Peak District Gravel Cycling | Riding the Grindleford Gruff

Join me as I take on the Grindleford Gruff Gravel bike ride through the stunning Peak District National Park. This route is a true gravel classic – with steep climbs, rocky descents, and breathtaking views across Derbyshire’s gritstone edges and valleys.

Along the way, I’ll share highlights of the ride, tips for tackling the route, and the best spots to refuel with coffee and cake. Whether you’re a gravel cycling beginner or an experienced rider, the Grindleford Gruff offers a brilliant mix of challenge and fun.

📍 Starting from Grindleford, this ride explores quiet lanes, bridleways, and classic Peak District gravel trails – the perfect mix for anyone looking for adventure on two wheels.

💡 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and comment if you enjoy the ride – and share your own experiences of riding gravel in the Peaks!

If you would like to support the channel, please consider buying Julie a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/juliephelan

Julie is an ex Pro-Elite mountain biker. She is an MTB Leader and Mountain Leader. She regularly runs courses and guided trips, in the Peak District and Wales.

#GravelCycling #PeakDistrict #GrindlefordGruff #GravelBike #CyclingUK #BikeAdventure #PeakDistrictGravel

[Music] Today we are at the Grindleford Gruff Events are getting increasingly expensive but at £17.50 this is a bargain and all the proceeds go to the local community After leaving Grindleford we made our way over to the Monsal trial via Longstone Edge From there we used some fantastic gravel tracks to Herdlow and the High Peak Trail Next we bombed down to Parsley Hay and the Tissington trail eventually crossing over to the High Peak trail Longdale was the next destination, a favourite of mine and after that we crossed back towards the Monsal trail and the Grand Finale Frogert Edge, a great physical and technical challenge Right first bit of off-road will actually eventually top out on Long Stone Edge and I’m about to go out the trap from hell. No actually I’m joking it’s brilliant it’s real challenging I love it. Oh he’s good he’s good hey yeah that’s all right haven’t it? Yeah it’s good. Well that wasn’t actually too bad when we’ve had a period of prolonged rain it does become a bit of a stream bed which makes it hard because loads of stuff gets washed down but obviously we haven’t had that recently and the other thing is well I have changed the gearing on this bike which I will tell you about in another video because you’ve got to be able to spin up stuff like that. Oh Montserl Trail now perfect bit flat there’s nobody about today I think the forecast later on Patsy was dying so they’ve all stayed at home. [Music] Hard, hard, hard. [Laughter] This very… Wow! [Laughter] I may be older, but I’m still doing it. [Laughter] Road turns to rubble, climbing never ends. Pushing those pedals round one more bend. [Music] For those of you who know the Peak District very well, you will realise that I’m on the Hyde Peak Trail, and that was Parsley Cay Cafe, but just like, stop for a quick pit stop. [Music] So far, I have been on the Monster Trail, the Hoping Trail, the Tissington Trail, and now I’m back on the Hoping Trail. And going the other direction. It’s the perfect opportunity to just have a big hack along, as fast as you can. You don’t have to say I’m quite enjoying it. [Music] I’ve just had to stop and get off and show you my favourite valley, Longdale. Look at that. Amazing, eh? I love it because we always come down here on this ride. If you want to be a real goat, [Laughter] you’ve got to be able to get out that hill. [Laughter] Oh dear. Simple pleasures. [Music] Well, we went through Middleton, and then we did a bit across the field, winding our way over. And now we’re back on the Monster Trail. Just been up a really steep bank. I can’t think straight. And at some point, we’re going to turn right. And then they are saving the best till last. And that’s over, Frogert Edge. [Music] What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Yeah, well done , having all that luggage. Doing a bit of hikey-bikey. [Laughter] Got a bit added on. Yeah, it’s really rocky. It’s quite wetter. But I’ve run a bit of huge chunks of it, so I’m actually really pleased. [Music] [Music] Well, that was brilliant. But the last part, which was the technical bit, I’d really been looking forward to. And it was optional. You could do this bit, or, you know, if you want it easier, really, you got dropped down onto the road. It was absolutely pouring. And that was fine, because, you know, they organised it, said, “Take your waterproof,” and all the rest of it. And then I could feel my body temperature just dropping. So I had to get through as quick as possible, get on the road, and just absolutely leg it. It’s been brilliant, this. It really has. I’ve been on gravel, I’ve been off-road, on sort of single-track technical stuff on the road. It’s absolutely amazing. So if you ever get the chance to do it, you know, give it a whirl. You’ll love it. Thank you very much for watching. I hope you’ve enjoyed the video. Don’t forget to give it a big thumbs up, and maybe consider subscribing. Cheers. This is Steve Pickett, one of my subscribers, and he is the only person to do my Five Rides Challenge. Five edges. I’m very good at what, too. How amazing is that?
Yeah, and do you know, you’re going to ride some of that today. I can’t wait. Yeah, good. He knows how to do it now. Yeah, slowly. It’s lovely to meet you. I know how to do it slowly. It’s lovely to meet you. It’s lovely to meet you. The legend. The legend. Yeah, you are.