Danny Hart’s Descend Bike Park

Danny Hart's Descend Bike Park

Danny Hart's Descend Bike Park is a dedicated uplift-served downhill and 4X venue in Hamsterley Forest, County Durham, owned and run by two-time UCI Downhill World Champion Danny Hart. The park has five main downhill tracks running from the top down to a mid-way point, each splitting into a choice of eight technical bottom sections, plus a separate 4X race track. It suits experienced and expert riders best, though the top sections offer easier line choices for those building confidence.

The Trails

• DH1 (Main Line): the original downhill track at Hamsterley. A fast, flowing top section with bomb holes, step-downs and a big tabletop leads into a run of drops and rock gardens lower down, finishing through steep, technical chutes.
• Black Magic: peels off DH1 into the trees before the first double, threading through root-riddled woodland before a run of fast, flat corners and a rocky chute across the road. The lower half turns rooty and steep, with off-camber turns and a final drop into a steep chute or a chicken line around it.
• Pinball: splits from Main Line after the road-gap jump. A fast, flowing top section with a big tabletop jump drops into the steep forest below.
• The Edge (Top Section and Bottom Section): shares its top half with Black Magic before splitting off across the road into a dark, narrow lower section with off-camber roots and rocks, a stretch of northshore, and a steep, rough finish through the trees. Now split into two named sections on the current trail network.
• The Dual Track: a head-to-head skills course from the start ramp, with tabletops, berms and a crossover point, finishing on a pair of 4X-style tabletops.
• 4X: a 550-metre, 6-metre-wide race track starting with a 16ft roll-in and mechanical start gate. Three tabletops lead into the first corner with inner and outer berm options, then a jump, a bowl and a large tabletop with two landings, plus optional rhythm sections, ski or gap jump choices, and a step-up into a banked finish corner.

Getting Here

• Primary car park: Descend Bike Park's own car park on Windy Bank Road, Hamsterley, DL13 3QN. From Hamsterley village, continue about five miles on the road towards the forest and take the fourth turning on the right onto Windy Bank Road. Do not turn into the main Hamsterley Forest entrance. The car park is at the top of the track.
• Alternative: Hamsterley Forest's main visitor centre car park (DL13 3NL) is about two miles away and serves the wider forest, including the separate Hamsterley Forest XC trails, but it is not the pickup point for Descend's uplift.
• Public transport: there is no direct bus service to the park. Driving is strongly recommended.

Facilities

• Car park and toilets at the venue.
• Sign-in and day-entry payment at the Bike Park cabin, where refreshments have also been available.
• Weekend uplift service, booked in advance via the official website.

Beyond the Trails

• Elite-level coaching sessions are available, run by Danny Hart and his team, for riders looking to sharpen their downhill skills.
• Descend sits within Hamsterley Forest alongside a separate cross-country trail network with its own waymarked routes. See Hamsterley Forest Mountain Bike Trails for the XC side of the forest.

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