Setmurthy Woods Downhill
Trail Grades at this centre:
Orange Bike ParkSetmurthy Woods Downhill Summary
The lines at Setmurthy Woods have been removed by Forestry England. Please check the Setmurthy Trails Facebook Group for up to date information – and feel free to contact us if you find that this information is out of date.
Trail Centre Details
Setmurthy Woods is locoated a few miles from Cockermouth, just inside the Lake District National Park. It was well known at one point for its home made downhill lines with typically imaginative and enigmatic names such as Old Dog New Tricks and Cat in the Hat.
However – these downhills have now been officially closed and bulldozed by Forestry England:
According to Forestry England:
On 18 June Forestry England removed dangerous and unauthorised mountain bike trails at Setmurthy Woods in Allerdale.
Forestry England has supported mountain biking trails at Setmurthy for many years, and we appreciate that trails are much loved by the mountain biking community. However, as mountain bikers have been looking for new and more challenging bike routes there has been an increase in the number of mountain bike trails constructed without permission from land managers including Forestry England.
This has resulted in damage to the natural environment and led to numerous complaints about damage to trees and woodland. It has created dangerous hazards for which Forestry England could be held liable if any injuries were suffered by forest users. On these grounds alone we had a duty to remove the wild trail in question.
Forestry England in Cumbria is taking a zero tolerance approach from today – all unauthorised trails have been removed. They are inherently dangerous to inexperienced riders who may inadvertently stray on to the course. The features are not of a type that we are prepared to accept because the consequence of serious injury – or worse.”
https://www.forestryengland.uk/article/wild-trails-removed-setmurthy-woods
Some of the old lines are reported to still be rideable, but all the interesting/dangerous features have been removed.
There is however light at the end of the tunnel with the Setmurthy Trail Public Group on Facebook looking to re-establish the lines on a more official level by taking over the building and maintenance of the trails at Setmurthy.
In light of the controversy and the likeliness of the routes being removed at any time, we have not included any specific routes at this centre at present. We suggest you follow the Facebook Group for up to date information and they may be willing to pass on more recent information.
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Nighthawk_85 on Foter.com / CC BY-SA
Facilities:
No facilities or official parking.
Plenty of accommodation and facilities in nearby Cockermouth or in the Lake District National Park.