Could Northamptonshire Be Your Next MTB Destination?

It hardly has a reputation for being a mountain bike destination, but the flatlands of Northamptonshire might just be about to deliver a dose of trail …

By stwhannah

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Could Northamptonshire Be Your Next MTB Destination?

providing a duel directional to aid flow and connections within the site

That sounds a bit dangerous 😉

Looks good, I could go riding at lunchtime!

Could Northamptonshire Be Your Next MTB Destination?

Speaking from some-one who lived there…Let’s hope not, eh? I mean I don’t wish this project ill, and I’m sure the locals will be grateful, but lordy, I can’t think there are many counties lower on my list of “places I want to visit to go to ride”

You never know… Merthyr Tydvil was never on my list of places to go stay overnight with a bike until BPW moved in 🙂

As a local(ish) rider I’d really welcome this. If you search Google for “Map of UK Mountain Bike Trail Centres” there’s a black-spot that surrounds my house for about a 50 miles in every direction. This would be slap bang in the middle of that.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful for the trails that we have here (Woburn, Rushmere, Chicksands) but variety = spice of life and all that.

@thegeneralist The planning app does actually say duel! I missed fixing that one. Bike jousting though…

Northants, ok-ish for xc, anything else will be a bonus to be honest.

it is needed, theres nowhere fun stuff near here (that i know of) if youre too old for corby skatepark

There’s a lack of bridleways on that map, sure, but even if there were bridleways I’m not sure they’d be much cop to ride! Anyway, I really applaud these efforts. I’ve been guilty of joking about the “world class bike park” but they could create something that is a really good asset to local folks. It’s a pretty big population within 30odd miles and very little to ride.

I will be round for a play when it’s done and in the meantime will see if there’s a way I can support what they’re doing. Bravo.

Ironically, the Council flattened a jump spot a couple of years ago that was in the woods separating the proposed site from the A45 on the left side of the aerial plan. This was supposedly due to contention with other users, but there weren’t really any other users and no through routes. Presumably the same people will be over-the-moon about the annexation of the whole of the adjacent area 😀

Call me cynical, but I’ll reserve judgement until (a) it’s been built and (b) there’s evidence of how it will be maintained. Given that they don’t even seem to be able to pay for a full licence for the CAD software they’ve used, it doesn’t suggest a huge budget is available…

@-m-
Ooh.. Used to love riding at Hardingstone… Shame it got destroyed really.
Fingers crossed the new proposed park will be decent.

Been knocking about for a few years now, somehow doubt it’ll come off. Hope it does as I can seen where I park my car at work in the arial photo.

Sounds very much like the proposal in my ends, in not a million miles away from Northampton, Leamington Spa.

We’ve had a lot of vocal opposition mainly coming from a particular dog walking campaigner who would deftly pounce on any possible angle she could and use it as a weapon against the proposals.

In fact, in the planning stages I came on here and asked folks to help support the idea by registering a vote of support on the council planning pages.

She actually then used that list of votes against it by claiming that our little town was going to become a ‘destination mountain bike park’ with hordes of bikers from all over the UK descending on the former golf course.

As if a tiny little hill in a Midlands town was ever going to rival Whistler! 😂

Planning has now been approved for the Leamington one but that’s kind of the last I’ve heard about it. Sounds like it’s at a similar stage here.

Hopefully they’ll happen, as really, anything that encourages exercise in the outdoors is a good thing and kids will love it.

I’m a local, even know some of the guys who have been working behind the scenes to get this off the ground. Supports has so far been overwhelmingly positive, with objections so far surprisingly negligible… even the majority of the locals in nearby Hardingstone have been positive about it on the basis it will bring customers and money to the shops, pubs, etc. in the village… someone did anonymously and briefly attempt to drum up support on the Hardingstone Facebook page to object to it, but the rest of the village were unimpressed and kind of piled in to put them in their place lol.

As others have pointed out, it’s desperately needed in these parts, has been for years. We’re all fairly positive about it here. I wouldn’t say it’s a done deal but all the comments I’ve read and heard from the various parties involved are largely positive ones. Fingers crossed eh 🙂

Tearing up a golf course to make way for bike-related activities will ALWAYS get a thumbs-up from me.

@nickc

I mean I don’t wish this project ill, and I’m sure the locals will be grateful, but lordy, I can’t think there are many counties(sic) lower on my list of “places I want to visit to go to ride”

I’d have said the same thing about Middleton/Beeston/Belle Isle in South Leeds about 5 years ago too…

Same, and I lived there.

Totally agree as Northampton only has Harlestone firs & Delapre woods for some decent trails/jumps

I’m sure those that are very local have been keeping an eye on this, but for the benefit of others, this is actually happening… Evidence of trail building has been going on for a while, and even the Northampton Chronicle has started getting interested.

Article suggests completion around August. Might be interesting for STW to check-in with the team for a low-down.

https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/people/video-ps15-million-flagship-mountain-bike-park-in-northampton-hailed-as-game-changing-rough-opening-date-revealed-3802730

Not long now and it’s looking good

Oooh.

Disappointingly we’ve already seen video of those Sur-ron plonkers trashing it. Wonder how that kind of thing can be policed to avoid it falling quickly into disrepair.

I think it’s only going to be up to the MTB community to have a firm word every now and again. Apparently there is a footpath that runs right through the site so they can’t close off access 😭

Looks pretty cool.
Will have to go down. 😊👍

Northampton Bike Park is now OPEN!

Northampton Bike Park geared up and ready to go!

Cool. Great to see any new cycling provision.
Hopefully the one down the road from there in my ends (Leamington) gets done soon.

I will be digging my MTB out tomorrow and heading up there after work. If you see a man with an Uncle Albert style beard mincing down the trails with wheels firmly on the ground then that will most likely be me.

Well, you can consider me impressed with what talented and motivated people can achieve with a patch of land in an industrial park in a flat and heavily populated bit of the country. I will be back there plenty. A few folk out this evening and a nice atmosphere. It is a joy to see people brought together like this and to enjoy a real community asset. Let’s hope it thrives. Hats off.

The red line is a good jumpy line I’m some way short of plucking up the courage to ride properly. I’m not obsessively “wheels on the ground” – I can make the landings on the first few jumps but from halfway down I’m coming up very short, and will need to progress a fair way before that changes. That’s kind of nice – it gives folk like me something to go at. The (left) black is not something to be scared of riding, it’s all rollable and it still rides well but it is something I’ll probably never do properly.

I wonder if it’ll all stay smooth like this – how will that surface hold up over time?

I headed over to check it out after work tonight and had a hoot. The blues are perfect for a man who hasn’t ridden a mountain bike in far too long. It was fantastic to see so many riders out and to see how bike riding can be done.

Was it busy?

My plans changed so I popped back again this evening 6-7.30ish. It was fairly busy, I’d say. Not a problem, but getting well used certainly.

The main line was busy but I pootled off over to a couple of blue trails and almost had the place to myself.

Worth an extra 20mins in the car for a bunch of 6yo compared with going to Thetford? Woburn and Twisted oaks are about the same time.

What’s the “up” like, wide enough to tow them up?

It’s small. Good as a local edge of town facility but there isn’t all that much of any one thing; it isn’t extensive like a woodland facility – I’ll take my 8yo when we’re nearby but not travel far for it – I wouldn’t take him down red or black which only really leaves 3 short blue lines and a little skills loop.

Most people are walking up, so I don’t imagine a tow would be an issue, but it’s very short anyway. And the other up for the gentle trails seems hardly used.