Best place for hacking in England?

[hobo]

Dorset for me but PF hit the nail on the head with it being micro not macro. We have miles of bridleways but if you were in the next village north of us you would want to box first to get full enjoyment.

 

[fredflop]

LOads of hacking on Salisbury plains but you need to be able to get to it first!

 

[pansymouse]

I have livery right on the edge of Salisbury Plain - I can hack all day without touching a public highway. It's by far the best hacking I've ever had in 50 years of riding and owning horses all over the country.

 

[huskydamage]

Newforest is my favourite place ever, love it.

 

[huskydamage]

Dartmoor, as wild and remote as you want it to be or stick to the fringes for less remoteness. Wonderful views. Exmoor, slightly less wild and remote than parts of Dartmoor, more great views. Quantocks, more pastoral and a bit overrun with mountain bikes at times. Long Mynd, not a huge area but great, open, grassy rides with more great views.

Love dartmoor too, but found it harder to navigate than other places I've been. Bit scary when the fog cones down and you are in the middle of no where!

 

[Peter7917]

new forest

 

[GTRJazz]

East coast wherever you go as it is drier and has more hours of sunshine We live in the Lincolnshire wolds which is beautiful and has lots of bridle ways and competition venues

Just purchased a house at the foot of the Wolds with six acres but a little disappointed with the hacking and no big public parks I can ride in

 

[Summit]

Just purchased a house at the foot of the Wolds with six acres but a little disappointed with the hacking and no big public parks I can ride in

Didn’t you check out the hacking before you purchased?

 

[windand rain]

Try Willingham woods or the Lindsey trail there are miles of bridleways around Market Rasen and north towards Grimsby. Claxby run a ride from Willowbanks which should be good for starters other rides from Ravendale do the same and lots of hacking around the villages of Rothwell and Normanby. Beach riding at Theddlethorpe and Cleethorpes, Lorry parking beach ride and cross country all over the wolds and at a fee from Field Farm, Roz Canter at canter Hallington and loads of stuff going on at Kenwick, Hill House, Willowbanks, Thorpe Grange, White house Farm etc You can ride miles, show jump Dresage UAffil hunter trials, one day events, show, drive and do endurance within a few miles of here we could be doing something every weekend and probaly every day but you need transport and the cash to do everything

 

[attheponies]

Norfolk is good if you pick your spot - beaches to the east and north (but very expensive properties) or forest to the south (and cheaper to buy). In between lots & lots of roads / lanes but not many bridleways although some estates offer access.

 

[mariew]

Basildon miles of Bridleways and a large public park you can ride in Thorndon. Many other rides a short box trip away

Hmm, but not many nice yards and most bridleways now are taken up by dog walkers and prams so it's always super busy. And strictly speaking you are not supposed to canter in any of the Thorndon/Weald/etc Plus a lot of greenbelt is currently being developed on or in the plans of being developed on. I think north of Brentwood is better. There are bits of Surrey that are quite nice, Banstead and surroundings have lots of secret mixed hacking.

 

[HEM]

Epping forest has great hacking and some nice livery yards! Also meant to be uber haunted for the ghost hunter in you!

 

[hollyandivy123]

black down on the mendip hills.....................has a couple of pubs you can tie up and have a drink

https://www.bing.com/maps?FORM=Z9LH3

 

[Orangehorse]

What do you enjoy? Not everyone likes endless forest, some prefer bridlepaths over varied countryside, or beaches. Decide what you would like and then if your motive is to move to somewhere with good riding then take a weekend break, even a day's riding, to suss out the local hacking.

Worcestershire isn't bad, in the right areas which can mean the west of the county which needs a fit horse for the hills, but even the rural roads can be busy as more barns are made into houses and businesses open. If you really want no road work at all that is going to mean next door to a forest or moor or in the depths of nowhere. Gloucestershire has some fabulous riding in the Cotswolds and the local drivers seem to be very considerate too (all those racing yards and nearly every house has stables behind) but house prices are huge.

Some places can look rural and nice, such as Hereford, but if you look at the network of bridlepaths there isn't much.

 

[Follysmum]

Leicestershire is excellent in certain places.
Around the Fernie countryside is good and also around laundry abbey area. Lots of off road tracks bridle ways and hills

 

[Tihamandturkey]

Before our move to Ireland 24 years ago we lived in Lambourn on the Berkshire Downs - hacking heaven - still miss it 😏

 

[Tarragon]

We're in The Peak District and have lots of beautiful hacking, close enough to Manchester and Sheffield if you work in the city or whatever, but miles and miles of countryside too

I am in the Peak District too and while there is lots of good hacking it does tend to be either quiet single track roads or Green Lanes which in fact are quite stony. So plenty of miles but not much to canter on!
I grew up in rural Suffolk near Bury St Edmunds and Ickworth Park and have childhood memories of seemingly endless grassy tracks skirting farmers' fields and of course acres of stubble at the right time of year. Mind you - my memories tend to be fairly selective and that was a long time ago (back in the 1970s!!) and it might be different now.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

even Cumbria can be hooching with tourists. Northumberland is stunning but don't know what its like for horses. Wales or Scotland OP, sorry! just invest in decent waterproofs

Much of Cumbria is to hilly/wild fells for hacking. Friend moved up there with 2 horses and found that hacking routes were very limited and the roads very busy and narrow.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Much of Cumbria is to hilly/wild fells for hacking. Friend moved up there with 2 horses and found that hacking routes were very limited and the roads very busy and narrow.

tbh that goes for a lot of hacking in Scotland too (the wet, can be very rocky and although we have access right it doesn't stop wired up gates etc). I bought my pony from Kendall, was gobsmacked at how busy it was down there- way too many people, roads way too busy.

 

[tankgirl1]

I am in the Peak District too and while there is lots of good hacking it does tend to be either quiet single track roads or Green Lanes which in fact are quite stony. So plenty of miles but not much to canter on!
I grew up in rural Suffolk near Bury St Edmunds and Ickworth Park and have childhood memories of seemingly endless grassy tracks skirting farmers' fields and of course acres of stubble at the right time of year. Mind you - my memories tend to be fairly selective and that was a long time ago (back in the 1970s!!) and it might be different now.

We are on the edge of the Goyt Valley so very lucky with our hacking!

 

[oldie48]

Exmoor or the Quantocks, lovely varied hacking and not stupidly expensive. Castlemorton common/Malvern hills area is where I live now and the hacking is good with TROT also available also an excellent area for competing in any discipline.

 

[JoannaC]

I grew up in Chorleywood, Herts and took the hacking for granted. Now I've moved to Stafford the hacking here is rubbish and I so miss the miles and miles of rides we used to go on. There was still a fair amount of roadwork but so many different rides to go on with plenty of places for a canter or gallop. Of course like most other places so close to London it is becoming more built up and some of the old rides are lost which is a shame. If I could pick my house and land up and take it somewhere else i'd choose Flaunden in Herts. Lots of quiet lanes and off road rides.

 

[Gloi]

Much of Cumbria is to hilly/wild fells for hacking. Friend moved up there with 2 horses and found that hacking routes were very limited and the roads very busy and narrow.

But get the right parts and there is miles of really good open fell and tracks. The area between Penrith and Ullswater is fantastic and if you go to the very north east of Cumbria there is great riding there too and no tourists.

 

[GTRJazz]

Didn’t you check out the hacking before you purchased?

 

[GTRJazz]

No I just assumed it would be really good but same thing as in Essex there are bridleways but no parking to ride on them

 

[Remi'sMum]

I am in the Peak District too and while there is lots of good hacking it does tend to be either quiet single track roads or Green Lanes which in fact are quite stony. So plenty of miles but not much to canter on!

I’m in the Peak District too and I can think of lots of lovely grassy moorland tracks for cantering on. But most need boxing to, and you need to know where’s good for parking.

 

[HashRouge]

I’m in the Peak District too and I can think of lots of lovely grassy moorland tracks for cantering on. But most need boxing to, and you need to know where’s good for parking.

I think it depends where in the Peaks you are. I'm from the Dark Peak area near Glossop and it's exactly as Tarragon describes - lots of bridleways or public byways but they do tend to be fairly stony. The Longdendale Trail is nice but again, stony in parts and can be very busy at the weekends with walkers and cyclists. Gorgeous though!

 

[GTRJazz]

Did find quite an few bridleways today in the wolds around Belchford hill

Try Willingham woods or the Lindsey trail there are miles of bridleways around Market Rasen and north towards Grimsby. Claxby run a ride from Willowbanks which should be good for starters other rides from Ravendale do the same and lots of hacking around the villages of Rothwell and Normanby. Beach riding at Theddlethorpe and Cleethorpes, Lorry parking beach ride and cross country all over the wolds and at a fee from Field Farm, Roz Canter at canter Hallington and loads of stuff going on at Kenwick, Hill House, Willowbanks, Thorpe Grange, White house Farm etc You can ride miles, show jump Dresage UAffil hunter trials, one day events, show, drive and do endurance within a few miles of here we could be doing something every weekend and probaly every day but you need transport and the cash to do everything

 

[Orangehorse]

No I just assumed it would be really good but same thing as in Essex there are bridleways but no parking to ride on them

The WBRA in Worcestershire has 20 plus parking places for horseboxes near to good bridlepath networks. Either pubs, usually weekdays only, livery yard, private yards, farms. You have just got to go and knock on doors and ask, plus use the pubs for meals out.

 

[Orangehorse]

Isn't Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire area supposed to be very good for hacking?