just bought the septembers mag of 'what mountain bike' and there's an article about the building of the 'link path' between both quarries. looks like it picks up a link path from the red route at lee quarry and shoots off over the moorland towards rooley moor rd (part of the pennine bridleway) then bearing right to 'waterfoot' then down to cragg quarry, then its says it loops back on itself and heads back to lee quarry again (this is a 10 mile loop according to the magazine,,
it also says its going to be well 'signed' and 'surfaced' to cope with the increase in traffic..
so hopefully this link is to be ready around Autumn….. im sure one of the trail builders will be in here shortly to comment as to when its officially ready…. i cant wait !

There you go – discuss your dinner or whether you want a tatto and people go on for many pages, ask a bike related question and no one posts

you can get accross to cragg from lee without going that far , it's cheeky pinch at the momment , there's alittle track off from windy corner, you'll the wotk in progress, there's a digger there , you can dog-leg accross the moor.best wait a bit if you have a tattoo on yer bum tho'

I thought the plans had been abandoned due to the funding being cut or something.

The Lads are up there working on it now, The powers that be have asked us to stay off untill its officially open circa november…theres a burnt out 110 landrover up there to use as a waymarker just before the new works… not that i;d know if you get my drift.. 🙂

I thought the plans had been abandoned due to the funding being cut or something.

That was all crossed wires and people jumping to conclusions. There was a news article about the North West Developement Agency getting canned along with all the improvement works it was doing around Bacup. They had nothing to do with the mountain biking developments, this has been funded by the aggregates levy fund.

Oh one other piece of good news, there were worries Tony Lund would get relocated during the latest council shake up. It would seem he is staying put in East Lancs which is immensely good news for us local bikers.

The link is being built at the moment progress is good, its starting to shape up nicely and should ride really well. Should be ready to ride by November.

I have been redeployed and I'm still going to be working in East Lancs just with a different job title should mean I can carry on with the mountain bike trail building stuff though. Facit quarry is next on my list! As is getting a volunteer trail building group set up.

I'm starting to look for ideas for new projects as well so if any one has any let me know. What I would like to do is get an indoor pump track and trials area built.

Suggestions you say? Shop/ cafe / visitor centre at Lee?

U31 – surely that pub opp the end of the road should be putting a bike wash, etc? Or maybe the Gypos could do it……

U31 – surely that pub opp the end of the road should be putting a bike wash, etc?

Has anyone suggested it to them? As I understand it, a lot of pubs are on the lookout for things that would bring in extra business.

It's getting to the point where there might be a market for something like The Mountain Bike Livery (in Appletreewick) in E Lancs.

Andy

The landlord at the Rose n Bowl seems to be right on it, being a biker himself, just a pity its half a mile down the road.

And there is desperate need for anti gyppo measures put in place, its fuggin disgusting down there at the minute.
Firebombing?

have they not moved on yet… as i saw alot of 'gypos' heading down bacup rd and into Todmorden yesterday ! GULP wonder where they have resided. 😕

They have gone now, but its been left a total sh*t tip, as per usual.

The post office opposite lee quarry is under going a refurb, its going to be a cafe, which should be good!

I honestly can't see how a purpose-built cafe at LQ would be a viable venture. LQ is a playpark rather than a full-on trail centre, it's for skill sessions and a quick hour or two so i doubt it would need somewhere like the cafe at Whinlatter for instance. Much better idea is to frequent the already existing local hostelries/cafes and bring them onboard to any future expansion ideas than sticking in another competitor.

The ultimate plan is to link up surrounding quarries with BW, you can easily lose 4 hours up there doing 2 or 3 loops of Lee then going over the moor to Cragg for a loop or two and back.. Admitedly ill bet you will save 30 minutes riding over the moor once the track is up and rideable, but still, a half days good riding at present.. Theres no bogs, nearest food is in stacksteads and nearest bike shop is in Rawtenstall..

If anyone went for a liscence for a mobile catering van up there, and flogged tubes chains and chain repair links out the back, i bet they would make a living at the very least. Even on days like this i have seen at the very least 15 other riders in the time ive been up there..

Can't see the planning people going for that to be honest. The car park for LQ is too close to private houses for any catering (can see objections based on noise/smell etc) & the other car park is private & belongs to Future Park so doubt you could get a license to trade from there.

Needless to say, still exciting. 😀

If the post office is indeed going to be a cafe then there is the answer, if you can persuade them to stock a small amount of cycling sundries then even better. With the best will in the world LQ/CQ aren't ever going to need a proper cafe & bike shop like other – more remote – trail centres are they?
They are great fun, but are really just little play loops & don't really come close to challenging the BW network around here – then again, they're not meant to.

My only concern about these places is the possible rise in attempts to have mtb'ers 'dissuaded' from riding the hills because "You have somewhere to ride your bloody bikes, so stay there!"

I've met this attitude from ramblers before.

heee heee ruddy ramblers they are funny ! they think they are the only ones aloud on BW ….why do they always have ago at mtb'ers… 👿
the hills are there to train on so we get better for the trails… 😉

Good stuff – every time I go to LQ/CQ there is something new and it just gets better. There is a real sense that the MTB scene in the local area is picking up as a result of this work and also things like the brownbacks race series and singletrack weekender – that’s got to be good news for the existing food/drink outlets, skills coaches and bike shops.

Cheers to Tony Lund and everyone else involved or your efforts.

😀

Tony, how about developing something around Crown Point, already a bit of riding there (couple of bridleways), link already in to Cragg (MTL), people already riding there, close to both Burnley and Rossendale. Maybe another Billinge Wood style development, not as technical as Lee Quarry, maybe a place where less experienced riders could go but still get that moorland riding feel.

As for an indoor pump track, how about in the offices in Futures Park, not exactly over flowing with the Hi-Tech industries it was built for!

LQ is a playpark rather than a full-on trail centre, it's for skill sessions and a quick hour or two

If you (unofficially) link the two quarries together you can already lose 3-4 hours, with more quarries in the mix it'll be possible to lose a day there.

How about Ding Quarry; its on top of the moor, can be got to via Rooley Moor Rd or the Wind Farm access roads

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=384582&Y=418780&A=Y&Z=115