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anyone got the grid references for the start and finish of Frank's tank trail please?
Can't help you with grid refs, but you will be able to find trail as a strava segment.
Franks Tank is here at the end of the BW descent (Frank was one of the estate gamekeepers and the tank used to hold water)
The route is still a bit of a mess.
Thanks. Which way does it run east-west?
p.s. Not going for a while anyway.
I believe the trail ends at the tank, so would start at the top of the golf course and run east to west...
DrP
Thanks. Which way does it run east-west?
Well it runs both ways, but east to west is more fun 🙂
Thanks guys. Yeah I thought it ended at the tank, but that looks more uphill and Strava looked to start at the tank.
Strava section "franks tank" runs downhill and "up franks tank" does what it says on the tin...
I wouldn't go near frank's for a while. Been wet a boggy as hell all winter. Not much fun I can tell you, either up or down.
Simon
Frank's Tank is a fine example of how mountain bikes with the help of water can totally shag a trail. There should be a voluntary winter ban on it.
I'm off down there today.. Going nowhere near Franks Tank though (dunno where it is)
I'm booking the last day of sunshine.
😀
I wouldn't go near frank's for a while. Been wet a boggy as hell all winter. Not much fun I can tell you, either up or down.
Simon's spot on. It's always shite in winter.
Ian
Dez, Rich - you interested at a weekend at mine 1st June...??
I've emailed about it...
DrP
Yup its in my calendar, Did you get my reply to your email?
torsoinalake
"Frank's Tank is a fine example of how mountain bikes with the help of water can totally shag a trail. There should be a voluntary winter ban on it"
I'll second that.
Totally agree that Frank's Tank is a mess. The messier it gets the more riders look for a fresh line and end up causing more damage.
I rode it a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't help but think about trying to repair it. This and several other routes in the area are all in need of a bit of TLC. Maybe local clubs, shops & landowners should form an initiative to maintain the local routes.
I've always found it surprising that the National Trust, local council and landowners have not embraced mountain biking. It's a great opportunity for the local economy, whilst not at the expense of conservation. In it's current form the environment is coming off worse. Something has to change.
Anyone with advise and experience on how to go about this?
chipsngravy I think you've described a perfect world which we'd all love to be a part of.
unfortunately many authorities, groups and land owners seem to think that MTBers are out to destroy everything and sod everyone, which couldn't be further from the truth. There are some areas where these types of collaborations really work and thrive and benefit everyone, but the are some areas where I don't think it'll ever happen e.g. my local area the New Forest the authorities and land owners are absolute bigots
I love the Purbecks, it's really not that far from me, I really should ride there more.
I don't think the national trust would be at all interested in working with local mountain bikers:(. But I could be wron.
Simon
Frank's Tank is a fine example of how mountain bikes with the help of water can totally shag a trail. There should be a voluntary winter ban on it.
THIS
Astonishing that the local club and local bike shop organised rides are the worst perpetrators and insist riding it in the winter.
Are the bridleways round there well marked? or s local knowledge the way ahead?
We have some family just outside Bournemouth and hoping to head down again in October half term time, I plan to let the family have a day at the castle and the train trip down to swannage and meet them here.
There is plenty of signposting and with the help of a OS map you will be able to put together a route quite easily. Avoid the STW route guide, it rides stuff the wrong way and with too much road.
As for trails and maintenance, there is a very visible presence of mountain bikers departing from the ferry (some group ride evenings you will see 50+ riders going off). Then you have the National Trust who are making bizarre trail maintenance decisions - blocking off the gully on FT and then levelling the scrub next to it, and their love of throwing down gravel being examples. So it is a pity that these two are not meeting somewhere in the middle.
I'm not a fan of joining in group rides and/or clubs, so it may be something is going on that I am not aware of. It's not very visible if it is.
Wiggle sent 1,000 bikes down it on a single afternoon in November for their offroad sportive. This made it worse, but only made it worse sooner.
No wonder the spoilt whiners at studland village council meetings are complaining about bikes on legal rights of way. Some locals have been seen throwing tacks down! Eeeer: tubeless, dogs, deer, kids in crappy plimsoles... Irresponsible beyond belief.
The police have been cool, stating there is no problem with cyclists, it's legal, and there is nothing they can do.
Rode down it recently and it's rutted to hell. Swamps have largely gone, but many wet sections remain.
But only half a mile from this on the studland side the nazional trust have improved another trail.... Which is destroying a trail of character and paving it with imported non-indigenous gravel. I really don't know what is worse:
- genuine wear and tear
- gravelling trails so fat tourists can walk in the countryside. Whilst we have pavements outside Greggs they don't need sanitised paths in the hills.
If you walk in the countryside and can't deal with some rocks and puddles. **** off and walk in parks or at the gym.
The trail improvements are very amateur compared with what you see at Afan for example. They put wheel eating dips in, drainage the fails to work and link a muddy section to a muddier section.
The nazional trust have also put no cycling signs on footpaths:fair enough. But no "no horse riding" signs? And the local riding school use these FOOTpaths for profit.
It's a effed up situation, with cyclists getting the blame, and many local factions acting illegally.