Aston Hill Mountain Bike Park Needs Your Help!

It’s easy to ride and take your trails for granted – especially if you’re paying to play. But it’s not the same as heading to the supermarket and swapping cash for a pint of milk and some bread, and behind the trails there’s often a dedicated team of volunteers keeping things ticking over.

One of the oldest dedicated mountain bike parks in the UK, Aston Hill, situated just off the M40 near Aylesbury – putting it within easy reach of millions of potential riders – is struggling to get the volunteers it needs to keep going. The following announcement is on their Facebook Page:

‘ASTON HILL NEEDS YOU and it needs you urgently. As you know, the hill is run by a voluntary committee along side the Forestry Commission (FC). Sadly now, through many factors the committee is down to just 3 people. The FC are imposing stricter guidelines and we can no longer rely on the goodwill of people as we are no longer able to meet these guidelines. We need to organise ourselves and we need to do it quickly; or we face the real consequence of being shut down as a club, and the gates closing until a viable option can be found. We, of course do not want this to happen, but to prevent this we need people to step up and help out in whatever way they can. We’ll be hosting a meeting at the FC HQ (HP22 5NF) on the 15 Aug 18 at 1930hrs. We need people willing to become treasurer, secretary, responsible members, dig team , trail maintainers – we will provide all training and support, we just ask for commitment. We need all these people in order for us to become a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC), if we don’t achieve this, we face the very real scenario of closing. This is not meant to be alarmist and its not about FC bashing or anything else, it’s just the way it is! Let’s get strength in numbers on the 15 Aug and lets plan a great future for the Hill – we need you in whatever capacity you can. Thank you. Pete W, James and Josh.’

If you could contribute, why not head along? And if you’re not in the right part of the country, remember there’s probably a trails group near you who would be glad of your help.

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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