How to get a new trail made

naefearjustbeer

One of my workmates has approached an employee of the forestry commission and talked about getting some sort of mountain bike trail made in one of our local forests. The Guy with the forestry suggested we get a group of folk together and form a club to take things forward if we are interested in pursuing the matter. The problem is non of us that he has spoken too has the first clue as to how to go about this. I always though that forestry commission tracks were made by the forestry commission, Anybody got any experience of the hows and whys of what is required to get something off the ground? Do we need a club to do this.

bennett_346

Basically not gonna happen unless you can raise a few hundred thousand pounds and get planning permission (which you likely won't get unless you can make the centre a profitable venture).

So in a nutshell no. Just go dig unnoficial trails.

ilovedirt

Depends what sort of trail. Do you want a nice surfaced trail like at a trail centre? (that won't be easy, short of getting professional trail building contractors in). Or do you want to just dig an unsurfaced downhill trail? Easy enough with some mates and some mattocks. If they'll give you permission to do that, go nuts! Or even if it's not a downhill trail, just dig some trails that point downwards and use the existing fire roads as climbs. Trail digging isn't exactly easy, but it's mostly common sense, and you learn quickly. Get a mattock, a bow saw and a shovel and that's pretty much all you need. Just make sure that it drains alright so it doesn't get silly muddy and churned up and you're onto a winner.

bennett_346

In my opinon, it's better to do and ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission and be denied.

Ahem.

ilovedirt

But yeah, most of the trails I know of on FC land are/were illegal, but the FC either put up with them or don't know about them. If you can get permission, great. If you can't, do it anyway. At least you know who owns it.

paul.skibum

bennett_346 wrote:

In my opinon, it's better to do and ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission and be denied.

Ahem.

This is bullshit and definitely not the way forward. This leads to trespass charges being brought against you not a firm handshake and a thanks for showing people the error of their ways.

Bennett is as so often happens suggesting the route most likely to piss people off.

I am not saying its easy but it is definitely worth planning a little and trying to speak to the right people. Basically the commission want a plan of the track, an idea what you intend to build (I would avoid huge high rise ladders and big road gaps), an acceptance that you are not going to assume any permission to use the land (they dont want to give rights to access) and an idea of numbers of users, access to site, parking etc etc.

I dont know the specifics but contacting the IMBA and any local UK trail builders is a start point (try the builders at Chicksands).

waby1234

May be worth contacting Chase Trails too. They may be able to give some friendly advice/ideas.

Sgray

I would suggest contacting some people who have done trail building before. My friend has recently been working on the new trail at QECP, it might be an idea to contact them and get some info/ideas http://www.qecptrailcollective.co.uk

naefearjustbeer

Thanks for the replies, Certainly given me plenty to think about. Not sure of the whole logistics of things. I struggle to organise getting out of bed in the mornings. Let alone design and build a mountain bike trail. We only have a small group of riders and I am starting to think that this project may be more difficult than we envisioned.

Anonymous

IMBA is the place to start.

http://imba.org.uk/

Look under 'Trailbuilding'.


As for build first, get permission later - Can I build some jumps in your front garden?

Though true, a huge amount of excellent trails out there are built will little or no permission and get away with it or are silently ignored by the local ranger. Best thing with the less official stuff is to approach local trail builders if you can find them and you may get the unofficial nod from the land owner / ranger etc.

bartimaeus

Sgray wrote:

I would suggest contacting some people who have done trail building before. My friend has recently been working on the new trail at QECP, it might be an idea to contact them and get some info/ideas http://www.qecptrailcollective.co.uk

I'll have to speak to the guys who've been dealing directly with the Park, but we've rebuilt the Red Trail at QE, including building several new sections. QE is on FC land, but the Park is managed by the local council, so our 'permission' came from the Park rather than the FC. Nearby, at Stoughton, there's another group of trailbuilders who've been building a DH track on FC land, and they have been working with the FC to make this properly 'official' and managed by a new 'Club'.

First up, this is all do-able without lots of money as long as you don't want proper surfacing. At QE we've been given access to tools (so the park has mattocks, spades and wheelbarrows), and we get 'Ranger Steve' with his chainsaw - which is handy. But other than that the trail has cost nothing other than a lot of hard work. Similarly at Stoughton it's all done with hard graft.

You will need to review the IMBA guidelines of building trails and features - so tables etc can't have wood cores (they may rot and collapse) and any difficult features need alternate routes (for safety).

The biggest single issue you will face is public liability insurance. The FC don't have it, as far as I know, so if someone sues them after an accident then it can cost them a fortune. So the FC have asked Stoughton to be a 'members club' where everyone joins and gets insurance, while at QE, again as far as I know, coverage is through the Park itself, which does have insurance. So at QE we can get away with being 'a collective' and not a club as we don't need to insure ourselves, but at Stoughton they have been pushed to form a club.

If you build illegally then the FC will simply flatten the lot when they are next in your bit of the woods - sooner if you are foolish enough to choose a SSI or somewhere else that is sensitive.

You should also contact SingletrAction, as they work very closely with the FC.

Anonymous

Bartimaeus wrote:

The FC don't have it, as far as I know, so if someone sues them after an accident then it can cost them a fortune. So the FC have asked Stoughton to be a 'members club' where everyone joins and gets insurance

Same at Aston Hill which I believe again is FC land and you are required to pay as a member for the insurance and general costs, either one off day pass or annual membership. Annual gets you CTC membership and covers Rogate too.

bartimaeus

Yes - the new Stoughton Club is being run to this template, so if you are working with the FC then it's also worth speaking to the CTC. The Stoughton guys advise that "Full Membership not only includes unlimited use of our tracks, but also all other site affiliated to us. Such as: Rogate, Tilgate, Aston Hill and Tidworth plus more to be confirmed. The associate membership is just for the Stoughton Downhill tracks."

So, for the OP - see the Stoughton Facebook Page, or have one of your guys join Kingley Vale Mountain Bikers (see my sig) as Stoughton is in Kingley Vale... that way you can contact Pat, Spud, Karl and the rest of the guys.