Looks like new rules are about to be enforced 😕

The club ride last night took us over Cleeve Hill and we rode on the usual bits of the hill as we normally do. While we were stopped next to the Clubhouse, the Hill Ranger stopped to have a chat with us (me). I know him from the work we do on the Bushcombe track.

Anyway, he made quite a point about where we are allowed to ride on the hill. He said that strictly speaking we can only cycle on the main track that skirts the front of the hill. So we are talking about the following:

Radio masts down to the “three sisters” (2 trees..), then drop down below the escarpment and pick up the main track used by vehicles that takes you to the Rising Sun, then onto the golf club, then down to the gate at Postlip.

However as long as we stick to the “main tracks” that cross the hill, and we did not get involved in any acrobatics (yeah, you read that right..), then they would turn a blind eye. He said that there was a tightening up of unauthorised use of the hill, and cyclists are one (may be the only) group. So I cannot categorically say what tracks he would deem OK and what would be out of bounds, but I’m passing this message on in case you come across him.

If he has an email address (Alex – has he??), then I will get him to clarify this. I think we can take it that certainly no riding on the grass. He even got shirty about one of us playing on the bank immediately above the stone track leading up from the club house towards the trig point. Even the trig point I guess is out of bounds. I’m not happy and will see what we can sort out / agree. Who knows, we could even riot on the hill…..

Regards, Roger.

KInd of hard to enforce though eh? I have only ever ridden there on the HONC, but I seem to remember there being quite a lot of bridleways.

All the ranger can legally do is ask you to leave, although I do see that continued disobedience is likely to prompt some further action (not sure what – non MTB gates etc?)

tightening up of unauthorised use of the hill

I think this is probably referring to the traction kiters. I’ve flown up there for years and for the past 5 years or so you’ve needed to show proof of insurance when asked by the ranger.

Problem is there is a lot of new people up there who don’t follow the rules and cause issues for those of us who are properly insured. The area which we are allowed to fly in has gradually got smaller and smaller, so there are more people in a smaller space!

Would hate for these issues to affect biking up there as well.

“proof of insurance”

Is the landowner liable if an uninsured kiter is hurt?

Its 3rd Party insurance that they are checking, you can do a lot of damage to somebody else when your hurtling along on a steel framed buggy at up to 45mph whilst trying to keep control of a 15ft Kite attached with four ‘cheesewires’.

Its a dangerous sport, unfortunately spectators don’t understand the risks and can get too close. The responsible ones of us (with insurance) will stop and let them get clear or have a word to make them realise what’s going on.

As I say its the irresponsible ones who are ruining it for everyone

Kites are banned by the bylaws i seem to remember.

As for bridleways there are actually very few on the hill. Been riding there for 20years and never had an issue, it is a big area and most people don’t explore much of the hill.

cleeve hill

Kites are banned by the bylaws i seem to remember.

We are allowed to use a small(ish) area up by the masts, and only with proof of insurance

@kieran, it may be allowed, but i am sure when i actually bothered to read the bylaws posted at the entrances once it said something about kites being banned. I may be wrong though.

To be honest never really seen that much user conflict up there, certainly nothing like lecky.

for info

Many thanks for taking the time to read our policy on informal recreation.

Cleeve Common is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
for its species-rich limestone grassland and geology. It also has three
Scheduled Ancient Monuments and a wealth of ‘non-designated’ archaeology. As
such, as the managers of the land the Board of Conservators have a statutory
obligation to maintain and enhance the biodiversity value of the site. The
onus is also on the Board not to permit others to undertake activities which
might cause damage to the features of interest of the SSSI.

Mountain bikers are entitled to ride on restricted byways and bridleways
(you can find a map of these on the Common at
http://prow.gloucestershire.gov.uk/website/ppp/viewer.htm – judging by your
email address you may well be familiar with this website!). In addition to
these designated tracks, there are also several tracks on the Common which
are used by vehicles undertaking management on the Common. These tracks are
either limestone or short grass, but are identifiable by their width as they
are wide enough for either a quad or a pick-up truck to use. These tracks
for vehicular access are what we consider to be ‘tracks’ and I would
encourage you to stick to these (although would note that some of these
might be designated public footpaths – see
http://www.ramblers.org.uk/info/britain/footpathlaw/footpathlaw.htm#cyclists
for the ‘rules’ around cycling on footpaths).

We endeavour to accommodate recreational activities as we believe that
wherever appropriate, the integration of recreation with nature conservation
(assisted by education and interpretation) are vital for the long term
conservation of publicly accessible sites such as Cleeve Common. However as
noted above, the onus is on the Board not to give permission for activities
which might damage the special interest of the Common; mountain biking can
sometimes cause erosion and we thus kindly request that mountain bikers do
not ride off these wide tracks, particularly through longer grass or into
old quarries or amongst old quarry spoil mounds, which can be real hotspots
for rare plants.

I hope that this clarifies the matter for you and that our reasoning is
clear; it is an unfortunate coincidence that rare plants seem to have an
affinity with the most tempting mountain biking areas but we really do have
a duty to protect our rare species. If our online policy is unclear please
let us know and we can look at re-wording it to clarify the situation.

Thanks again for taking the time to enquire. You can get around most of the
Common using these wide tracks and I hope that you enjoy your future visits
to the Hill.
Kind regards