Kirstineridesagain
Well-Known Member
The Pentlands Regional Park. Off road hacking for miles - we never go that far, but once I have my new mare in work I plan on some epic rides!
Whats your hacking like ?
- Thread starter TRECtastic
- Start date
Kirstineridesagain
Well-Known Member
Pentland Hills, I meant to write. All my photos are too large but I have loads!
Titchy Pony
Well-Known Member
I'm over in France in an area that doesn't really have any bridle ways. But the hacking is pretty good. I ride on the smaller tarmacked roads, its generally easy enough to cross the bigger roads, there are plenty of white lanes, the closest of which is just 100m from my front gate and some grass lanes as well (my local riding school fought to stop them all being surfaced as white lanes when the maire wanted to make them more cycle friendly - they came to the agreement that they either stay grass, or that the maire has the verges strimmed more regularly so that we can use them instead). There's also a lovely big field we have permission to ride around the edges of and I'll help myself to the edge of stubble fields if they're available. I can ride to the outside a couple of chateaux if I have a mind to and there is a kebab shop I've never been to, but will do next summer when Little Madam has finished maternity leave just so I can say that I've done it. I would also like to box out with her to somewhere with forest hacking for a bit of variety, but again, next year.
Tarragon
Well-Known Member
In the Peak District. So, a maze of small country roads and green lanes (mostly stony!) and plenty of hill work! I have to choose my routes and times carefully as the number of small white delivery vans on a mission have increased over the last few years, off-road trail bikes on the green lanes and cyclists on the roads, and there is nowhere for fast canter work. The best thing about it is just outside a busy village with many, many back lanes, so can easily do 3 to 5 mile rides without repeating myself for weeks, and then just extend the routes in most directions for longer rides at the weekend.
Alibear
Well-Known Member
I'm really lucky, previously its been pretty naff as the farmers don't want you on the headlands as it goes against the terms of the subsidies they got and bridle paths are non existent or just out and backs that stop dead in the middle of a field. But my current yard is next to land owned by a gentleman farmer who lets the whole village use the headlands and they're left on all 4 sides of every field. There's a good gravel track wandering through the middle of it two that connects up two villages nicely. Then the farmer who owns the yard lets us use some of his fields and tracks which connects up even more options.
The challange has been last year things got churned up as they were upgrading all the pylons and they're doing work as the new windfarm power is having cables laid to a new substation going in near by which carved up the only bridle way in the area and continues to do so, with the added fun of more solar farms being setup locally and all the work starting for that this year. Which also means road works so the road the yards is is a rat run now. We're just hoping that they'll leave tracks around the solar farms once its all done.
I can also box out to thetford forest and use one of the severl park and rides which is only 1 hour away.
With the weather it would all be fantastic, but unfortunatley Ambers of games so no riding for the last cuple of months, I'm hoping for some good news in a few weeks time.
The challange has been last year things got churned up as they were upgrading all the pylons and they're doing work as the new windfarm power is having cables laid to a new substation going in near by which carved up the only bridle way in the area and continues to do so, with the added fun of more solar farms being setup locally and all the work starting for that this year. Which also means road works so the road the yards is is a rat run now. We're just hoping that they'll leave tracks around the solar farms once its all done.
I can also box out to thetford forest and use one of the severl park and rides which is only 1 hour away.
With the weather it would all be fantastic, but unfortunatley Ambers of games so no riding for the last cuple of months, I'm hoping for some good news in a few weeks time.
frankieduck
Well-Known Member
Pretty good for the area but crap in the grand scheme of things. We have quiet country lanes but are in the flattest county in the UK so hills are few and far between! I used to be based down South and really miss the abundance of hills for hacking! Nothing off-road without boxing to it but we are very lucky to have numerous farm-rides and major equestrian centres within an hours drive, so swings and roundabouts.
Shantara
Well-Known Member
Technically speaking it's awful. Just country lanes really. However the farmer has lots of fields we can ride around, which I'm very excited to explore!
I'm in mid Wales and thought there'd be loads of off road riding here, but Milton Keynes is SO much better generally for hacking.
I'm in mid Wales and thought there'd be loads of off road riding here, but Milton Keynes is SO much better generally for hacking.
KC31
Well-Known Member
We are very lucky our place backs straight onto miles of off road hacking. The downside is a huge industrial park bought up some of the land, though they have created some nice walks and nature reserves as part of the deal. It is very quiet and lots of places to have a canter. We also have lots of EC that now put on farm rides.
Parrotperson
Well-Known Member
N Northumberland.
It’s all roads except a very kind local farmer has given me permission to ride round the edges of her fields as long as I don’t go in with any cattle (which I wouldn’t anyway!).
So that makes it bearable. Beach is a ten min box ride away too.
It’s all roads except a very kind local farmer has given me permission to ride round the edges of her fields as long as I don’t go in with any cattle (which I wouldn’t anyway!).
So that makes it bearable. Beach is a ten min box ride away too.
2awesomenatives
Well-Known Member
Very lucky with ours. Straight out of the yard gate into the woods and then we can ride for miles without having any roadwork.
We also have lots of nice areas near that we can box up to if we want a change of scenery, beaches 15 mins in one direction and 15 mins the other direction to the new forest, which is amazing riding.
We also have lots of nice areas near that we can box up to if we want a change of scenery, beaches 15 mins in one direction and 15 mins the other direction to the new forest, which is amazing riding.
Steerpike
Well-Known Member
I guess it depends where in Mid Wales you are, I'm in Mid West Wales and have some great hacking, I can do loops on quiet country lanes or I have a hill with a lot of bridleways.up, down and around it!
Shantara
Well-Known Member
To be fair, this yard has more bridleways, but at the previous one you had to ride for at least an hour to find a bridleway to canter on! I was very lucky in MK that every yard I went to had lovely canter-able bridleways max 5mins away.
billyburgers
Member
Really lucky with hacking, South Glos, 5 mins from Badminton 