Buy the OS Route Map and instructions for this route

Best known for the Cheddar Challenge, there’s a lot more to Mendip mtb’ing than one of Britain’s longest-running race events. In fact, the area around Beacon Batch and Black Down boasts some real top-notch trails, with steep and narrow descents, plenty of jumps and bumps, and even one or two rocky sections. It’s possible to spend a whole day playing on the main ridge — and many do — but to really appreciate what the area has to offer it’s worth spreading your wings a little; at least as far as the nearby tourist haven of Cheddar.
The rocky drops of Dolebury Warren and Warrens Hill Road will get your suspension working, and the climbs from Burrington and Rowberrow will do the same for your lungs. But this ride saves its real highlights till the end: first from the trig point on Beacon Batch; and then a rough and ready grand finale down from Burrington Ham.