NEWS: Opinion Piece: New Trails - Maintenance or Vandalism?

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 UKH News 27 Aug 2013
Ride Sheffield montage, 5 kbPeak District mountain biker John Horscroft has a bone to pick with Derbyshire County Council, following extensive trail work on Wigley Lane. He reckons this has ruined the track for all users - not just bikers. But there is another way, says John.

Read more at http://www.ukhillwalking.com/news/item.php?id=68302
 James_D 28 Aug 2013
In reply to UKH News:
Thanks for providing more coverage for this incident - I am very interested to see how walkers feel, as mountain bikers seem to be universally dismayed.
 george sewell 28 Aug 2013
this is a massive problem in the lake district. with trail improvements have ruined many of the challenging trails in Kentmere inclding the back of garburn pass ( the easy decent ) luckily the better kentmere side hasnt been touched. this year alone. it isnt only a problem for mountain bikers in the lakes many paths are re surfaced with large rock steps for miles up mountain sides this also ruins good fell running routes.
dylan_the_fox 28 Aug 2013
In reply to UKH News:

It hasn't ruined the track for all users - just people who ride pushbikes, trail bikes and 4x4s *and* like as poor a surface as possible (that's not everyone).

Most horse-riders would have found the previous parlous state difficult (granted a mule would have coped).

It's a poor repair and will not last so I doubt those who actively enjoy a rubble-strewn track will have long to wait before it's "restored".

I can see the Councils' point that consultation might achieve little as everyone will want a different answer - and it's doubtful they have the money to properly restore the surfaces of what were often paved packhorse routes.
dylan_the_fox 28 Aug 2013
In reply to george sewell:

I don't agree that fell-running routes have been ruined George.

As a fell runner, I'd actively avoid using paths, especially in descent!
NJRD 28 Aug 2013
In reply to UKH News:

I would not be happy taking a horse down this lane with the new surface - it is deep and loose with far too great a risk of injury to the horses legs.

If DCC hadn't admitted to putting the new surface in place I would have assumed it was fly tipping. Could it be that the council is avoiding landfill tax by dumping this road waste in the name of trail improvement, complete with its polluting bitumen and years of fuel oil soaked into the rock to leach into the ground? The next big flash floods will be interesting - since there is no stable base I would have thought that it will wash down the lane
 george sewell 29 Aug 2013
In reply to dylan_the_fox: yes but some traks that were good for ascents and some paths that were used by fell runners in the top of kentmere were just muddy tracks fine for running on and now have been coverd with thoes large boulder steps , yes ideal fell running is off track but this isnt allways posable especialy when the braken is up. but yeh i do agree that wen fell running it is in the spirit of the sport to avoid paths where posable, just saying that some types of track improvement are bad for runners
dylan_the_fox 01 Sep 2013
In reply to george sewell:

I'm with you on the Kentmere paths - they were a nasty surprise when they were re-done! Still easy to avoid though - and the positive side-effect is that the land either side of the main paths is in a much better state.

It's a trade-off really: even though the constant clonking over old mill slabs in the Peak is monotonous, it's left a lot of the surrounding moors in a far better state than they have been in for decades - especially since the re-seeding is actually working.

Back to the Derbyshire green lanes - the surfaces on some are absolutely appalling (often because of bodged-up work in the past - try the concrete on the lane up from Bamford to the Edge!) and need proper work. It does have the welcome side-effect of putting off the off-roading tourists (a lot of them from overseas) who are attracted by the sheer difficulty of getting a 4x4 truck up and down them.






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