Case study - Lee Quarry trail assessment

Situation

The newly developed mountain bike trails at Lee Quarry are part of the ambitious Adrenaline Gateway scheme, ".. a major visitor destination development initiative for Pennine Lancashire. It will grow visitor numbers exponentially by increasing the scope of, and participation in outdoor lifestyle sports sector."

As the work neared completion in 2008 Lancashire County Council’s Countryside Service, leading the multi-agency scheme partnership, needed the following:

• Independent expert assessments of the Red and Black routes, from a user’s perspective,

• Advice on the line of the final sections of the Red route; and

• Advice on the siting, design and realisation of a mountain biking skills area

Our solution

After riding the new Red and Black routes many times and investigating the proposed skills area and site meetings at the Quarry we provided the Countryside Service with detailed written and on-site assessments that looked at:

• How were the routes to ride and to race on?

• Did they have a good balance of technicality and flow?

• Did they show progression?

• Did they present riders with options such as passing points?

• A race route for the launch event Adrenaline Live at Lee Quarry in July 2008.

• Practical issues such as route signage and information boards, how the routes would fare in differing weather conditions and improvements to drainage

In addition, the Service was keen to see the Quarry used by training organisations like BikeRight! so we gave advice on the features needed in a skills training area and on its layout. We then gave feedback once the area had been developed.

Benefits

Lee Quarry is rapidly gaining a profile nationwide as an excellent and challenging trail centre away from the ’usual areas’ such as the Lake District, North Wales and Scotland. The work that BikeRight! has undertaken at Lee Quarry has contributed to this.

In particular the skills area has helped to make the Quarry, which lacks family and beginner-friendly Green or Blue routes, more accessible. The proof of that has been the considerable use made of it by BikeRight! and other trainers for a steady stream of groups new to mountain biking.

Related projects

• Whinlatter Forest trail assessment

• Clayton Vale off-road route