We were out mountain biking on Blackdown last night. When we dropped off the trig and headed towards the gate that takes you to the 2 radio masts we were met by 7 off road vehicles in procession.

When they reached the gate onto Blackdown they proceeded through it. We thought they would head up towards the trig but no, they went right, down the fence line towards the top of Burrington. When they got to the post on the side of Blackdown they then all climbed up towards the trig, up the heath land.

We didn't get any car reg nos as some of them got out to chat to us by the gate.

Then later on we came across 3 more off road vehicles at the other end of the hill by Rowberrow by what is known as the bomb hole.

We took one car Reg of a Land Rover Discovery that was well and truely stuck.

We've reported it to the AONB and the land owner but what else can you do!

Not good 🙁

Buy a land rover and join in !

Take photos that include the reg plates and report to the police – two witnesses plus a photo should be enough to have them prosecuted? Or is it not an offence?

I think this has been happening for a while now in different places
after defra closed lots of byways

offroaders in general think that its better to go out at night as not to be spotted
also they might as well do all lanes,bridleways and footpaths as its all illegal now so if they get caught its the same penalty just more lanes

We (the Shipham contingent) saw the stuck Disco on the Link Lane to Dolberrow track around 9:30pm but we didn't realise there was a pack of them up on the Beacon as well. Driving along that track is (sort of) understandable, although pretty stupid in the current conditions and certainly illegal. But driving up the Beacon is totally, totally out of order.

Any feedback from the AONB?

The c$%ts! I've noticed tracks leading up to the trig point recently but not actually seen any land rovers etc.

This is a major problem in the area, my local bridleways around Brockely Coombe have been destroyed by these A$%eholes.

The bridleway from Brockely Coombe to Wrington is now almost un-rideable year round, i used to use that bridleway to get home and it's got progressively worse in the 3 years i've lived in Downside.

I'm pretty active in getting people prosecuted where possible too after a nasty run in with motocrossers a year ago. I was treatened by 4 of them after suggesting they consider others before tearing around on bridleways heavily used by walkers and horses!

The problem is made worse by the reclassification of RUPP's a few years back.

Hmm take photos, wait for pikeys to get out of landrover and give you a good kicking
rather you than me I think.

It was tricky to take reg nos last night as the big group stopped to chat! And we were heavily out numbered.

We went down the fence line from the gate towards the start of east and west twin brooks before the group of 7 did.

We were stunned that they came down there. It's already mashed, god knows what it's like today

elliptic, I have the reg no of the stuck Discovery.

So far, no reply from the email I sent the AONB. I've also asked a friend who has contact with the landowner to report it to them.

sad enough that chavs fill the streets. giving them landrovers and a 'one life – live it' motto makes me cry inside.

they are constantly in the peaks basically getting in the **** way. they go SO slow. fat nobheads crawling along smoking a tab with the air con on.

one life – clearly living it, to the max!

good one you chav-benefits-sponge-nobheads…

See I'm in two minds about this. Yes they trash the place, but there are way fewer places for these guys to go greenlaneing than there are places for us to ride our MTBs, and if it was MTBs riding footpaths a night no-one here would blink an eyelid. AONB OK, but it isn't quite the same league as trashing and SSSI. The 'dips have been an industrial wasteland for millenia anyway. Its only posh folks down from Landan who can't see that.

Plus, us MTBers have completely mashed that BW a number of times, especially after a wet CLIC.

Then there are a couple of old byways near Butcombe that have been closed to motorised traffic, and have now settled in to fun descents on an MTB :o) Swings and roundabouts, but greenlaners are getting a very raw deal.

not all are land rover owners are "chav-benefits-sponge-nobheads…" http://www.4x4responsenortheast.co.uk/

but yes not good if the lanes do not carry a vehicular right of way.

Personally, I have long since given up trying to go 'greenlaning' in my 90. I take the odd shortcut between country lanes on farm tracks, but that is with the full knowledge and consent of the landowners in question, one of them is my shooting permission anyway, so the Landy is used to crawl around the fields/woods at night as a shooting platform.

If I want to go 'off road' I go to a pay and play site. There's loads of them, and at least you are supposed to be there, and there's usually a marshal or 2 with a winch to help unstick those who get stuck.

It's just like mtbing really, the classic 'few bad apples' syndrome.

^ didnt say they were…?

I tried to be clear in that i think green-laning-peak-churning 'one life live it' people were.

was hardly having a go a the emergency services, extreme medics etc now was i?

STM, the Discovery was abandoned when we got there, we didn't actually meet the group. One of our riders tried to take a photo though I don't know how it came out. It looked pretty much showroom spec not a serious off-roader conversion – were the other vehicles rad-to-the-max types or just a bunch of numpties?

ADH, stop stirring. You're right the CLIC has trashed the top section of the fenceline trail (we call it the Postal Path) but it's not a green lane by any possible stretch of the imagination.

Apologies elliptic, I'm not stirring, I'm just saying I'm not surprised they get fed up and think 'eff it, I'll do it anyway' – just like I do on the bike. The only way you can stop them, like with bikes, is to make it more hassle to gain access than they can be bothered to go through. A few big rocks, or low posts set in concrete, job done. Its harder to keep bikes out, you basically have to put stiles in every 100 yrds.

I've even offered to go help fix up the CLIC course, though no-one has ever bothered to get back in touch with when they're going to fix stuff up.

Mendip might well be an industrial landscape (and an often bleak one, at that), but Blackdown itself certainly ain't! – not that the subtle nuances of history and geology are likely to bother these clowns. At least the fcukers are too big to get down some of the better singletrack.

Access: I agree entirely about mtbers not getting too holier-than-thou, but I draw the line at anything motorised.

Access: I agree entirely about mtbers not getting too holier-than-thou, but I draw the line at anything motorised.

Get rid of the off-roaders at the ramblers will come after you. Think of them as a buffer.

I saw 2 stuck Discoverys, one white and just round the corner a scarlet red one. Looked like they had tried to resue the red one and failed. Thought it was a bit odd so I took some photos. They had Police Aware Notices on when I saw them.

Most of us local think twice about biking those trails in the wet. Then we apologise for some 4x4ers! 🙄

How did they get through the gate, isn't it locked?

What you've got to remember is that what we say about the greenlaners is exactly what walkers say about us. And in a lot of ways, they're in the same boat as an english mtber, due to land access problems- so for a mtber it's a good idea to look at what's happened to them, and remember, and think about how we use the trails ourselves.

Not defending them, but maybe it'd be a good idea to think about how others see us at the same time, no? Bloody cyclists out here on OUR hills… Bloody landrovers… Bloody horses… Bloody walkers…

Of course I sympathise with the restrictions that green laners suffer. But you cant reasonably compare 82kg of me+bike with a 1.5 tonne trail ripping machine.

They must have broken the lock on the gate to get in.

Yep, no real comparison. But then that's not always all that important, is the bugger of it.

The issue here isn't really one of access, its one of impact.

Frankly, I'd have no complains of sharing bridleways at night with crossers and jeeps if the surface was appropriate, but its not. Its classic heathland peat underlain by a substantial layer of sandy clay. It simply cant take the mechanical forces exerted by that much weight and power when its also sodden.

Most regular locals I know are pretty conscious of how Mendip changes in the winter and moderate their riding accordingly. Despite this, the increasing use of Mendip is showing substantial erosion over the last few years. Shrugging our shoulders and saying you can't blame them really is hardly sustainable. The areas they're now using will simply become impassable for all.

Buzz, there's no lock on the gate AFAIK.

Sorry but this should not be tolerated. The blighters that do this really hack me off.

Section 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the offence of driving a mechanically propelled vehicle without lawful authority on common land, moorland or land not forming part of a road, or on any road which is a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway.

Any registrations taken can be given to the Burrington Neighbourhood Beat Manager who I believe is PC Raymond Bradley, Nailsea Police Station Tel 0845 4567000. It might not figure as his greatest priority but at least at some point he can make some enquires, trace the owners and in the first instance give them a few words of advice if nothing else.

Beat me to it deluded. Thanks. Camera or a little notepad for me.

Sorry but this should not be tolerated. The blighters that do this really hack me off.

Absolutely. Stay frosty, gents.

tell them to move to scotland …,miles of green lanes no ones intrested in.. or uses, as i ride mtbs,motorcycles and friends have that have landys i go with, and i walk dogs on trails, we meet no one there, loads of green lanes which no one else uses…, there miles from anywhere and start/fimish on country roads…,i couldnt be arsed living in england with all these laws etc..,thanks to the open acess laws everyone has headed for the well knowen/signed routes and all the old roads(hedged and grass over tarmac) have been left alone from signing etc.., god i did a couple the other night in the fiesta!

You do realise that there are almost no legal unsurfaced byways in scotland don't you?

im talking about once surfaced roads now unmaintained and D class i.e 18 feet wide and often hedged or walled with a grass surface but scrape through and you will find old tarmac under neath,theres at least 120 in east lothian,and loads in fife and berickshire,mapped and listed at the council buildings and available to view (public domain).
these are statue highways defined as roads for the king and his subjects
so unless downgraded by order of a stopping up order signed by the secretary of scotland there still roads….however back when alot of these roads were stopped being maintained in the 1950s no one was intrested in them to drive/motorcycle on so they were handed over to the local landowners,now we have them signed as footpaths and walkers think your not allowed on them,fair enough too if causing damage

It might be about impact not access Scienceofficer, but isn't the point that once more we have a thread about cheeky trails and how good it is vs evil 4×4 drivers doing (in their minds) exactly the same thing?

I'm in agreement with ScienceOfficer – if you're driving a 4×4 over precious heathland, you can't miss the fact that your ripping up the grass and topsoil. They don't care about their impact; we care quite a lot about our impact. That's why we are careful about cheeky riding, avoid the hilltop when it's sloppy etc. So we hold the moral high-ground.

Have lots of cheeky around me, and its been utterly mashed by mtb's on it in poor conditions like this week. Seems some find it as a challenge to ride it the boggier and wetter it is.

Read a few threads on here from the 'There is no such thing as erosion and I will ride where I like' brigade.

No difference between them and some of the 4 by 4 crowd IMO, same selfish, ignorant attitude, different sized toys.

Genesis, I agree, there is an inherent double standard to MTB'ing in the winter, in some areas particularly.

Its an issue of proportionality IMO, as I alluded to in my first post, about happily sharing trails with motorised traffic where the trail can take the traffic.

Sorry I can't speak for every MTB'er, I can only live (and ride) by my own personal ethic. I try not to take the high ground, since I do have sympathy that most of their former legal trails are not open to them, and anyway, taking the high ground doesn't get anything done.

Mendip has the issue of relatively few (IMO) legal ROW compared to say, the Quantocks) and some of the primary routes do suffer from mtb traffic, as well as foot and equine traffic, BUT as someone once said to me, that not a reason not to use them, its a reason to take action to look after them.

In order to take the pressure of some of these areas, a small core of us are taking action to create and use cheeky trails in order to spread the load, rather than get precious about those ares that are suffering. It may not be legally correct, but it DOES mean we use vulnerable areas much less and enrich our riding experience at the same time. I'm being pragmatic here.

Sorry if it offends your ethics.
🙁

The good news is the Postal path (the fenceline) has survived. On the downhill sections there were some tyre prints but nothing worse when I went for a look on Saturday morning. The top section from the gate is in a poor state but that's pre-existing damage from hooves / bike tyres / walking boots.

The stuck vehicles have gone leaving various bits of timber and carpet churned into the mud and ruts.

The worst 4×4 damage I've seen is actually on the track/slope from Read's up by the edge of the woods to the fell gate, where there are some massive ruts that have appeared fairly recently (but prior to Thursday).

Also, +1 to the guys at Badass Bikes who supplied coffee and chat when I dropped in for half an hour after the rain set in 🙂

Sadly, it's just human nature – basic design flaw.

Walkers are just as guilty and trot out exactly the same excuses as cyclists, 4 by 4 drivers, motorcyclists, horse riders and quad bikers when challenged as to why they are causing damage to land they have no right to be on:

1. We should have a right to practice our hobby anywhere.
2. It's none of your business.
3. Well, I may be in the wrong, but what are you going to do about it?
4. There's only a couple of us, what difference will we make?
5. I didn't know I shouldn't be here (usually said whilst widening the margins of a huuuge boggy mess, on what used to be a footpath/bridleway/bit of private land).
6. I don't care.

The Pennine way from Blackstone Edge to the junction with the Pennine Bridleway (and it's continuation to Stoodley Pike) is a peaty, boggy, eroded mess. And frankly, some MTB'ers are just making it worse.

Personally, I'm in favour of the Scottish access system, where we each take responsibility for when and where we ride.
Sadly, I don't think that it would work in England due to sheer numbers of countryside users. Might also be an education issue, but not sure about that one.

I DO ride cheeky, BTW, but try and pick well drained trails that see little use by walkers and horseriders, and where the landowner doesn't write to the local paper every time he sees me cycling past his house, thus causing us even more problems.

Personally, I'm in favour of the Scottish access system, where we each take responsibility for when and where we ride.
Sadly, I don't think that it would work in England due to sheer numbers of countryside users.

Doesn't work well in areas of Scotland either, e.g. my local riding in the Pentlands. Unfortunately the access laws as they are, while they indicate 'responsible' access, many take it to mean 'access at all times, regardless of conditions'. The responsibility bit is forgotten, and you're right, it wouldn't work in England.

I recently asked Mendip AONB if I could have permission to ride through Velvet Bottom. And this was the response I got:

We have noted significant illegal use of Velvet Bottom by off road bikes that are damaging the site and will be seeking to address this with Somerset Wildife Trust who own the site.

AFAIK – the visible impact of MTBs on that trail is negligable – bear in mind that it's a lead mining spoil tip. And yet I expect nothing will be done about significant trail damage caused by:

1. 4×4 and MotoX bikes on Blackdown
2. forestry vehicles in Rowberrow and Burrington Ham
3. farm vehicles on Rains Batch
4. grazing cattle on Blackdown over winter

They still hate us.

Was that all they said Buzz?

As you say, Its a lead mining spoil tip and the main track is not dissimilar to a fireroad – I will confess to being guilty of using it to link the charterhouse end of Mendip with blackrock. I've not seen any damage at all on the 'main drag' and I have some training to be able to spot it!