southerndownhill.com - Forum

We are on the lookout for new venues around the South West.

If you know of somewhere then please get in touch ..

1 years free race entries for an introduction that leads to a NEW race venue.

existing course or just an upliftable hill with a friendly landowner?

I take it FC land is out as they dont like tractor/trailor uplifts?

Would be good to get the old races going at Earlstoke nr Devizes going again.  ;D

Just happens to be on my door step.

There doesn't have to be an existing course there .... but the friendly landowner would definately be a major plus!

Well get me the landowners contact details and let's see what we can do!

Yeah Erlestoke was a fairly good course from what I remember... my memory does tend to be a bit rose-tinted these days though :-)

I can't beleive I have not had a single person contact me .... doesn't anyone drive around like I do looking at all the hills.... ??????????????

Well you're asking for the landowner's details, and most people when they look at a hill doesn't have a clue who owns it, or how to find out (short of knocking on doors).

Regarding erlestoke, you could contact the guy who used to run the SAMS and see if he has any details?  Or post this in a more well-read forum?

Index map search, that's what you need..... give you the title number then the owner. they're free as well, but getting a copy of the title isn't. There's probably a much better way of doing it!

tell me more! ... please!

How are you getting on with english nature about the woods i suggested?
Dave could you make sure i'm down for the uplift at coombe

It's the MOD i believe! 

the only people i can think of that would know are http://www.spambiking.co.uk/spam_contact.htm (http://www.spambiking.co.uk/spam_contact.htm) as they arrange events up there quite a lot.  Sailsbury plain challenge etc.

how about aston hill    get hold of buckingham bikes who own it
you could hold the much loved dh3 race or black run!!!!!!!!!!!

I think Dave is looking for south-west venues, aston hill definitely doesn't fall into that category - even Erlestoke is stretching his limits a bit I'd have thought.

However, someone does need to pick aston hill up, and maybe a new southern series could be on the cards if Dave can get things up and going.  I can think of a few old classic SAMS tracks, which whilst not on the biggest hills in the world can still be perfectly good courses with a bit of work - anyone remember Highclere Castle?

You would need a plan, probably to 1:1250 scale, although a smaller scale might do. If you've got access to OS map software that you could print out at 1:1250 or 1:2500 then that would be a good start I'd imagine. The other alternative to this is getting friendly with a local estate agent, as some of them seem to be able to get hold of plans quite easily, one of our local ones can anyway, but I'm not sure who/what they use to get them. The plan needs to show the location of the land relative to other features such as roads etc, so that it can be identified by the Land Reg anyway.

You also need what's called a SIM form, you fill it in and send it off with the plan (with the relevant parcel edged red) to the Land Registry. However, I'm not sure if they would require the applicant to have an account - I do it all the time cos I work for solicitors and we have an account, but whether or not you'd get one otherwise I don't know.

All it would tell you is either 1. the title number, which means its registered, or 2. that there's no title number recorded, which usually means its not registered, in which case you're none the wiser.

If it is registered you can then apply for a copy of the title, but unless you do it online its £12.

You might find it useful to get in touch with the Land Registry to see if you can set up an account, cos then you can do register views/download official copies on line for £3 instead. If you want a SIM form to see if you can do it without having an account, let me know.

This is the Land Registry Direct online service link - should give you info on there about setting up an account HERE (http://www.landreg.gov.uk/direct/Default.asp)

i gotta say, knocking on doors and asking people seems a whole lot easier/more personal :-)

Dave should you need the maps at that scale i have a digimap account so i cna get them just let me know befor 01/06/07.

How about the woods behind Canoteign falls in the Teign Valley? Think the FC own it.

Or there are some pretty steep sided hills up near Dunsford at the end of the Teign Valley - possibly National Trust land who also have some decent hills in the Fingle Bridge area near Drewsteignton.  Or the valley behind Castle Drogo has some good looking hills too, again this may be owned by the NT.

Haldon is also a possibility in the Freer woods side, you could easily put in a minute and a half plus track, (if you know were to put it) there's some really nice contours in the woods.

Just a couple of thoughts,

Cheers,
Tony

it is, but only if they know the answers.... if not you just wasted loads of time and petrol driving around to ask 'em!! :)

Im liking the sound of any of those areas.

Is there anywhere in Cornwall u guys could look at.  Dont live down there so not sure of any decent trails there.

dave, there is alot of woodlands around me suitable, and it is owned by The Duchy Of Cornwall, my dad (chris) has asked me to let you know. For more information and details as they are after creating a venue,



Many thanks; I have contacted your dad by email and then removed his address from here to prevent SPAM.

I looked at Canonteign many years ago but couldn't find a way back up! Any ideas?

thanks for that  :)
i have let dad know that you've replied, and he'll be in contact with you soon.
james

I've got a decent OS map of the area, also its only 10 mins from me so i'll go and give it a proper scout out, i know for sure there are fire roads in there having explored it on moi bicycle.

Plus there's ample parking at the bottom and a cafe!  Its also only ten mins from the A38.

I'll get back to you asap on getting back to the top - could slap a chairlift in there!

cheers,
tony

about the other side of gunnislake to tavi woodlands?

you mean gawton? thats still in the pipeline last i heard....

why not tavistock woodlands?

from what ive been told, they dont want the place known by too many people, because it will wear the place out, and its a members only site, and once its known as a race track, more people wont regard the rules, but thats from what ive been told.

You could have a round at ukbikepark, many tracks to choose from, well developed uplift, catering etc.

Might even be able to weald a spade for a fresh track over the winter.

Your best bet would be to contact Ben Day @ Torico bike shop in sturminster newton if your interested, he has been the bitch for the races we have held this summer.

Good luck with you hunt

You could hold a really good race over the winter at heavens gate hill, longleat.  The park would be closed to visitors so the tarmaced road might be able to be used for uplift, theres a campsite at the top of the hill to.  is a really big hill, could get 100m drop and 1km length of track easily, all in open grazing land with the ocassional bracken  and oak trees, cracking scenery to, would get a big crowd.

Would need to get in contact with longleat though, Lord Bath would be up for it im sure, heres an os map of what it could be like
(http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z34/bgirons1/proposedlongleatracetrack.jpg)

i swear they had one their before and it was like 55secs long

or i mite be wrong

no they havent, could be a pretty long track

Ben wheres that on longleat land??

I'll come scope it out with you maybe a bit of off trail exploration?

The original Earlstoke track got stopped coz it cuts thro several fireroads - hence the "Pro" track which doesnt.... ;)
Longleat having a dh sounds like a good idea - Lord bath is always up for random events, would get good coverage & randoms going to see the grounds and safari afterwards  + we ride there anyways and they are cool about it.... Parking could be a prob - altho the field next to the fireroad off the mainroad could be used??   hmmmm...

Shouldn't you be watching the road Dave? PMSL (Sue btw not Sam)

Hi dave,
            Just a quick one to say that dad is waiting for your responce.
Cheers, James

It would be nice to have some form of updates Dave! :P

I know you may be busy but there are rumours about that there may not even be a Winter Series this year! :-\

Highclere was great from what I can remember.  They must be up for hosting an event.....?

Erlestoke would be class. The main track does cut across fire roads but there are a few others in the woods that you could use. It is, however, quite short and times of 55seconds are about average although there is a fireroad sprint at the top that could be extended.

Try some of these people from spam: http://www.spambiking.co.uk/contact.asp
They organise events and even get the cadet core to marshall for them!

Jack

Dave....
Dad is still awaiting your responce about a new track.

i dont know whether it is a requirement for it to be private land or how any of that works but triscombe on the quantocks may be an option, there are several really good tracks which seem to attract people from all over the south west most weekends and there are fire roads which would be perfect for an uplift, its forestry commission but as far as i know, many of the dragons use forestry commission land. In the past i have heard many people say that they think triscombe easily compares with others in the calendar.

also the council is trying to appear very pro bikes at the moment and spent a lot of money getting one of the tour of britain stages to be held within the area for the next five years, so they may be keen to help, just a thought.

why don't we get one at haldon if the freeriders don't mind we could us there piece  of land from the top to the bottom of the hill .Or we could ask the forestry if they will let us extend the rat run
thanks
 

we raced holdan about 3 or 4 years ago and it was GAY! it was quicker to run down then to ride your bike.

think he's talking about the other side of the hill to which that race was run on!

There is a nice little run from the top to the bottom on the freer woods side, finishing on the berms at the bottom of the red run, about a min and a half or so; it would be good!

Triscombe has got to be an option. The track nearest the car park at the top is proper rough but still good to keep your speed up on. Plus the car park is actually at the top of the run and there is a track you could get an uplift on (it's not really that far to walk).
I'm sure if enough people got in touch the green arm of the forestry commision could be bent. :)

triscomb is good but how long is it ?????????????

about 1.5 mins, ish. depends how good you are ;D
it's pretty rough so it feels longer.

original track would go in under a minute. little ian and dom were hitting 1:06's the other day when they had freelaps set up.

but and its a big but, the forestry commision there are dead against races. as far as i can tell it all stems from being sued a long time back.

surely if enough people haggled, maybe even have to include some form of paperwork to sign saying 'i will not sue you'.
There's no signs up saying no riding, so surely a race wouldn't be that different?

HAHA it's not as simple as that mate... ::)

anywhere else then?

big difference....they just about tolerate the riding there, although i think they arent too happy about the scale of building that has happened in the last year or so. to be honest, there isn't a lot they can do about it though...sanctioning a race series is something entirely different....

combe syd, avill hill, haldon, ?east hill or woodbury? launceston, stoke woods near exeter (fast new track)
 :-\ :-\ :-\

STOKE WOODS IS TRIPLE SSI PLEASE DONOT RIDE IN THERE, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::)

Dave, you should seriously take a look at the Fingle Bridge area, trouble is most of its National Trust land so not sure how well received a DH race would be!  But the contours are amazing, the hill the opposite the pub at the bottom, yes a pub in the finish area is an added bonus! has a byway going from top to bottom and i reckon there's just enough room for a trailer and tractor to turn at the top.  Really easy access too, there's even car parking too!

dave i know some one who has some woods very capable and with loads of potensial near tavistock. pm me and ill put you in touch with hi. im sure some of the boys from tavi way could make a track ?

We tried to get the use of that a few years back it was a no no but you never know things may have changed.

Dave, dad has contacted you and is STILL waiting a responce.
The question is do you REALLY want new venues?

We walked through the woods that he manages today, and it seems great, lots of natural features, diagonal length across the hill, and firetracks for unplifts....

James

James would that be available for cross country ?

Yea, he's very intrested in putting in cross country too...
XC was the first idea before i suggested dh.
I'm gunna hit it on my xc bike towards the end of the month and see how it is, but with some building for singletrack ect, and nice long circuit will b every easy to get...

where is this place james? PM me

anyone know if when ashcombe eventually happens, they will be using the old track or if anything new has been built?

I've heard from Jon that Ashcombe is off....
Can anyone confirm this for sure?

thought it was only postponed?  :-\

yeh pretty sure its only postboned, only thing is round 3 is on the 4th or something?! going to be alot of races crammed together, especially with the student champs coming up in march too!

I still think that the old downhill tracks behind the hub at haldon are ideal. with a couple of tweeks here and there, there is potential for at least a 4 or 5 min run, plus it ends on a fire road...ideal for uplifts! plus a hot food van already in place at the hub + carpark and easy access! what more can you ask for?

Just a thought.

the forestry com need to give it a go ahead
and that is NOT likely
J

I don't see why not, the forestry comission at haldon are very pro mountain biking. Been to a few xc races there, and we also did some trials demo's up there, they let us have free reign on a scrapheap and make whatever we wanted.

I agree that if possible haldon should be utilised if not only due to amount of money that has been injected into the facilities to make it a mountain bike venue. Good publisity, such as this where 200 odd riders use the facilities can only premote the outcomes of the way that money has been spent.

cant we just build a new track up combe sydenham or some place? just start a hole track from stratch?

im sure people can help out!

did you do the last race at combe syd? that top section from the top field to the roadgap took me, harry and dave a morning to clear. The tough bit is how to get from the top woods to the bottom woods without using the meadow.

yeah i did do the race, i enjoyed it because it was a change to the normal combe track.

i see what you mean about the top. the bus stops are really the only line down the top section.

i remeber a track they used ages ago which went through a stream?

that would be good to use again

there will be a new track/s available soon that ive been working that can definately be used for races, (got uplifts, all ok health and safety wise and legit). Still abit hush hush until its officially open but when it is, there will be 2 nps level tracks available...

thats birds hill. that's on this weekend.

nah its not birds hill

it started up by the top off the nps combe track and went down towards birds hill but on the hill of the nps track. it was like 4 years ago!

it wasnt birds hill though, i'm 99% sure!

nah josh is right... it was like birds hill with that rock drop in on the saturday... then come sunday they had a track with like a stream u rode down a bit u like criss crossed it kinda switch back type things.... u started on the fire road and like dropped/rode down this bank straight away and into the woods. it was quite cool as they had like a little rock garden slate thing going on finished near the lakes up near the bridge

i know they are pro bikes but i have spoken to one of the rangers about it as
a race venue and he said that if it did get approved then it would take a long
time to sort out insurance cause they don't have the insurance they need to
be able to have a race. 

" Been to a few xc races there" quote from hurbum

personally in my opinion DH racing is a little bit
more dangerous then XC racing  :)
J

not necessarily.

i think the big problem with DH races is the insurance for the uplift. And if you use FC land then you have to adhere to FC rules on uplifts which gets expensive...

Josh   your young memory serves you well ;D
It was used on the Stage Race held at Coombe Sydenham and it was about 4yrs but I think it was longer than that. I think it started on the uplift road before dropping down into one of the streams. Maybe we could use it in the future but at this time of year I suspect the stream is more of a river!!! >:(

Suggest you speak to David and Me this w/e , maybe in the summer we could see what we can do.
Steve

Who would be up for building a new track; or at least a large part of one at CS?

i would, as long as its a weekend

me too as long as i can get a lift there...

if im going then of course u can have a lift mate

If its a sunday and space in the car, i'll come...

safe, i can put rowans track building tips to good use...!

i was wondering how long it would take till you mentioned your new lover  :P

if we're not taking bikes i can get 4/5  the car

so when is a good day for everyone to go up to Combe?

What exactly are we gunna be building?

A replacement track for april?

What gunna be kept from the original track (if anything) ect ect...

sunday 17th feb???

boo cant make that everyones going to cwmcarn :(

why cant you race bratton again

Was it at bratton where one course sprinted around a 180° curving fireroad with really dense trees on the inside of it.  They didn't bother taping it off and Nibs Kellett (I think) spotted that there was a ridable line through the trees, cutting about 5 seconds off the track.  Fook me was it tight though haha :)

is this still on? im still up for it if anyone else is?

because its shite.

i know tha but it could be rebuilt

It's a bit like Marmite ....

what about somewhere up the quantocks

not a chance.

why not

Because the Forrestry are extremely strict in that area. Especially after some well know riders ruined the Triscombe area of riding by uplifting with a quad.

who are theese well known riders anyway

we wouldnt like to say

why not

triscombe isn't ruined by any means but the relationship the local riders had with the forestry is a little shaky thanks to some uplifting with a quad bike going on in the forest. there were some senior forestry officials there that day for something unrelated who after seeing this told the local forestry guys to remove anything built. large amounts of jumps,berms and drops were destroyed the next day with notices posted to not rebuild them or they would be removed.

I wasn't there that day but as I understand it a certain iron-horse sponsored rider might have been involved along with a few others. A mate of mine had to have some strong words with them again recently about how they were f'ing it up for everyone else.

Was up triscombe a couple weeks ago and a certain Mr F was up there on the quad again with a load of mates, not good.

Chances of holding an official race on the quantocks is currently zero.
Shame really, as it's an area with a lot of potential.

aaah i know who you mean now

doesnt he live miles away from here though

The DOG...

what a crimper, hit him someone. lazy sloth... looks like one and all... ::)

all down to quad uplifts? what bull.
when we first went up there with the quad no one had a problem, far from it!!!
2nd time we went up there some bloke had words with us explained the deal, and was fine, we went. wont do it again.
BUT where is this forestry sign does it say about the uplifts?
your shanky building is the problem by the looks off it.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i17/Dox_21/sign.jpg)

Bricktop.

yeah but all of the building that i ever saw there was solid

Having read your somewhat biased view I felt that you would benefit from the following link

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-76TH2G

Losing  a quad through ignorance could prove costly. Whilst building on private land maybe tolerated by the FC using an uninsured vehicle or a road legal vehicle for that matter can and does involve the police and courts.

shanky building?

i doubt you could build a flat corner.

thanks for ruining any chances of a race their mate. much appreciated  >:(

twas a mint track too

they would never have a race up there face it, no good parking, no uplift, daves know about triscombe for ages, theres been all the time and there hasnt been a race up there

everyones thrown it well out of purportion to how f**ked the tracks actaully are.

i recently built a whole natural track up there thanks mate, hasnt been torn down by FC either.

ive ridden that track and its got nothing to pull down anway.

got any other venues you can add to this thread and be constructive?

best tracks are always that way.

so are you the dude that built the steep-ass track

one of them.

maybe not all down to quad uplifts but I think in the eyes of the forestry that was the final straw. they quite simply couldn't ignore what was going on any longer.

in the longer term, i think it was a good thing. the jumps and drops that were being built weren't sustainable and I never thought triscombe was really the place for them. The stuff on the far side of the valley goes back to how triscombe used to be, not the jump, huck, jump motorways that sprung up over the last year or so.


there was never any chance of a race there, the infrastructure simply isnt there and i believe the forestry got sued bigtime a long time back when there used to be XC races run in those woods.

could you imagine getting a 150 cars up that lane??

then trying to squeeze them into the car park.


Trishcombe has been suggested for years as a venue and it is just not feasble.