Walk status: Off-lead
A forest pathway at the Browns Road entrance has tempted me since I discovered the walks here. The entrance to it is just a few metres from the Browns Road entrance on the right hand side, so ive walked past it numerous times and wondered where it goes. I finally decided the weather had been good enough to try it and just hoped we weren't about to walk into muddy hell!
Heading down the gravel entrance to the path, you soon reach a hidden collection of Mountain Bike jumps and tracks. Hence ive called this one Mountain Bike trail. While most of the forest pathways are setup for Mountain Bikers, it seems this one in particular has been carved out specifically with lots of options for jumps and tracks in the surrounding area.
There were a couple of Mountain Bikers there at the time we visited, so we kept out of their way by heading down the main track which is quite narrow and staying away from the jumps and areas they were exploring. You do have to cross through a few areas that are setup with jumps, so just keep an eye and ear out for the riders.
We followed the track down the hill, and soon enough the track started to narrow and the bush became more overgrown. At one point I think we must have deviated from the main MB track, as there was such overgrown foliage and fallen trees in this area, I doubted any riders had been on this track for a while. About midway, I had a look at the app to find we were actually starting to backtrack on ourselves. So eventually we ended up back on the same track we started.
This turned out to only be a very short walk of about 1.35kms and approx 20 minutes of walking. It really is a bit of an adventure pushing your way through the overgrown foliage, but you can see still an actual track and George tends to find these things better than me so he was my navigator.
My curiosity is finally satisfied about this one, and I think based on it being a clear area where MB's are going to be frequenting, it will be a walk we will probably avoid in future as I imagine in summer it will be quite busy. If your friends are keen MB's and don't know about this area, its definitely one to give them a heads up on.
Location: Browns Road entrance, located off Old North Road
Carparking is limited, as there is a just a gravel lay by off Old North Road to turn into and park up. There is no suitable parking on Old North Road.
Things to know:
There are no toilets here
The gate is locked to vehicles, but walkers and bike riders still have access.
Route taken:
Browns Road > Unnamed Forest Track > Browns Road