Av. Trail Rating:
(2 votes so far) |
 |
Description:-
This is a local ride for me, one I do if I don't have much time. It's a mixture of just about everything. Some paved minor roads and estate roads, some rough(ish) land-rover track and some single-track through the woods. It's possible to do at night with lights if you know it, but route-finding can be a bit problematic first time out as some of the single-track side route aren't terribly obvious. Even in daylight some of the trails aren't the easiest to follow at times e.g. in Autumn when they are under a covering of fallen leaves.
The route starts at the entrance to Fetternear Estate on the other opposite side of the River Don, just after you cross the bridge. There's space here to park 4-5 cars, or park in Kemnay itself and cycle the short distance to the start. Note that the paths etc both in Fetternear Estate and Slack Woods are popular with dog walkers (including me), families etc out for a walk, especially on nice days, so be aware!
To start, at the entrance gates to the estate, don't go through them but instead turn right along a faint path in the trees back towards the bridge. You'll come to the top of a short, steep slope which can be ridden down. Just keep to the left to avoid the tree that someone has helpfully painted a target on along with the words "Place head here". Follow the faint path through the trees with the river Don to your right, nettles can be a problem here, especially if wearing shorts! Eventually you'll run out of path so you bear left to come out of the trees onto the estate road.
Follow the road for a short distance until you see a bridge over a stream to your right. Cross the bridge and then a short time later take the right-hand land-rover track at the Y junction. Follow this track for around 3km, with views down to the River Don below, until you pass through 2 gates, one shortly after the other (the only real irritation on this route). Take a sharp right here on the minor road and cross the River Don on the foot bridge.
Once across the bridge, climb the stairs and turn right to follow the minor road for around 700m. As you see the the edge of Slack Woods on your left there's a track entering the field. Take this track then turn almost immediately right onto a narrow path into the tree. You'll know you've got the right path if you whack your pedal off the rock that helpfully sits right in the middle of it. Now you have to grind your way up the short climb on a sometimes overgrown and muddy track.
Once at the top of the climb continue straight ahead along the good track until you come to a clear-felled area on your left (if you get to the barrier at the end of the track you've gone too far). Just short of the clear-felled rear there's a path to your left into the trees, take it. This path winds its way along the edge of these trees, with fields to the right. It's twisty, rooty, but not too muddy or too difficult to follow. At the end it'll dump you out onto a somewhat overgrown fire-road. Turn right and climb briefly to re-join the main track.
Once at the main track, turn right, heading back the way you came earlier. Now comes the tricky bit! You are looking for a faint path to your left after about 5-600m. It's tricky as there's actually a number of paths, a few of which I've explored, and all but the one your looking for lead nowhere particularly rideable. Best description I can think of is it goes into some mature deciduous trees not long after a section of dense, young conifer trees ends. Once on it, follow the single track path as it swings right alongside a wall and loops round back to the main track again. It can be muddy in places after rain but is quite straightforward (apart from a tight turn after a tree stump that I can never seem to do without putting my foot down).
Now on the main track again, turn right and head back up the track until almost where you turned off for the little loop you've just done. This time you want to turn left, again along a faint path to do another small loop. Again this is relatively straightforward, but look out for the wheel swallowing hole at one point just to right of the path. Again this dumps you out onto the main track, a bit lower down the hill. Turn right and enjoy the decent back down to the minor road again.
From here it's time to backtrack a bit. Turn right and follow the minor road back to the foot bridge across the River Don. Turn left at the house and through the two gates again (I told you they were irritating), following the track you came down earlier back uphill. This time though keep an eye out for a track heading uphill off to your right. There's a green signpost pointing up it, but it's still easy to miss.
Follow the grassy path uphill until you can go no further. Turn right into a better, but still narrow path that skirts around a conifer plantation until you come to a more open area. Keep going straight ahead up the wide track until it flattens out, then head slightly right along a root section of path into the trees. Here the narrow path splits. Keep to the left and you can follow a path to complete the circuit of Cot-town Wood and return back to this point. The circuit can be quite fast in dry conditions, but can be wheel-suckingly muddy after heavy rain. To continue though you need to take the narrow path that heads downhill to the left.
This narrow, twisty path heads downhill through a narrow belt of trees. The path includes a couple of 'features' that have been built by someone which are small and easy enough to ride over. Also look out for the natural features i.e a couple of large rocks at different points that hide in the grass at the side of the trail and catch your pedals if you're not careful. The path ends in short section of boneshatteringly bumpy track before you reach one of the estate tracks again.
Turn left on the track and follow it past the old stable block before it swings right to take you across the bridge you crossed early in the ride. After crossing the bridge take a right turn then the next left (divert to the right for a quick look at the ruins of the Bishops Palace if you like). Follow this track until you see a wet hollow on your right with a rope swing in a tree. Head off to the right, past the swing towards the wall. Here you can turn right and follow a short loop of path, which can be worth doing if you still have the energy to take it at speed. Either way, the finish is off to your left, following the path just inside the wall until you hit the estate road again. Turn right and you are at the finish.
There's lots of options on this route of missing some of the loops out, or repeating them as time or inclination dictates. It's not the most technically demanding of routes but does have its nice bits.