UKH

Thinking of heading across Bradfield/Derwent way tomorrow on the mtb. Dukes Road and Foulstone Road are both bridleway but the linking section along Cartledge Stone Ridge is footpath. Is it normal to just ride it anyway and is it a good ride? I've seen mountain bikes coming down the Dukes Road before when bouldering up at the Hurkling Stones so presumably they used the ridge unless they did an out and back along Dukes road.

Also, does it make a better loop (coming back along Mortimer Road) to go clockwise or anticlockwise? I'm thinking anticlockwise looking at the map.

Thanks

Is "Dukes Road" the bridleway to nowhere north of the bridleway to nowhere up from Foulstone Delph? I've only walked up from Foulstone and then on north a bit on the footpath. It's flagged some of the way at least north, but it is a footpath so no right of way for cycling. People seem to ride down from where the Foulstone BW meets the footpath south to the bridleway over Whinstone Lee regularly, the footpath is narrow but quite solid on the whole from memory - well made, so dry. I've not ridden it myself as I try to stick to bridleways as much as possible, so I've gone over Whinstone Lee in both directions a few times.

Mortimer road seems to always have a tail wind as you get towards the A57 but it's an ok ride in both directions. 

As for the off road section, not many people ride it because it's incredibly dull between the two dead end bridleways, a lot of it is flagged so like riding over massive cobblestones. 

Depending on what you're after there's much more interesting riding around there but it's not the easiest to make into a convenient loop. 

Some of what you are looking at is described here: https://bradfield-walkers.org.uk/walks-around-bradfield/dukes-road/

That's right, I was trying to link the two bridleways to nowhere. I ridden loads of the trails in the Peak but never been along this one so trying to explore somewhere new. Maybe there is a reason we've not been along this one before!