Just doing to fact finding. What are the trails like in and around Leigh Woods near Bristol? I hear that there may be an official agreement between cyclists and whoever owns / manages the land for access there by bikes. Anyone know the situation and have you been given some good trails and not boring ones?
Cheers.

Depends on your view. There’s certainly been plenty of debate. The new LW trails are all legal and most seem to appreciate them over the mud bath mess that was there. Some think that the week or two a year that they were dry enough to be at their best was worth leaving them as they were.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/leigh-woods-nearly-brought-me-to-tears

Did them for the first time on Saturday and really enjoyed the ride. Short but sweet.

Nip over the road and do Ashton Court for a longer ride.

The LW / Ashton Court / 50-acre complex has constructed trails that can be as fast / fun as you want to make them, if not particularly technical. There are still plenty of semi-cheeky routes as well, enough to keep you happy.

I’m old and slow and crap, so I really like what’s been done.
Yer Tiz for beginners

can you hear that wriggling sound? I think someone’s just opened a can of worms.

There’s plenty of technicalness in Leigh Woods if you stray off the Yer Tiz trail and head down toward the river.

Personally, I wouldnt travel any distance to ride there (if trail centres are your thing, go to Cwmcarn, if it’s xc there’s plenty of options).

But, great facility to have 3 miles from my house

Are they dedicated trails for MTBs or shared access with walkers etc??

The new trails are MTB dedicated but you’re never far from walkers.
The other off piste trails have mostly been cut by MTBers but some walkers object to that.

…and then there is Stickman

Again, not worth travelling for but Ashton court makes for an amazing race course (bike feast and Oktoberfest), and AC and Leigh woods are amazing considering they’re < 1mile from the city centre…

I hear that there may be an official agreement between cyclists and whoever owns / manages the land for access there by bikes.

The agreement used to be that any riding in Leigh Woods was OK, as long as it stuck to established trails, no building of new ones, and no riding in sensitive areas (SSSI and a few areas that were heavily used by walkers).

The new trails aren’t explicitly a replacement for the old unofficial stuff, but they do mostly follow the route of the best-known unofficial trail. The MTB trails cross loads of walking tracks but the new trail is designed in such a way that you have to slow down at potential conflict points. It also avoids most of the “desire lines” down the sides of the Avon Gorge, which are pretty much all SSSI.

Just out of interest, are you just planning to come here for a ride or is there a similar proposal for your local spot? If it’s the latter, email me and I can put you in touch with some of the people behind the Bristol project.

We have been offered official use of an area where bikes have been used for > 20 years. Leigh Woods was used as a demonstration were SSSI areas have accommodated cyclists. I would like to discuss further with somone please.
Roger.

Mr A is the man you want Rog

*hopes this doesn’t mean that Cranham Woods are going to be turned into some trail-centre-lite abomination with all the tracks being paved with that god-awful hardpacked grey gravel so beloved of ‘trail-builders’*

Seriously, appreciate all your work on this Rog, see you Thursday at the Royal William.

MTB trails and SSSI aren’t incompatible. It does complicate things somewhat but in Leigh Woods the designers and builders were able to work closely with Natural England and put the trail through some of the most protected habitat in the South West.

*hopes this doesn’t mean that Cranham Woods are going to be turned into some trail-centre-lite abomination with all the tracks being paved with that god-awful hardpacked grey gravel so beloved of ‘trail-builders’*

Well the spec in Leigh Woods was blue grade, suitable for all, all weather, and built in an area with naturally poor drainage and deep clay soil. Putting any steeper stuff in was out, as it would have meant either building new tracks through virgin SSSI or messing with some well-loved unofficial stuff.

The requirements for somewhere like Cranham might differ. I’ve only dabbled in the riding round there but it seems to be a bit more free-draining than the glorious Bristol mud.