June 2017 | 25
Continuing work to increase access to the countryside
For over 15 years , Denbighshire council and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB have been increasing access for mountain bikes through the Ride the Clwyds and Ride Hiraethog projects , which mapped circular routes on the rights-of-way network for mountain bikers and published them on dedicated websites . This evolved into Ride North Wales , which combined two websites into one ( ridenorthwales . co . uk ) and added linear multi-day routes and a mobile app making routes available all the time , even without internet connection . The Rights of Way Improvement Plan and the AONB Management plan have identified that there are limited rights of way for horse riders and cyclists and as a result , key routes for users with access to only a small proportion of the network are being prioritised . The North Wales Cycling Centre of Excellence project improved and opened existing bridleways around Denbighshire . The project also created a cycle path at Llyn Brenig , going around the reservoir entirely off-road and created ten kilometres of new bridleway near Moel Famau , linking key areas within the Clwydian Range and avoiding visitor and habitat pressure on a busy footpath . Permissive bridleways have been created though agri-environment schemes and individual agreements , and have been valuable additions to the network .
Following years of growth in the mountain bike sector , with little growth in the available rights of way network , access to the countryside is now firmly on the list of Welsh government priorities . There are often complicated and contentious issues around maintaining and increasing access for all user groups , not just mountain bikes . Through cycling advocacy groups , trail users and land managers coming together , with the support of government , making changes to the rights of way network will become easier and a modern network , representative of changing recreational habits and land management practices , will result . A network which is mindful of the cultural and wildlife importance of Wales at a local and landscape level is imperative , with users respecting designations and restrictions where they are needed .
1 http :// www . cyclinguk . org / campaign / trails-wales
2 http :// gov . wales / about / cabinet / cabinetstatements / 2017 / accesstooutdoors /? lang = en
Find out more :
Ride North Wales : www . ridenorthwales . co . uk Facebook , Twitter , Instagram @ RideNorthWales Snowdonia Active : www . Snowdonia-active . com Twitter @ SnowdoniaActive Open MTB : Facebook and Twitter @ OpenMTB Cycling UK : www . cyclinguk . org Facebook @ CyclingUK Twitter @ WeAreCyclingUK Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB : Twitter @ Clwyd _ Dee _ AONB Mountain Bike Wales : mbwales . com Facebook and Twitter @ mbwales