing is on road. Given the gradients involved this could well be a good thing, the descents definitely reward the effort that goes into gain the altitude. The majority of the descents do use all of the gains made on the climbs leaving you to climb back up.
There is a small overlap on the common with the Woodchester ride and shares the ladder descent. It also comes close to both the Nailsworth and Avening rides, so could be extended into either or both of these for a longer ride.
Whilst it sounds like there is a lot of climbing already and the ride is a decent length, in good weather it would definitely be worth extending the day into the surrounding area. This area of the Cotswolds has some amazing vistas as well as some absolutely cracking single track to explore. Alternatively there's enough riding in the area to make it a weekend or even longer with riding around Cranham, Birdlip or Winchcombe which are only a short distance away.
Minchinhampton MTB route
| Distance | 22km |
| Time | 2-3hrs |
| Climbing | 650m |
| Starting location | Rodbourgh |
| Pubs, cafes | The Bear of-Rodborough |
| Parking | Pub car park |
| Route | View route on Strava View route on Komoot View route on Garmin Download GPX |
Craig Williams
Hi Ian - thanks for this trail. Tried it out Sunday and found a few issues which would mean a couple of amends if you ever get around to it.
The GPX files include a section in Box woods which can't be done as no bikes are allowed in Box woods. Need to stay on Pensile Road instead.
The section down from Winstone's Ice Cream factory is pretty tricky in the mud with some quite difficult drops! But maybe that's my lack of experience.
For the life of me, I couldn't find the connecting lane between Rope Walk and Thrupp Lane so had to go back and use the road.
Otherwise, it was great fun... Cheers!