Viewing 21 posts - 1 through 21 (of 21 total)
  • More Lake District bridleway sanitisation?
  • Vinte
    Free Member

    I’ve heard on the grapevine that the bridleway between Stile End and Sadgill has been resurfaced and is now a muddy track. Has anyone been along there recently? If true it’s a shame, the descent to Sadgill is always good fun.

    DaveyBoyWonder
    Free Member

    Friend lives up that way and I’ve ridden up that BW a few times – a great, challenging ascent. Shame if its true…

    Ecky-Thump
    Free Member

    Not seen the destruction myself but I have it on good authority (as in first-hand, seen with his own eyes over the weekend), that this is true. 😥

    IvanDobski
    Free Member

    I was up there yesterday and yes it is (mostly) true.

    From the top down to the first gate on the Longsleddale side, by what was the rockiest part is now just a muddy track. The Kentmere side is fine.

    I got the impression though that there’s a lot more to be done as it certainly didn’t look anywhere near suitably finished, it literally was about 6in of mud all the way with nothing to give it any structure or support.

    Vinte
    Free Member

    I was hoping that it wasn’t true. I know it’s not the best downhill (or uphill DBW!) in the area but it was quite a good challenge. I rode it a few months ago with a mountain bike newbie; he didn’t quite make the bedrock section but was determined to do it next time. Not going to happen now! I wonder how many other bridleways around there are going to go the same way.

    composite
    Free Member

    Councils want to go down to collecting rubbish every 2 weeks, yet there is money to resurface bridleways. 😐

    Sanny
    Free Member

    I wouldn’t worry. I remember seeing the postings about the improvements to Parkamoor a while back. I rode it again back in December and you wouldn’t know they’d ever been there. Fortunately, the Lakes rainfall ensures that any improvements are soon washed away! 😀

    Talking of such things, how is Walna Scar these days? I would imagine that the winter weather is already making its presence felt.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Councils want to go down to collecting rubbish every 2 weeks, yet there is money to resurface bridleways.

    Different departments.

    If they don’t spend every last penny then next years budget is this years spending +y (where y is the % increace). They might both be getting cuts, but if the budget for next year is this years – x then it still needs to be as big as possible this year.

    This is why they like privatisation, prevents stupid projects and waste as the money spent on stupid stuff like this stops being a budgeting game and comes out of the private company’s profit. But profit is baaddddddddddd mmmmkayyyyyyyyyyyy?

    excitable1
    Free Member

    I was up there yesterday and yes it is (mostly) true

    Oh FFS !!!!!!!

    mrlebowski
    Free Member

    Thing is this though, it doesnt often take long before the trail degrades again. So maybe after a winter or 2 it will start to cut up & revert to a less sanitised state (although it may never quite go back to how it was.)

    I say this with a degree of confidence as last winter or perhaps the winter before parts of The Gap descent in the Brecon Beacons was sanitised in parts but now you’d hardly know.

    excitable1
    Free Member

    The only reason that has been done is for the ferkin 4×4’s. I’ve seen them a few times trying (and failing) to get round the top corner of blue bed rock 😈

    tomaso
    Free Member

    Don’t cry but it looks like this

    grum
    Free Member

    Yay they’ve made it worse for everyone! 😕

    IvanDobski
    Free Member

    Bit of rain, couple of 4x4s and it’ll be as good as, er, new.

    ir_bandito
    Free Member

    So why’s it been done?

    Who has the idea? How do they propose it to the council/Park authority? How do the council decide what to do?
    I presume there’s some sort of planning meeting, can the members of the public hear about them, and attend, even influence, decisions?

    ir_bandito
    Free Member

    And, playing devil’s advocate, why can’t the council resurface it in such a way that it won’t get washed awy?!! Don’t they realise they’re wasting money?

    bajsyckel
    Full Member

    Yay they’ve made it worse for everyone!

    Yup, it looks pretty crap indeed. Even the walkers in the pic don’t want to use it. That being so I can’t imagine this is the finished state – probably just a pause in the works being carried out before the final phase of hardening the surface.

    So why’s it been done?

    Well I can’t speak for Cumbria CC – if they are behind the work, which is almost certainly the case. But like most authorities, the ROW dept will have a schedule of works to be carried out and will be able to explain if you give them a call. IIRC the track might actually be a byway rather than bridleway – and this legal status might be part of the reasoning. Work like this seems often to be done to what is termed “best practice” – based on ROW requirements and recommended specifications from groups like IMBA, ramblers and the BHS (horse society). Unfortunately ‘best practice’ often ends up with the most easily imported solution for the budget available – and even if understandable financially, predictably mediocre/ generic results.

    I presume there’s some sort of planning meeting, can the members of the public hear about them, and attend, even influence, decisions?

    Well, most county councils have systems of local access forums, ROW liaison groups etc. I believe Cumbria has 2 access forums – one for the National Park and one for the rest of the county. They are obliged to respond to the public, and I believe meetings are open to the public. Someone on these would surely be a useful port of call to find out more. As for influencing ROW decisions, well, I wouldn’t hold your breath – but it might help to work out what is going on in the first place.

    fizzer
    Free Member

    should make for a swift ascent on the Sam Houghton – now if only they’d do the same to Garburn

    5spot
    Free Member

    should make for a swift ascent on the Sam Houghton – now if only they’d do the same to Garburn
    Why would you whant to spoil Garburn?

    Vortexracing
    Full Member

    did look like this


    P1000402 by eastham_david, on Flickr

    IvanDobski
    Free Member

    It did. It was a tricky climb but a nice descent.

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