Forum menu
Went up onto my local moor last night for a quick raz before tea. Cant believe how much the bracken is taking over now! Where once there were lovely techy singletrack is now just a jungle like mess. Every year this has been getting worse and short of buying a heavy duty strimmer and spending a couple of weeks annoying the walkers and neighbours I'm struggling for a solution. Councils are strapped for cash these days too so doubt they would help. Any thoughts?
short of buying a heavy duty strimmer and spending a couple of weeks annoying the walkers and neighbours I'm struggling for a solution
how do you think trails that don't get heavy traffic stay open?
someone keeps it open!
bracken can be pushed back with a rake. you only have to break the stems over.
Its been really bad for a few months where I live.
However just be careful. In late summer/autumn it is carcinogenic, so probably best avoiding strimming it yourself.
•reduce risk of disease - bracken is toxic and carcinogenic at various stages of growth and its litter harbours the early life stages of sheep ticks, which can transmit diseases such as louping ill to sheep and grouse as well as Lyme disease to humans;
just wait for autumn/spring.
Cannock has been mental this year, even the dog is getting a bit overgrown in places. obviously conditions have been right for mad bracken growth. Strange, though I don't seem to have cut the grass too often this year.
It's been a very growthy year tbh, grasses and bracken have been pretty aggressive but bigger plants too, one of my local trails has basically become a hedge 😆
I don't like the noise of a strimmer for the trails round here, bit contentious so I brush-hook stuff when I can but it's slow going and murders my back... I think I need a folding pocket scythe like the Death of the discworld has.
Lots of bracken and wide handlebars - not a good combination
totally overgrown with brambles and all sorts round here in the sunny sarf. My arms and legs look like I've been self harming!
Back in April I spent an afternoon cutting an overgrown length of trail back through one part of the local woods, now it's all overgrown again.
Welcome to the brave new rewilded Britain as envisaged b y George Monbiot and his cohorts. Next thing you will be moaning about the wolves and bears hiding in the undergrowth. 🙂
I'm going to get a folding bear-saw in that case
Next thing you will be moaning about the wolves and bears hiding in the undergrowth.
*Hides picnic basket*
[img] 
[/img]
*and red riding hood*
[img] 
[/img]
experienced that 'tug' a few months ago.. not fun! amd i'm not running bars that wide.Lots of bracken and wide handlebars - not a good combination
its odd.. did one trail this weekend where the bracken was super high (bottom of smiths/quantocks..) (and a few dead sheep!).. other trails like slaughterhouse are almost hidden because of the bracken going in but very little once down in the combe.
so round here.. the exposed / non shaded ground has quite high bracken, but the covered/sheltered ground doesn't - where it usually does!
Really!! moaning about bracken!!
More serious things to moan about i.e. British Bake Off!