Mountain bikers in the North East of England could have some new trails added to a popular forest riding venue.

Proposals have been delivered for an upgrade of the Hamsterley Forest trail network. Forestry England owns and manages the 2000-hectare natural resource, which contains several mountain bike trails, and has announced plans to upgrade its mountain biking appeal.

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Riders have voiced their opinion regarding the grading of Hamsterley Forest’s trails. There are currently blue, red and black rated routes, but the general consensus has been that Hamsterley’s blue route is closer to a true green – making it a novice trail.

In response, Forestry England has tabled the idea of a new 5.4km mountain bike trail within Hamsterley. The Durham Country Council has received this suggestion and will now deliberate.

Hamsterley needs more flow and tech

The design of this new trail network is by Peter Laing. His goal is to add challenging and sustainable routes to Hamsterley Forest, increasing the venue’s eastern mountain biking route to 11km, by connecting this new blue trail to existing forest roads.

An experienced trail designer and builder, Laing’s proposed construction for the new Hamsterley Forest route, will use locally sourced stone, instead of mixing in tarmac and concrete.

Riders can expect some bermed corners, rollers that will link as jumps for the more experienced mountain biker, and some easily launchable drops.

Starting at the Hamsterley visitor centre, this proposed new blue trail, would navigate the planation in an anti-clockwise direction.