Wondering what to do with the kids this Easter? Perhaps a trip to the new ‘Squirrel Chaser’ trail at Hamsterley Forest would fit the bill? Here’s the full PR from Forestry England:
Hit the trails at Hamsterley Forest this Easter!
Forestry England is delighted to announce the opening of a brand–new, blue (moderate) grade off-road cycle trail at Hamsterley Forest, County Durham.
‘Squirrel Chaser’, which opens to the public on 6 April 2025, offers an 8.4km (5.25 miles) fully waymarked route designed for moderate and improver cyclists. Taking in existing riverside trails and forest roads, the route also includes 2km (1.25 miles) of brand new singletrack – ‘The Oakey Cokey’, named after the atmospheric oak plantation it winds through.
This new trail features swooping descents, a challenging switchback climb and progressive rocky sections for riders to test and improve their skills in a fantastic forest setting.
Fun and engaging for riders with core off-road riding skills, the trail is also designed to be suitable for riders using some non-standard off-road cycles, such as adapted mountain bikes and trikes.
‘Squirrel Chaser’ forms part of Hamsterley Forest’s progressive trail network, which caters to all experience levels and includes 64km (nearly 40 miles) of waymarked routes ranging from blue (moderate) grade to black (severe) grade.
The trail received fantastic feedback during an exclusive taster day in February, attended by members of Hamsterley Trailblazers, ForestryEngland volunteers, supporters, and representatives from Durham County Council, with riders of all ages and abilities having the opportunity to ride and experience it first-hand.
This project received £100,000 from the Rural England Prosperity Fund, part of the UK government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), with additional funding from ForestryEngland.
Mark Holroyd, head of recreation and communications at ForestryEngland’s North District said:
“It’s fantastic to see this project is ready to welcome riders following the hard work of so many ForestryEngland staff, supporters and volunteers. The Squirrel Chaser trail opens up new areas of Hamsterley Forest for riders, allowing them to explore this special place and develop their skills before challenging themselves further on our other trails. With the Easter holidays upon us and summer on the way, it’s the perfect time to get back to nature and explore Hamsterley on two or three wheels!”
Mark Stamper, head of inclusive growth and partnerships at Durham County Council, said:
“We’re pleased to support the creation of new cycling routes at Hamsterley Forest. This forest is already a popular destination for residents and visitors, and these routes will offer new and exciting trails for regular visitors as well as help to attract more people to the forest. In turn this will bring a boost in tourist spend for the area and the wider county. As a council we are also keen to encourage our residents to live healthier, more active lives, so these new cycle routes help to support this ambition by encouraging more people to get cycling and enjoy the outdoors.”
Alex Talks, chairman of local mountain bike volunteer group Hamsterley Trailblazers said:
“We are really pleased to have a new blue section of trail here in Hamsterley. There are some lovely flow sections in this trail, with a few appropriately challenging features for the developing mountain biker, and enough fun and speed opportunity for the more advanced rider too. Squirrel Chaser will make a great addition to the existing trail network and I am sure it will be very popular with a wide range of biking visitors. I know our young mountain bikers from the Trailblazers coaching groups are really looking forward to putting this new trail to the test.”
The trail is clearly waymarked according to Forestry England’s trail grading system throughout, with blue squares indicating moderate difficulty. A new forest-wide cycle trail map with improved design will be displayed in the forest and printed versions will be available to collect for free from the visitor information point after 6 April.
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100k for 1.25km of singletrack and 20 signs and some leaflets? (I believe the rest of the track runs on existing fireroads/footpaths)? OK so it probably cost 20k or so to refurb the K-line, but the rest…
Good job the FE contractor framework agreement is delivering cracking value for money. That was well worth pushing out volunteer work for.
It’s 1.25 miles, not km, which is a bit further.
Properly protected trails which are designed for a lot of use over several years are actually quite expensive to build.