Track: Aston
Aston is a bridleway near Hope in the Peak District, UK. This page is intended to provide information for mountain biking on the track.
Rating: Technical / Speed / Fun: | |
Height Descent / Distance: 110m / 1.78km
Surface: Mainly dirt and grass, some small gritstone pebbles & stones on the upper straight and some rocks in the bottom section.
Location: SK 179 852 - Monkeyspoon OS Tracks Map - Google Aerial Map
Starting from the Hope Brink ridge, it gradually descends the contours heading SE. The track ends at Edge Farm changing to tarmac and descending more steeply into Aston. Beware of the exit which is quite blind (and the "Free range children and animals").
The upper section is long and fairly straight, it starts out with several rutted lines, part way down this section is a small hump which you can air off if you’re feeling adventurous, it then narrows before reaching a flat, grassy, slightly uphill section. Next comes a gate, after which is 100m of wide and grassy track before turning onto a narrow section before another gate. It crosses the footpath at the gate and goes across a field before the walls close in and there’s an off-camber (often wet) corner onto the high narrow path, overshoot this and you’ll be in the boggy section. Another metal gate (next to ruined building) starts the bottom section, which turns left into the rocks, initially stating right will keep you off them, but not for long, a carefully chosen left line should be equally effective. At the end of this straight there’s a left turn and miniature ‘bus-stop’ on the outside. A metal gate means the end of the track, after 15m it exits onto tarmac outside a house, turn right down the ‘road’, it’s easy to gain a lot of speed, but beware of riders climbing, cars exiting the house halfway down and the exit at the bottom of the steepest part.