Homepage - Desert Rose Riding Academy

TAKE YOUR RIDING UP A GEAR

What’s your next ride?

popular courses

Check out some of our riders favourites courses below.
With only 8 slots per session, spaces are getting filled fast! Get booked in with our online booking system.

Stage 1

The start of every adventure, here you’ll learn the fundamentals of off-road riding.

Stage 2

Time to take it up a gear, here we teach technical skills to help you tackle any off-road obstacle.

Skills Development Day

Here we increase your confidence of what you, as a rider, are capable of achieving.

Why choose us?

Expert instructors

Our team of instructors all have a wealth of off road riding experience. Their passion is about passing on their knowledge and experience to our customers.

Progressive courses

The structured approach of our courses means that riders are able to build their confidence and skills in a progressive way.

PLENTY OF RIDING

After each element of the course, riders will get the opportunity to put that discipline into practice.

ACADEMY ALUMNI

The fun doesn’t stop once you’re finished learning, we run regular tours and experiences for our Adventure Alumni.

Rider Reviews

Check out some of our 5 star reviews from the adventure alumni.

Just a few lines to say thank you so much for the brilliant instruction at our recent training day, what a fantastic time we had! Being complete novices at off roading apart from a brief experience at this year's ABR Festival, your patience, attention to detail and depth of technical knowledge was outstanding and our riding ability had improved dramatically by the end of the day. I started the day trying to avoid obstacles, I ended it looking for them.

Alistair B

Huge thanks to you and Harry. We thought the venue, the setup, the day and most importantly, our instructors were absolutely flawless. Coaching and tuition were some of the best I’ve ever had in any form. There was not one negative about the day from anybody. You will definitely be seeing us again, hopefully in the not too distant future.

BikeSafe Team

Yesterday saw myself Lawrence ‘Lol’ Pater, attend Desert Rose Adventure Riding Academy. This was quite possibly the most fun on two wheels I have had in living memory. We were welcomed at the site at 0830hrs by Paul and Harry, the Instructors. We met our fellow students, drank coffee, got kitted out, they supply absolutely everything kit wise, talked bikes a bit then were introduced to our steed for the day. We received superb instruction and the guys catered for all our varying levels of experience (or lack of experience) without pushing too hard but allowing us to explore our own limits in safety.

Jim Sanderson

My level one course at Desert Rose was a real turning point in my off road riding. It made me think about my technique and instilled in me the basics that I now rely on every time I get on the bike.

Henry C

Hey Paul and Harry I wanted to say a huge thanks for today. It really blew my mind. The sessions were really well structured and there are clear things that I can work on moving forward. I’d really like to come back in a couple of months and repeat Stage 1. Just to remind me of what was learned today (which was a lot). It was a really good fun day. And your facility is amazing.

Mike B

Fab day, I ache all over. The course was run professionally, with clear direction & instruction. Not at one point did I feel any frustration from either of you, just encouragement but also empathy & care for those fall offs! I’m hoping to transfer some of the learnt skills & confidence to road riding. I wouldn’t change a thing. (apart from my own fear!)

Annie H

We had the BEST time yesterday and can't wait to come back for another go! Thank you so much for the day, I also learned a lot and it's helped get my confidence back after the crash I had in January. Patsy, it was inspirational to get coaching from you and I definitely need to master the sliding off the side of the bike to put a foot down!

Jan Mc

Given that I’m fast approaching 60, I really didn’t think I had it in me. I can't recommend the Desert Rose Adventure Riding Academy enough, and looking forward to getting out there now with less cursing and more smiles !! I will be back of course for my next instalment of “You CAN teach an old dog new tricks"

Ian G

My time on two wheels with the Desert Rose Adventure Riding Academy was absolutely fantastic. Harry made our day fun, engaging and really informative, explaining everything really well and he was happy to field the questions I had as a new rider. I was paired up with an approachable bike that ran faultlessly and all the safety equipment I needed, which combined with such a stunning location, really helped make the day one to remember.

David W

Thank you so much for yesterday! Apart from being ridiculous amounts of fun, I can't tell you how much awesome stuff I learned. In particular, all the work you did, explaining body position and weight balance was just transformatively useful and after just a few hours with you both, I feel so much more capable off road. I'm totally coming back for more before I buy myself a green lane bike.

Charlotte

Frequently asked

There are just a few things you’ll need to know before you ride off. Here you’ll quickly find the answers to some common questions, allowing you to get on and have some fun!

I don’t know which course is for me?

Fear not, our helpful team are here to support you on and off the track. Head over to the Courses page to get a an overview of each course. If you’re still not sure you can email us at questions@desertrose.academy to arrange an over-the-phone assessment.

Can I bring my own riding gear?

You can bring along your own off-road/adventure riding gear, one of our instructors will need to check it upon arrival to ensure it is suitable for the style of riding you will be doing on our courses and you will need to complete the PPE form.

We strongly recommend that you DO NOT wear road riding gear, it generally isn’t breathable enough and the boots are unlikely to have sufficient protection for the riding style and environment.

You also probably won’t want to scratch your road helmet or visor on tree branches!

Please let us know if you have any special requirements in terms of kit sizes, for example an especially small waist or large head.

Can my family/ friends come and watch?

Unfortunately not. Due to the venue and the type of riding we do (not a track like Motocross), we cannot have anybody walking around on site. We will be constantly moving around the venue, with different exercises being in different areas. If for any reason you require a guardian or friend to be present, please get in touch via email at questions@desertrose.academy

Where is the venue?

Our venues are on private land, in East Sussex. They are not sign posted or advertised and we work very hard with the land owners to manage and maintain the ground. We have several venues we use for training: 1 in Broad Oak, near Heathfield, with 2 further venues in Robertsbridge not far from Cripps Corner. Details of the venue for your training course will be emailed when you book.

How do I make a booking?

You can book here: BOOK NOW. Our online booking system only takes a few minutes and all major credit/debit cards are accepted. If you have any issues contact our team here.

What are the course timings?

The course administration, off bike tuition and safety briefing, begins at roughly 09:30.

Riding time starts at 10:00, when we make our way through the woods into the training field. Each course topic is generally followed by riding time to allow the instruction to start to feed through into your riding.

We allow time for a tea break in the morning and afternoon along with a minimum of 30 minutes for lunch.

If time allows the last session in the afternoon is usually an opportunity for you to try other bikes in our training fleet. Riding time in the afternoon finishes at 16:00, when there’s time to discuss your next steps on the road to your adventures, whether that is the next stage of our structured courses, or a trip to Morocco, or some road book training for that African Rally………….

Clearly, as our courses are run outside in the beautiful East Sussex countryside we will be affected by the British weather, occasionally that means we might alter the course running order to ensure rider safety.

What should I bring with me?

You will need to bring your own lunch and any snacks that you might want during the day. We have facilities for making hot drinks and if you have a travel mug/reusable mug feel free to bring it with you. If you prefer an alternative to fresh cow’s milk in your tea/coffee please remember to bring some with you.

I have more questions.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to drop us an email at questions@desertrose.academy

Looking for adventure?

With only 8 slots per session, spaces are getting filled fast! Get booked in with our online booking system, click for available courses.

DESERT ROSE DIRT Club

A summary of what we have been up to at the Desert Rose Network and feeds from our social media, take a look into our world.

10/03/2023

Endless Trails in Portugal

Once again the Desert Rose team headed out to the Western Algarve for 3 weeks of trail riding. We had several groups of riders join us, from those who wanted to hone their own navigation skills and technical riding to those who wanted a guided trail ride. The guided trail ride group had opportunities for some coaching and tips from the Desert Rose instructors along the way, helping everyone improve their riding and build their confidence.

4 Minutes

31/12/2022

That’s a Wrap

Wow, wow, wow. What a year it’s been. From keeping warm round the fire pit in early January and Patsy’s warm up drill running across the fields, to the heat of the desert in Morocco in November. We have been lucky enough to see 100s of riders come through the Academy this year, we have become a BikeShed accredited partner, we have attended Camp VC for the first time, the Malle Mile and BikeShed show, we have spent the weekend at the ABR festival, taken groups of riders through trails in the western Algarve, we have hosted the Met Police BikeSafe Team, the Kent Fire and Rescue Service Biker Down Team, the Malle Marshals and we have helped the BSMC Rallye Team realise their dream and take part in their first rallye, over in Greece. We have partnered with the team at Sinnis to create an off road training school for learner and newer riders. We have seen riders attend our courses from ROSPA and IAM advanced rider groups as well as corporate days out for different companies.

4 Minute Read

16/11/2022

Desert Rose Back in the Desert

After a long enforced wait, Desert Rose are finally back in the desert. It could be said that it is our spiritual home, with miles and miles of open flowing desert piste and sand dunes stretching as far as the eye can see it is the perfect location for our desert boot camps. We were lucky enough to be able to call on the experience of “Zippy” who many believe lives out here in the desert, along with Harry, to provide the important insights into tackling deep sand, sharp seemingly limitless and practically sheer faces of the bigger dunes.