BIGRIDE COLL INGBOURNE WOOD, WILTSHIRE

With few houses, plenty of unspoiled woodlands and more animals than people, this picturesque area of Salisbury Plain is a perfect oasis in the busy South

- Max Darkins

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 780km², which mostly lies within Wiltshire, does a pretty good job of furnishing us with some empty countryside for this month’s ride.

With large parts owned by the Ministry of Defence (and inaccessible to the public), a relatively small population and big, open views across the rolling hills, this area has a more remote feel than most parts of the South. The same can’t be said for when the Army are training, though – with gunfire, mortar explosions, the rumbling of tanks, and the thundering of Chinook helicopters passing overhead, it can be far from quiet. It all adds to the wild, rugged feel of this unique setting, though. Salisbury Plain is also a haven for wildlife, and home to two national nature reserves, supporting the largest-known expanse of unimproved chalk downland in northwest Europe.

If you go down to the woods today