On a cold, wet and muddy Friday evening I headed over to Sherwood Pinesin Nottinghamshire to sample its only red route, the Kitchener Trail.

What a difference a bit of rain makes. Normally a flat fast flowing trail with berms and rollers, and a nice mix of rocks and roots. This time a muddy, gritty energy sapping water filled trail. The 13km took over an hour to complete and my brake pads well and truly ruined.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be breaking the root down section by section so you can see how the trail fares in the rain.

This week is the release of section three’s video. Check it out above.

Section Three named ‘Culloden Wood’, is hugely different to the first two sections of the Kitchener Trail. Whilst they twist and turn, section three is made up of distinct straight lines as if you are traversing three sides of a rectangle. It touches the very edge of Sherwood pines before directing you back into the Forest for section four.

At around 1km long it starts quickly but then fades into a slog. I always feel it’s like pedalling on sand, even though there is no sand, a lot of power goes in without to much speed coming out. But don’t be disheartened, one thing this section does offer is a scenic forest picture that is second to none. If you can ride the Kitchener trail as the Sun is blazing over the fields right on the edge of the wood it streams through the trees to create a stunning image. This is enhanced further if you can catch it in Autumn first thing in the morning when the leaves cover the ground to make it look like a golden floor.

Unfortunately, this evening was far from a golden floor, instead like a wall of mud and water. It was a bigger slog than normal, and with just grey scenery, on this instance it felt nothing more than a link section. That feeling was further enhanced as the section exit to the Forest track lead to 100 metres out from the cover of the trees before dipping back into section four.

Keep an eye out for next week’s look at the Kitchener trail section four.

For other related articles showing the different sections of the Kitchener Trail please click below:

Kitchener Trail in the Rain

wet Kitchener Trail – Section One

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Two

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Four

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Five

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Six

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Seven

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Eight

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Nine

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Ten

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Eleven

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Twelve

Kitchener Trail – Section Thirteen

Kitchener Trail – Section Fourteen

Kitchener Trail – Section Fifteen

wet Kitchener Trail – Section Sixteen

Mountain Biking The Kitchener Trail - Sherwood Pines