Hallo

I’m looking at building a new trail in Stanmer Park. I’m new to building trails so have been searching the forum for any advice and tips etc. Two things that have come up again and again are a) get permission from the landowner and b) don’t tread on other peoples toes.

So, to address the first issue, does anyone know who to get in contact with to get permission? It looks like Stanmer is council land, so I guess the downland rangers would be a good place to start or is it ok in Stanmer just to go at it? (within reason of course, im not building 10ft doubles or anything).

Secondly, the area I would like to build a trail is about here http://j.mp/dtNbLE (google map), on this fairly steep slope, towards the pylon end of it. It looks like someone else has started building something at the the other end as there is a lone wooden bridge going over a big log, it seems the rest has not really been completed yet or is old and has become unmaintained.
So, any objections to building here?
Im thinking of a fast straight-down-the-fall-line start into a long zigzaggy affair with burmey corners down to the bottom, littered with a few small log rolls and small jumps.

Also, any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Ooh, I should also mention I’d like to starting cleaning up some of the other trails in Stanmer, replacing rolled out/rotten logs and trail markers, building berms back up etc. So if anyone has any bits they’d like to see maintained better i’ll check them out.

Thanks!

Yep – you need to speak to Brighton MTB who do most of the trail building in Stanmer Park inc the shore bridge you speak of plus the log rolls etc etc. They put alot of time & effort in to building whats there & trying to keep it natural looking so making it less obvious & i doubt they would be very happy if you just came along and started altering the trails/features.

Speak to them about getting involved with them before doing anything please.

TBH as i understand it from riding with them quite a bit the number of trails already in existance is pushing the limits of what will be tollorated however as most of them are deer tracks they are not really making new trails but widening existing ones.

If you want some contact details e-mail me and i can ask them to get in contact with you.

Hope that helps ?

hey bigsi

Thanks for that, I was going to try and give them a shout but it looks like you have to go to one of their rides to sign up on the forum. I will ping you in a bit with some contact details.

As for amount of trails, I do agree that it is getting fairly packed, thats one place i’ve seen that is kind of lacking (apart from the bridge). it would also be a great place for a short, fast little trail that isnt just a straight line bomb.
Even if they are not happy with the idea of building a new trail, im sure they would appreciate another pair of hands on stuff they are already building. Basically I just want to go play in the mud! 🙂

Yep -I’ve looked at that bit and thought that the trail doesn’t really go anywhere……. I think you’re right it – it needs more work……. There’s plenty of room on the slope for some new trails.

Yeah – speak to BrightonMTB!

I would say, just keep it to yourself, if you plan on making any trails, anywhere for that matter – other riders will find them soon enough. If you start asking for permision, the answer will always be no, due to the public liability that throws up, if trails were to be made officail. It will only highlight a problem, and before you know it the CTC will have been brought in to regulate it, and it will be pay to ride, as they tried (partially successful) at Tilgate.

If it were me, I would ask the mods to delete that thread, and just join in with some local riders 🙂

Presuming that BrightonMTB have the land owners permission, then that would be the best way to get building, thru them. Covert building will only really p1ss off those who have sought proper permission and by going ‘black opps.’ you could potentially put their relationship with the land owner at risk, which wouldn’t be good for anyone.

If no one has any permissions or agreements, I still personally wouldn’t go down the route of woodsman ^^, I don’t see the point in spending days/weeks of effort, only to have it (or constantly risk having it) destroyed by the land owner. I would try and make contacts thru the land owner (council?), but be prepared for set backs and hoop jumping. Any land owner (ie council, FC) isn’t going to let just anyone start building, they will expect you to have a background and some credibility in trail building. So therefore, doing it thru BrightonMTB or a local trail building group, would still be your best bet.

If all fails, some judicious sympathetic pruning, scrub clearing and rock adjustments aren’t that time consuming and aren’t going to cause any problems.

The current building at Stanmer is probably at the limit of what will be ‘got away with’ before there’s omplaints (particularly those bits that spit you across the ‘proper’ paths halfway through) and as Si said it tends to be makign existing tracks more mtb freindly. Any more is likely to cause problems unless it’s co-ordinated (and Brighton-MTB seem to be the ones to do that).

I’d go out with the Brighton-MTb rides – there’s a lot of stuff there and maintianing what’s already in place is likely to become an issue in the future.

I had an ‘altercation’ in the woods above the house on Saturday with some dog owners who wouldn’t contol their agressive dog ‘he just wants to play with you’ – I think it’s likely I’ll restrict my visits to night rides in future – it reduces the opportunity for conflict with other users.

Make contact with BrightonMTB. Probably keep it low key. Remember that when one person “discovers” a trail they then usually introduce a few mates and it starts snowballing.

Riding at Stanmer has really improved in recent years however it is a small site and i can see things getting complicated as the number of trails, riders and other users continues to grow.

empika – I’ll reply to any e-mail you’ve sent me this evening and yes your right about the BMTB forum. It’s in its early stages and not open to everyone.

They want people who want to ride with them to make contact with them first of all through their website so they can be guided to the right style of ride for the individuals ability rather than having them turn up for something thats just going to put them off.

Also there is a start & finish to the bridge trail but your only likely to find it by coming out & riding with the guys along with the other trail thats on the side of that hill 😉

You can contact us at

info@brightonmtb.org

It would be good to meet up and chat about any ideas.

New hands are always welcome, as Si says there are plenty of trails that no one has yet discovered, this doesn’t mean they are private they will be found and used by all soon enough.

Cheers

Mike

Hey Mike

I will drop you an email this evening.

Cheers
Edd

Cheers Mike, saved me a job tonight 😛

if anyone needs a hand ‘discussing’ trails give me a pm/email. happy to help 🙂

django – contact Mike as above.

the national park committee were discussing mtbing at Stanmer yesterday, as it happens.

Other than the fact that 35% of all traffic on the SDW is MTB’s I’ve heard nothing else about what was discussed though.

http://j.mp/dtNbLE (google map)

Not sure where you mean exactly from this?

I agree, keep it low key and speak with the existing BrightonMTB gang.

will do