Was up at Leith Hill yesterday and noticed the new trail being built from the tower to,eventually, Summer Lightning. Looks good. At last the NT are doing something usefull for the biking fraternity.Designed to seperate bikers from the pedestrians I imagine.

Anyone know when its due for completion?

Lots of updates on FB, look for “All Biked Up”

WaywardRider – official opening is 1st April but sections will be rideable as soon as they can be.
The digger has finished work and if the rain would agree to hold off for a couple of days, the new surface will settle and compact.
As said above, keep an eye on All Biked Up and Head for the Hills FB pages for updates and details.

And anybody, feel free to head up there and lend an hour or two and tbe whole thing will be rideable so much sooner.

Can I just add: Please please do not ride it if it is taped-off. It takes several weeks for the sand to compact and harden – if you leave it it will go hard and water will sheet over it as designed. If you ride it it will rut up and hold water.

A hell of a lot of effort has gone into this, and it is pretty unfair if the builders have to repair it all the time.

In good time you will find that this trail contains some awesome stuff!

Oooh didnt know about this good news!

There are sections of machine-built, with berms and jumps and rollers an’ all that. They will weather-in and look and feel more natural after a while. The strip of yellow sand should hod up pretty well and shed water. Will be a bit like Sumer Lightning but pumped-up. There will also be hand built sections with more of a classic Leith Hill flavour, but with better drainage.

Helping hands are needed – contact Richard via All Biked Up fb page. All Biked Up

Looks fun, quite Swinley-esque in being very easy to ride, but increasingly challenging the faster you go!

Looking good with great work done by the crew, would suggest adding logs + ditches near the sides to stop the strava heads cutting the corners and trashing the flow.

would suggest adding logs + ditches near the sides to stop the strava heads crap riders cutting the corners and trashing the flow.

FTFY 🙄

That’s just one particular bit – there will be lots of variety, for example a massive step-up. It will be possible to roll through it all, or add speed and turn the experience into something a bit more full-on!

I noticed that a bit of the new trail (starts by the steps down to the quarry car park)isn’t taped off and looks in rideable condition.

BTW What’s a step-up?

Opposite of a step down. Hth. 😀

It does look fun, roll on the 1st April

Without seeming like a troll or being over-negative I don’t like that ^

I like the North Downs etc as its very nice rolling/flowing natural singletrack. ^ that aint.

Looks great, can’t wait for it to open.

Hora – it’s a fair point but the trails round us carry so many riders these days that having a mix will be a nice bonus. Still loads of natural rooty stuff around.

Hora – without patronising the f out of you, you do realise that it will weather-in and look a lot more natural?

You do realise that undergrowth, er, well, grows?

You do realise that if you don’t build the trail base out of mineral (i.e. the sand that lies underneath the black mulch) then water will never drain off and a perpetual mud-fest will prevail?

You do realise that the above IS rolling/flowing single track?

Or maybe you don’t.

Oh and one more thing Hora – do you realise that this isn’t even the North Downs?

It looks at best like a pump-track to me.

Maybe incorrectly but I’ve always referred to Leith Hill as in the North Downs, its Surrey hills but still I DONT LIKE IT. Live with it. It’ll never be singletrack. Do you know what singletrack is? Its not that wide. You know, you’ll always have people who don’t agree with you or like the samething.

hora – Member

It’ll never be singletrack. Do you know what singletrack is? Its not that wide.

You’d be amazed the number of trails that are now skinny singletrack, that started out the width of a canal path. The idea is you build wide, then as debris and vegetation encroaches, the ridden line remains clear. So you end up with a narrow ride line, supported by a solid margin on either side.

(or at least that’s the plan, it doesn’t always work)

I do like the natural singletrack on the Surrey Hills, we’re pretty lucky to have the variety, but it is nice to mix it up with some of the other built trails, especially this time of year when its a mud-fest and trails like this are a welcome addition. There are people that like to go out and ride a variety of trails and there are people that spend all day going up and down BKB without ever experiencing some of the great stuff within a short pedal! Thats life!

Whatever – it is narrow, or rather it will be when it weathers and grows in. It is not possible to build a durable and sustainable high-traffic singletrack without this method, or something similar. It is hardly double track!

It doesn’t matter to me that you won’t want to ride it, I only wanted to explain a few basics about trail building.

The general idea is that this trail will be sufficiently attractive to take a good proportion of the bike traffic – I think that once people give it a try (rather than slagging it off based on a picture of it not even finished) then this will be the effect.

Just a public hats off to Richard for working on this and for the frequent fb updates. I’m looking forward to riding it and it will be more interesting than prior xc style link on the tracks.

Looks a lot of fun to me. Thanks for all the hard work Glen and the others. I’m helping the Hurtwood Trail lot this Sunday, otherwise I’d offer to give you a hand. Will try and get over there at some stage soon.

Yes. Hats off to all involved. Thanks.

Btw isn’t Richard from all biked up often cited as being richmtbguru. Is this a case of mistaken identity? He always seems a really nice bloke in the flesh. Still intrigued at the personal hygiene section. The old LH fork used to give me the willies.

Good work trail builders! Looking forward to riding it to summer lightening!

Also looking forward to riding the other 99.9% of the Surrey hills that’s natural! 🙄

Have my doubts about this, it seemed to be solving a problem that to my mind didn’t exist, but whatever, not looking for a fight, it’s done & we live with the consequences.

My question is which direction is it meant to be ridden in? from the Tower presumably, that being the highest point. The bit I’ve ridden (that ends at Chicken Skin Revue) could legitimately be bi-directional.

^^ that’s a stupid question I guess, the answer is from the Tower.

@matt, yes. Rich posted a while back that it’s to be ridden from Tower to Summer lightening.

Most people don’t realise the majority of what they call ‘natural’ trails in the Surrey Hills are in fact built with much time and effort from certain pixies who also keep them maintained. Most are not what people assume, ie animal tracks that just got worn into singletrack by riding. Many bits of scrub at edges are often deliberate to block off short cuts or reduce trail creep. Berms that don’t appear to be machined or dug but are, drainage most wouldn’t realise is there, ‘natural’ jumps and drops that are created deliberately from the resources around, etc.

That said the SL extension is a full official trail, first of its kind for many years, and for all to use and all weather. So yes it’s going to start out looking less natural. That said it looks fun and the route didn’t have much that was that great or wasn’t already in dire need of maintenance. Keeps the walkers of our backs too and gets us to the good stuff either end with some extra fun.

When I first saw the stuff near the steps I thought oh dear, having seen the bit near the tower, I think it looks a lot of fun.
Nice to see some new trails that hold something for all riders. Seeing the image above I can imagine a ‘nodder‘ rolling over that real slow and still having a big smile on their face (Hora – someone like you) Or a very experienced rider (DMR boys/Bren) gapping the lot

If it keeps the masses off the unsanctioned stuff and reduces rider/pedestrian conflict in busy areas it can’t be a bad thing

Richard/Glen and anyone else involved, I salute you 😀

You see, I always think this is a bit sad. New trail is getting built, a lot of work is going in to it. Richard is a top fella, and I always stop for a chat when I see him.

It’s progression, and a great advert for all biked up. Until glen comes on here, picking and pedanting the hell out of anyone who raises a valid discussion point.

Shall we just all chill out a bit?
Lots of people are putting the effort in to try to please the majority and make a more sustainable trail for everyone to enjoy. If some people don’t like the look of it then I’m sure they won’t bother to ride it. No point getting all personal about it. It’s only biking and we’re all one big happy family . 🙂

Actually with a bit of coffee in me and having done 3hills two weekends ago down there I think its agood idea. It was like the Somme in part-shocked me just how bad. Some great bits are now eroded right down. Alot of what used to be hidden is now ruined/over ridden. One or two trails are still good prob as they are still under the radar.

So I think I’ll back pedal on this one.

You’d be amazed the number of trails that are now skinny singletrack, that started out the width of a canal path

It all seems to work the other way around here 🙁

Looks great but

official opening is 1st April

Really?

Looking forward to popping back there later in the year. The mud in the South certainly is tenacious and any trail surfacing helps with the mud wrestling and erosion, especially somewhere as popular and protected as LH.

Sorry – I was being defensive and argumentative. Personal failings. I am 100% behind Richard and wish I could spend more time helping him out with this. As well as being a massively hard worker for mountain bikers, he is also a best friend and drinking buddy.

The delay to opening is just to let the mineral bed consolidate and not get rutted.

3/4 of the new trail now open. Absolutely brilliant… So much air… Got to be the best trail in the Surrey Hills… Leith Hill is going to get a lot busier… Reclaim its crown from the Peaslake upstart!

Big thanks to All Biked Up who built it.

For the record I don’t go by the alter ego richMTBguru….thtat must be someone else. If you enjoy the trail when finished ,great. If you don’t there are still plenty of others to choose from. I fully appreciate people who have preference for trails in the state of nature but with massive increase in numbers ridng the Surrey Hills they just don’t stay good for long. Permission is only granted for trail development where a new trail is seen to solve a problem. I don’t think we could have pushed the design much further and still made it appeal to a broad range of abilities. It may be a bit of big bmx track but it is fun to ride and I challenge you not to be smiling at the end. It won’t stay super smooth and it will narrow overtime but we hope will be dry year round and catch a lot of the traffic. You wil have to pedal though so don’t expect gravity to do all the work. Happy riding where ever that is and whatever your trail preference. …and please slow down for horses and if their riders are rude be the better person, smile in the knowledge karma is on your side.

Rocks and roots?