Mountain biking in Lake District and Yorkshire Dales

ANYONE who has the adventurous spirit of venturing east of the M6 or Whinlatter to the Howgills will know there is some awesome mountain biking to be had.

Even mbr has at least three killer loops that take in these epic hills.

Now the authorities are consulting about extending the boundaries of two national parks: Lake District National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Mountain bikers are being urged -along with residents, walkers, holidaymakers, farmers and local business owners - to have their say about which national park should take responsibilty for the area.

The decision will have a direct impact on how bridleways will be managed around the fells.

Consultation

We went to a public meeting in Orton this week to get to the bottom of what is being proposed. You can find out all the details at the dedicated pages on the Natural England site. There are some good interactive maps which will help you understand the boundaries being talked about.

There is an extension to the north of the Yorkshire Dales to take in the remaining Howgills, among four others.

There is a further extension to the north of the A685, or the east of the M6, around Orton and Ravenestonedale which has been deemed suitable to join a national trust - but not which one. So the debate centres on whether it would be better to join the Lakes or the Dales.

Join the debate

This is a national consultation so anyone can have their say and vote. The blogging community are already setting out some arguments.

Some of the main arguments that have been raised so far concerning mountain bikers are:

Which authority will invest the most in mountain biking in this area? Mountain Bike the Dales mtbdales is the authority site dedicated to promoting mountain biking for the Dales (not to be confused with mtbdales.com - see comment). We spoke to Kathryn, the manager there, and she was very proactive about investing in mountain biking - offering at one point grants to bed and breakfasts for bike stands etc. She sees the future of mountain biking in the Yorkshire Dales about promoting use of bridleways but with the complementary use of waymarked routes, to avoid the need for maps. The Lakes already has Whinlatter and a wealth of resources for mountain bikers (Staveley and Kentmere being one of the best centres). But much of the terrain remains very busy and crammed with walkers - and is often very technical indeed. Will the Lakes manage the demands of the Orton area?

Given that most of the land in this area around Orton is owned by private farmers rather than the National Trust as in the Lakes, this needs proper representation by decision makers, especially if bridleway networks are to be developed

The Lakes is a much more established mountain biking brand, so will this experience benefit the area? Do they know what mountain bikers need?

You have until March 17 to have your say! You can request a consultation pack at nwdesignationproject@naturalengland.org.uk

Comments

[jake]

"Which authority will invest the most in mountain biking in this area? mtbdales (www.mtbdales.com)is the site dedicated to promoting mountain biking for the Dales. We spoke to Kathryn, the manager there,"

there is no kathryn at mtbdales! how do i know? i developed the website..

[Clare Cook]

Sincere thanks for pointing this out. The site for the authority is http://www.mtbthedales.org.uk/
As I am sure you can see from the similarity, that is why I have made the confusion!

[jake]

no problem! its another inbound link and good publicity for my site ... so thanks