We've never done Cut Gate with the club from top of Woodhead pass. It's an out and back with a loop around Ladybower but is great both ways with a combination of technical rocky terrain and good Singletrack. Or the classic Hayfield loop into Edale is always worth a day out. There's even a rarely done Southern loop that can be tagged on first. Any ways me n El love any route around the area.

Kev

Thanks for the suggestions Kev - but sorry to hear you can't make it after all. As it's the club dinner I think we might keep it local and head for Tegg's Nose, just out of Macclesfield. It's fairly rocky and gravelly, so hopefully not too muddy. See calendar for more details.

Well, Kev, El and I were the only takers for this ride - others had been put by reports of inclement weather. When we met it was a little damp and breezy, but nothing like as bad as forecast, so off we set via some tough climbs (Kev showing off his superlite physique by riding away) and fast rocky descents to Forest Chapel then on to the Cat & Fiddle, along the ridge-top bridleway over the A54 and a rocky track down to Three Shires Head.

Very little mud, but very wet on the rocky tracks. We dodged what looked like a muddy track by sticking to the road around to the village of Flash - England's highest - and rather bleak as the wind started to build. Lunch at Blaze Farm as the wind and rain finally lived up to the forecast. We returned via Cumberland Bridge and then just the road (we were getting pretty cold by this time) to get back out of the rain, sleet and wind. Tea and hot chocolate back at the van as we thawed out and had a glow of windburn and the knowledge that we had made the best of a bad day 🙂