How much of a S*** fest is it at the moment?

Check out the Singletons thread solamanda!

I rode their yesterday and it is terrible, some trails have been closed due to the Harry Potter filming and all the main tracks leading to and from the cafe are either temporarily road surfaced or completely chewed up by the filming and logging vehicles.

I know that the money being made is to be reinvested there from what i've heard but it won't be worth it if people have been driven away and the trails are left ruined in parts.

really? is it ****?

Hmmmm, time for us locals to protest at this filming malarkey. Frankly, I got sick of it last year and ended up having a rant-ette when I was blocked from a trail due to pyrotechnics.

It went on for around 3 months last year, single track was closed off, access to some fire roads was blocked, parking was restricted.

Who's up for a noisy bike demo then?

Bike demo! Count me in. 🙂

noisy – count me in [15stone ex weightlifter with skinhead for hire]

As most of it is near to cafe and walking areas, a lot of the walkers and runners are going over the MTB side and there has been a few close calls already.

The ground has just been completely chewed by vehicles in a lot of places and parts were unrideable.

i'm a 10 stone ex weightlifter with skinhead for hire 😯

Move on people, get a map, go explore.

Ooooh, we could have a plan 😆 We have a Singletrack banner but some placards would be ace, air horns on our bikes too. How about an STW roll call? Instead of a dance, some trackstands! Could be a goer 8)

Whats this about pyrotechnics etc? What's going on up there?

sorry do you have to pay to ride on this private land that has had trail built on it for you? Or am I missing something here? As have never been.

Pyrotechnics were last year Taff.

shepleg – land is owned by Crown Estate and there is a cycle permit scheme. Trail building is sanctioned only by Crown Estate and is carried out by the local mtb club.

Sounds as though we have some pretty scary STW'ers 😆

nowhere else to ride round there then?

shepleg – yup, loads of places. Hence my bewilderment why people go there when it's a 'fest.

allthepies – do you ride with the Trolls? Have we met?

To be honest, other than a couple of trails, the closures last year didn't bother me anywhere near as much as the sodding pipeline they were putting in. When I last rode at Swinley a few weeks back the trails were well on the way to being knackered anyway so I'm steering clear for a bit until the pixies spruce it up.

No and no (although I have seen you in your car*) 🙂

* </stalker>

fair question I though, and if it's that muddy why not spread your impact ?

allthepies – 😯

shepleg – good point but Swinley tends to hold up well in winter hence its overuse. However, this year and last have been a different kettle of fish.

atlaz – agree about that pipeline!

I think for a lot of people like myself, we'd love to have real hills and mountains on our doorstep, we do have some great riding round here with Surrey Hills etc. But Swinley is convenient for me to put some miles in after work.

I think what we object to is the foot deep ruts being left by the film crews vehicles which i'm guessing they won't be sorting out afterwards.

Swinley is nice because there are some fun bits of singletrack going up and down. Last summer was awesome but I rekcon in the wet there are other areas that would be a hell of a lot better. It's a change of scene but as mentioned above the trail centres are normally a lot better when there's gloop everywhere else…

So … should we stand up and be counted? (asks an old hippie).

PS solamanda – will we see you then 😉

I don't see the need for a protest.

I miss mud 🙁
Last year:

Leave it to them for now the sand destroys the bike when it's so wet. The chilterns If you know where to go are rideable netllebed russels water oxforshire way stonor all ok yes muddy but it is winter. but the mud does not make such a grinding paste. Runners on the labyrinth last year i nearly took them all out a militant group led by a crusty bike hater. yes I do ride both places.

Went to Swinley yesterday for the first time and I agree the main tracks heading into MTB area are sludgy & unpleasant but get off those and albeit partially restricted with filming the single track bits are superb. We spent a couple of hours in explore and play mode on the more level areas before bumping into a very kind local who we asked where the hidden gems were and he spent then next couple of hours taking us on a guided tour!
A HUGE thank you to Ian from Windsor for putting up with us three Swinley virgins; taking us to some superb trails as well as key areas for further exploration next time!
IMHO if you ignore the mess the main tracks are in and get into the woods proper the condition is excellent bearing in mind the mid-winter state of my local trails.
What I can't believe is that I've been into MTB since mid 80s on and off and never came accross it until begining of this year and its 27miles from home Doh!
Anyway I expect to be heading back regularly…