Penshaw mtb trails closed!

lofty102

The mtb trails at Penshaw monument near Sunderland have been closed by the National Trust apparently down to the trails damaging the woodland area, but it seems like they have given in to people who have recently started leaving trail traps, although the National trust claim that the closure just a week or so after trail traps were reported is purely coincidental.

There aren't to many trails near sunderland so this is a massive blow to some riders who can't travel further a field to ride.

The link below is to an online petition to try to get the national trust to reverse the decsion and reopen the trails, the more names that go on there the better, please spare a few minutes and stick your name on there! Thanks
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/239/039/442/keep-penshaw-trails-open/

The Rookie

The problem with that petition (as with others I've seen) is that however many people sign it, the excruciatingly bad wording (and horrendous English) will probably mean it doesn't get the attention it deserves.

"After been open for a few years penshaw trails will be closed down and cycling will no longer be allowed at penshaw woods. After finding traps layed out on the tracks (planks off wood with long nails sticking out pointing upwards) the national trust have decided to close the woods to cyclists."

How about

Having been accessible for some time the National Trust has now decided to close Penshaw woods to cyclists. Its not clear if this is as a result of the recent sabotage of the trails commonly used by cyclists (planks of wood with nails or logs being placed across the trail) and whether this is a measure that penalises the wrong group of people (the cyclists and not the saboteurs) for the convenience of the Trust. The signatories of this petition urge the National Trust to reconsider the decision to close some of the few cyclist trails in this part of the country and instead to discourage those intent on sabotaging the trails with the resultant chance of injuries to all users (human and animal).

Angus Young

The Rookie wrote:

How about

Having been accessible for some time the National Trust has now decided to close Penshaw woods to cyclists. Its not clear if this is as a result of the recent sabotage of the trails commonly used by cyclists (planks of wood with nails or logs being placed across the trail) and whether this is a measure that penalises the wrong group of people (the cyclists and not the saboteurs) for the convenience of the Trust. The signatories of this petition urge the National Trust to reconsider the decision to close some of the few cyclist trails in this part of the country and instead to discourage those intent on sabotaging the trails with the resultant chance of injuries to all users (human and animal).

+1

I would add at the end...

By closing the trails in response to sabotage the National Trust are legitimising the use of violence as a means to achieving a desired outcome. This will only encourage more trail sabotage across the country.

lofty102

I totally agree with you, @The Rookie. I didn't start the petition I just thought the more publicity and more names added might help sway the National Trusts decsion. Miracles might happen!!

The Rookie

For what its worth I did sign it, and I agree it SEEMS the NT are responding to a possible liability on their part by punishing the victims and not the perpetrators.

Spen1

There appears to be a lot of speculation, some bordering on misinformation, about the closure of these routes.

A couple of weeks ago, when this was first announced, I spoke to the head ranger. I was told that the decision to close the routes was taken in November of last year at the insistence of Natural England. This was due, I was told, to the routes expanding and causing damage to the wood.

Through work I've also spoken to someone at the council about this. He told me that the NT had informed the council that the routes were to be closed about two weeks before the story appeared in the press. I was told the same by the ranger. I was also told that a number of people who created / maintained the routes had been told at the same time. This would be about the same time as the first "trap" was found and several months after the decision to close the routes was taken.

As The Donald might say , two sources with the same info is trustworthy. It appears then that the " paths shut due to traps" line is, as Donald might say, false news. Perhaps the NT should have done more to limit the number of routes, maybe the bikers should have shown more restraint, although the damage inflicted in other woods shows that some of the local community have a me first, second and last attitude, this would have unlikely. The paths were closed due to the damage to the wood, but blame is always better to give than receive.

lofty102

Thank you for the additional information. I totally agree that the National trust has a duty to protect the woodland area at Penshaw, maybe instead of closing all mtb trails they could have managed them better and closed all but the ones they agreed to have there in the 1st place.
If the closures are due to extra trails being built without consent then the trail builders have only got themselves to blame!
I still think it's a bit of overkill by NT to shut all the trails!

Sign the petition!!!