BIGRIDE COLL INGBOURNE WOOD, WILTSHIRE

We had big plans to be exploring the Scottish Highlands this week, but alas, fresh problems, in the form of fuel shortages, mean our far-flung ideas are on hold for now. With Russell’s van running on fumes, we decide to keep it local. As many people have found over the past two years, rediscovering the riding closer to home can be fulfilling. Having been all psyched up and set for the remote and technical trails of Scotland, I wonder how we’ll find the busy South of England. Thankfully, Salisbury Plain, a chalk plateau covering 780km›, which mostly lies within Wiltshire, does a pretty good job of furnishing us with some empty countryside for this month’s ride.

A SINGLETRACK TRAIL GUIDES US INTO THE DARK, DAMP WOODLAND, WHICH ALTHOUGH WET AND MUDDY TO START WITH, IS MARKED WITH PROMISING TELL-TALE TYRE TRACKS

With large parts owned by the Ministry