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Garburn pass change in status
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mrmichaelwrightFree Member
and yes i would vote to ban cars from travelling up to fairholmes
it's been tried
there used to be far more problems with parking on the road but the money was better spent on improving the parking facilities in the valley. The trouble is that Fairholmes is mostly the domain of the 'Tea and Pee' tourist who won't bother with parking at the fisheries and using the bus link as was proposed. There is already an automated sign which (although it's no longer working) recommends that people turn back when a critical number of cars have entered the valley, it was not possible to actually restrict access to the valley without it going through parliament which was seen to be a waste of money. The cost of policing it would also be too high.
Severn Trent have also adopted a more considerate policy of keeping the reservoir level up to prevent the old village being exposed which caused chaos last time it happened due to the vast amount of visitors.
Cars are already banned from entering the upper derwent valley on weekends and bank holidays and a bus service is provided to allow people to get further up.
horaFree MemberHeres a mad thought. Mountain bikers drive all the way into national parks etc. How about knocking the driving bit on the head. What should 4×4 enthusiasts do? Drive round Kensington instead? Let them enjoy. A bad storm can wash away one of the passes aggregate cant it?
Ollie-BFree MemberI often go mountain biking and motorbike trail riding, and am a member of the TRF. I usually ride locally or in the Peaks, but the issue of motorised vehicles on ROW is the same all over England & Wales. I know from experience that the issue of damage etc to ROW by vehicles, especially motorbikes, is often over exagerated. The problem is that all rights of way open to motorbikes are also open to (much) heavier 4x4s and carrages etc. Unfortunately, motorcyclists often pick up the blame for the damage, probably because of their percieved 'hooligan' image by some people – the GLEAM organisation mentioned earlier often latch on to this image when trying to stir up 'anti vehicle' attitudes! The NERC act didn't help either, as it just meant that there were even less ROW for trail bikes & 4x4s than before – imagine if mountain bikers or horse riders were allowed on only 2% of the ROW network! I personally think that certain heavier vehicles such as 4x4s and carrages should be restricted in certain sensitive or easily eroded areas, as is done on the Isle of Man.
As for GLEAM, I would take alot of the information on their site with a pinch of salt. They are right in what they say regarding pre 1930 usage, if a route was used by motor vehicles prior to 1930, then there may be a right of way for motor vehicles, providing that it wasnt used by horse and cart before. Again this is all based on written evidence, and there is written evidence showing Walna Scar and Garburn pass were used prior to 1930 by motorcycles, and have done so from around the turn of the last century (1900s) up until the 2006 NERC Act. As an organisation, GLEAM are largely just a group of well heeled land owners who wish to restrict access, and see motor vehicles as easy targets to have their rights removed from the ROW network. I have seen their tactics and their political games, and they appear to be a rather nasty bunch of people, often with contacts in high places e.g. Yorkshire Dales NPA, DEFRA and the House of Lords, to which they often use this power to influence new legislation, e.g. NERC Act, Police Reform Act etc. – stay clear of them! It sounds pedantic but it is not – they're trying to ban trail bikes now, what makes you think they wont attempt to ban mountain bikes and horse riders from sensitive routes in the future?
Britain, esp. England and Wales, is an incredibly overcrowded country, and if we dont try to get along with each other and realise that other people have to share the same space (and ROW network) as us, then we will end up fighting like 'rats in a barrel' and even more of our past times will be curbed or outright banned by the government.
Oliver
missingfrontallobeFree MemberAs someone else has already stated, the trail hierarchy of redsocks>mountainbikers>greenlaners should always be in our mind, as the Ramblers would dearly love to see all none pedestrian traffic removed from unsurfaced RoW. So the Ramblers current target is greenlaning, which is likely to be quite straightforward under the "green" agenda, next will be mountain biking, giving the Ramblers complete "right to roam", and their final target will probably be those people whoi live in the areas that they wish to visit & keep "unspoilt".
jamesFree Member"I'd be interested to see a 4×4 coping with the Kentmere side without a) a winch b) remodelling"
Having seen a stock Nissan Terrano make it up the bad side of (ie southwards) Roych Clough (Kinder Scout Loop, Peak District), I wouldn't be suprised if Garburn was doable unmodified, the really bad bit of walna scar, perhaps not"Not really given how **** slowly they go down hills whenever I've seen them"
The 4x4s yes, the Motocrossers much less so. Same seems to go for the uphills. I'm not so keen on a MX bike at full throttle tearing past me on a rough narrow lane/track of a climb
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