A little trail building..

I have found a spot close to one of my regular routes that has enough natural trail features, that, with a bit of spade work, could be a really nice little run. Its pretty remote, and while the hill I’m looking at has no signs of woodland management, there is a old fireroad at the bottom of the hill.

It’s a copse, and it has a name on the map, but try as I may, I can’t find any references to who owns / manages the land. Google is of no help.

What the deal with ‘public’ land (I say this because there are no ‘Private Land’ signs anywhere in the vicinity) and a little trail building? I don’t want to invest a few weekends doing some spadework, to be a)Told to bugger off b)have it bulldozered c)shot at by some trigger-happy landowner.

I ask simply because I would like to ask permission I guess. Seems the right thing to do. Thoughts from the STW massive?

Land Registry?

All land in the UK is owned, and whether it’s private or public access you have to get permission even if you consider the public land to be ours. Public forests are generally Forestry Commission managed, common lands will be private or communally owned with certain public access.

Anything you dig without permission is basically criminal damage.

Could also be worth looking up any protections for the area. Conservation, special wildlife, some iron age thingy and such. Could be why it just seems to be a scrap of untouched land. You’ll get much more of a kicking for digging away if it is. Not sure where you check these things though.

Could speak to local trail builders also and see if they know anything about it? They might have looked into it already.

If it’s a spare bit of FC they can’t do anything with, you might get lucky. Check out the history of Aston Hill for example 🙂

Aha, Land Registry link is just what I’m looking for. Cheers!

Have a look at an OS map – if it’s managed by the Forestry Commission then it’ll be edged in purple. The next step is to contact the local recreation ranger for a chat, although if they’re anything like as busy as ours then it may be some time before you get a response!

You can do a pre-emptive check for any natural or archeological importance using MAGIC: http://magic.defra.gov.uk/

It’s usually obvious if it’s FC/private commercial forest. More likely to be council/private.
For example Bradford Council (local to me) is the single largest woodland owner in the district with 590 hectares of woodland, 267 hectares of parkland woods, so 857 hectares of woods.

Bluebells tend to be a sticking point, as they’re protected.

A land Registry deed shows the land belonging to a non-trading company registered in London. *Sigh*

A land Registry deed shows the land belonging to a non-trading company registered in London. *Sigh*

I’d call that a result in that case…

Or, check with Companies House, see if there is a record of them there.

Check the company on companies house website and get the names of co.sec/directors, that should get you further.

id just scratch a trail in and ride it, see what happens, then maybe do some more involved work. its worked for me

If you’re in the Surrey Hills area, the answer is: “c)shot at by some trigger-happy landowner”, hopefully.

id just scratch a trail in and ride it, see what happens, then maybe do some more involved work. its worked for me

Same here, sounds like you’re not building, but just creating a rideable line. Don’t see any need to ask permission just for pruning, clearing and raking.

If possible anything you do should just look like a sheep or deer track. Problem is if anybody else finds it and starts hammering it and creating a right mess.

GEDA +1

DDay,
All sensible replies here. Best of luck. Worth contacting council rights of way/recreation/woodlands managers. They might know more on ownership, arch./wildlife protection issues (quite important) and if any track might fit in with local access plans.

Iridebikes+1

David; CTC Right to Ride volunteer