[Closed] UK drop-offs

Edit - was misinterpreting the features you were talking about!

Not sure, they have something similar on the Fort William course - or they did last time I rode it (several years ago now).

I know when our little club that rents a bit of land had to take theirs down it was definitely a liability thing.

There are some at Stile Cop, but they aren't huge.

It's down to the landowners public liability insurance, so most drops are natural therefore not compromising their insurance. Easy to conceal a natural drop compared to an obvious construction. FC has a policy to knock down wooden features.
Big ish drop (Peatys) at the bottom of the Steel City DH in greno woods Sheffield.

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Like this from Gawton?

Havok bike park has a couple as well, although the bigger ones are only open to riders who can demonstrate they're capable of riding them to the staff.

Chicksands used to have some. Not been there for a while though.

All about insurance and landowner liability.

There's a good few natural rock lines about the place if you keep your eyes open though, although both run in and landings can be shady!

Like this from Gawton?

Exactly what I'm talking about- I clearly need to plan a trip to Gawton then 🙂

The Fort Bill drop isn't open to mere mortals as far as I am aware..

Not that I would have done it anyway.

I'll let you go first on the Havok drop OP...
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Shame the photographer missed GW pinning it off that on his CXer

We used to have some decent sized ones at kinver until the new land owners removed them in the name of health and safety. I can understand why but it doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it. Funny thing is there are much bigger more dangerous dirt features.

Try the "Mushroom Farm" north of Nottingham, just what you're after.

APF

There used to be some in the pentlands that someone had built - dunno if they are still there and glentress used to have them ( does it still??)

Thanks for the tips all. This year will be the first year in a while that I'm not heading to the Alps so it'll be good to find somewhere more local to scratch the itch! Havok and gawton are definitely on the list now, although neither will quite hit the spot the same as this did last summer... [img] [/img]

Still I can't stay young and irresponsible forever!

There used to be some at Cwmcarn, weren't there?

Pretty much abandoned now, I think.

Got anymore info on this Mushroom farm place?
Leicester based and never heard of it.

There used to be some at Cwmcarn, weren't there?

Used to be a triple thing, three drops side by side of varying heights. Knocked down now, I think the air ambulance got fed up with attending 😆

Got anymore info on this Mushroom farm place?

Bestwood by the look of it, if I ever dig my big bike out again I'll have to give it a go...

https://skyaboveus.com/cycling/The-Best-Mountain-Biking-in-Sherwood-Forest

The Fort Bill drop isn't open to mere mortals as far as I am aware..

Yes, I didn't mean the road gap, but there are some (much smaller) ones elsewhere on the course IIRC.

I may not RC!

Liability I think

And social network effect - one big landowner decides against them and others follow suit

Yes natural drops can be more dangerous, but that danger is 100% generated by the rider choosing to drop off it. Ladders OTOH have to be built and maintained well, if somebody is injured because a ladder collapses the landowners are scared that a lawsuit would come their way. Presumably you could defend by having regular maintenance inspections in place, but that's not going to be free... and I wonder if by the same sort of reasoning a landowner has a greater duty of care on woodwork that extends to people falling off it as well. IANAL.

Farmer John's has some decent drops. At least I poo it going off them. Stockport way.

Where are you based pjacko?

There's some fairly big stuff at Steyning and at Wind Hill Bike Park.

I'm in Bristol, so no excuse not to have checked out gawton and wind hill!

Behold the awesomeness of the mighty Badger Drop in our local woods!

Mushroom farm here:

https://binged.it/2DXzKzW

Been about 19 months since I was there (Marooned in the MTB desert that is Lancaster now 🙂 )

Good trails all around that area though.

APF

There is also a ladder drop at Woodlands / Chipshop, the sister site to Gawton and just down the road.

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Re the trails being mentioned in Notts..dont follow the directions posted in the blog above, as you can no longer access them that way and it's causing conflict and potentially risking them being demolished..the trails are on private land and don't have legitimate access, if you absolutely have to, come through the country park, but the less traffic the better at the mo as it's sensitive. There's not any ladder/wooden drops up there now.

Thanks for the info LordH'
I'll stay clear if there's ongoing contention with Mushroom Farm.
There's plenty of places to ride without upsetting people, so I'll leave it until/if it settles down.

Used to be a triple thing, three drops side by side of varying heights. Knocked down now, I think the air ambulance got fed up with attending

Yep, those and that corkscrew feature thing, it was a bit of an Ambo magnet and old mate of mine fractured his skull on the corkscrew.