[Closed] The end of Lee Quarry?

Losing the carpark won't be the end of Lee Quarry, a lot of bikers start elsewhere (e.g. Bury, Rammy, Whitworth) and just include Cragg and Lee within a bigger loop

The problem lies with who might occupy the site, I grew up around a traveller site and it was always 50/50 to how well the occupants behaved.

Usually if the traveller kids nicked your bike or beat you up you could go to their parents and they got dealt with, but when the good travellers started finding accomodation elsewhere thats when the ***hole travellers moved in.

Constant threats from the adults, constant crime they even encourage the kids to go out stealing or vandalise vehicles coming to use the stables at the bottom of the lane.

So yeah my biggest concern would be that they use the quarry as a means to steal peoples bikes. If you do get the latter moving in it will become a personal motorbike/quad track within a week.

Losing the carpark won’t be the end of Lee Quarry, a lot of bikers start elsewhere (e.g. Bury, Rammy, Whitworth) and just include Cragg and Lee within a bigger loop

It would kill it off for a lot of bikers like me who have to drive over to it. I really like Lee and Cragg, but the benefit to me is to park at the bottom and ride up

Not to minimise this as a problem, I certainly wouldn't be happy to leave my car on the park if I wasn't local - I think there's a real threat from crossers using the trails at Lee and Cragg. I have had a couple of close encounters as I have been going down berms at speed and m/bikes have been coming up out of control .Also a lot of walkers attribute the damage to the moors to us .

I think if people are driving from afar it might be an idea to park at stubbylee park and ride the short distance.

Used to love it and go all the time as it's only about 40-50 mins in the car.  Since the motorbikes got more frequent, I haven't been back (nearly a year now).

It's a shame really as a lot of work has been put into making it a good place, but then it just gets ruined within days. Got fed up of having crossers coming the wrong way up the MTB trails.

Agree with the above, used to go up quite frequently but have not been back after a trip that was ruined by motor bikes.

Yep. Took the kids up there a couple of months back and there were just scrotes on crossers ripping round everywhere. They've just taken the place over and trashed it. Its only down the road but I'll not be bothering with the place. And the damage they've done to the moorland up by Cragg is ridiculous

Playing devil's advocate a little but doesn't this show that with the increasing number of closed byways that there's a need for an off road motorbike area? Not that they should be taking something that isn't theirs.

@thepodge - there used to be an "unofficial" trials bike place near Denholme  http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=405629&Y=435817&A=Y&Z=120 but some of the riders kept breaking down the fencing and riding across the neighbouring farmer's land. He understandably got pissed off. About seven or eight years' ago the council put loads of massive boulders in the parking area and effectively shut it down.

So even when there is a facility, it's not enough.

There is a crosser facility at Back Cowm, they just don't want to pay to use it.

There is a mix of local "ride from the door" and travelling crosser riders that abuse the Moors and the quarry. Until there is another concerted effort to take their bikes off them the problem will just keep getting worse.

On parking at Lee Quarry, the council car park has CCTV

Most of the time I go to Lee Quarry the motorbikes are there. It is definitely used by Motorbikes more than Bicycles. It gets in a bad state every Winter and on Wet Summers, puddles everywhere. The problem is getting worse.

The Motorbikes can completely ruin a session at Lee Quarry.

Even if there is somewhere else for them to go, they will still use Cragg and Lee as it is so good and it's somewhere different than staying on the legal tracks all the time.

@whitestone - they still use it, I saw some on there on Sat evening as I drove past.

There used to be police on Suzuki dr's and the countryside ranger quite often patrolling however with cut backs these are no longer visible.

As mentioned above-there is Cowm leisure in the next quarry along but these 'bike life's ****ers won't pay and are too thick to understand access/legal routes so the moors and everything on it gets ripped to shreds.

The problem with the travellers camp at the bottom is that the Rossendale valley is just about clinging on by its finger nails to the 'Rossendale adrenaline gateway’ -which was the trails being built at Lee& Cragg in an effort to copy the 7staines/Welsh Forrest commission tourism drive for the valley. This will probably be the final nail in it.

[Crossers] understand access/legal routes

Given the amount of off piste cycling i see at trail centres, parking in passing places to avoid pay and display, and the broad acceptance of "cheeky" trail use on here i find this (and all the other comments to similar effect) a bit laughable to be honest.

If it's anything like round here the camp will tend to attract the trouble free variety of traveler anyhow and the pita ones will continue to stop where they like and ignore the camp exactly as they do now.

@dangeourbrain

Not really the same thing though is it?

Just because a few do that, does that mean it's OK for motor bikes to use the site illegally?

The parking in passing areas gets on my tits to be honest, but is "off piste" stuff in forests really that bad? I suppose you're not going to hit anyone hiking up the other way.

I do dislike the bro-morons who rip down shared paths towards walkers and other users, but that's just a case of dicks being dicks.

As for the traveler issue, I've grown up in an area that was plagued every year and never had good experiences with them.  Then again, I've never been near one of the official camp sites, so maybe they attract the more legit, honest and peaceful folk?

The noise made by the Crossers alone is enough to put me off staying at Lee Quarry for long.

The Motorbikes have been getting MUCH more frequent and numerous every year for the last 4 years.

They have taken over the place

The Motorbikes will be the end of Lee Quarry

Well it certainly won't help will it.

Lee and Cragg are now MX tracks as far as I can tell, with all the big ruts and holes that come with it.

It's like Mad Max up in them there hills.

Part of the problem is that 'Stacky' (stacksteads) quarry was always for years home to scroats on mx'ers and flogged out 4x4's - Lee and Cragg being built and the countryside ranger kept em away for a few years but local authority cuts mean there isn't any deterant.

I don't ride there anymore and I live in Rawtenstall 2 miles down the road

Shame really, the area isn't that good for riding when you take out Cragg and Lee.

During the dry weather we've had recently Cragg & Lee have still been riding really well despite the Motorbike abuse. However when it's wet it's a whole different ride altogether, puddles everywhere, as it was from late Summer last year - through the Winter - to the beginning of May this year.

I've not been up there for ages (and I'm only 20 minutes drive away) because of the MXers.  I got a load of abuse off a couple of them and nearly hit some others coming the wrong way on a section of MTB trail.

It's a real shame as Lee Quarry used to be one of my favourite places to ride.

I think that there is also an issue of upkeep and keeping things going with the council.There have been lots of projects , for instance the sculpture trail and the bike trails where they have literally paid thousands to set things up just to watch them rot because it's too expensive to maintain them - very sad

Another problem with Lee Quarry - Runners who think it's Okay to use the Bike trails. Three times now I've been biking round there and had a runner in my way (twice going DH, Once going Uphill) and the tracks are often narrow so not always easy to overtake.

Nowhere near as big a problem as the MX though

Aren't the Police bikes busy chasing moped thieves in Manchester?

Never been there, so genuine question.

Are they way marked trails there? How do you know which is an MTB trail? and which is the correct direction to ride in?

Never been there, so genuine question.

Are they way marked trails there? How do you know which is an MTB trail? and which is the correct direction to ride in?

That was part of the charm [seriously, not being funny], it was more a place to play on the bike with loads of different ways to ride it. The trials at Lee were reasonably obvious, but Cragg in particular was quite subtly marked as far as the intended trail went, and was easy to lose the 'way' the first few times as a lot of it looked similar. It was good for a different take on a trail centre than the more usual pine forests and hard gravel paths.

trevormcdonald - I'm not sure I get your comment on there not being good riding apart from the quarries [ unless you were being humorous ] . I think there's loads of good trails I'd rather ride than either quarry unless I tied them into as loop including scout moor and cowpe or ding

Lee Quarry is unusual in that it is an Urban Common, this means that MTB riders are there by permission, walkers and horse riders there by right. Signage would help establish priority but you can't get rid of them.

The Moto cross riders are just illegal , have no consent to be there and there isn't a good argument to abandon the quarry to them.

Policing of the area suffers from absentee landowners, being on the border of two forces and it not being seen as a habitat worthy of protection

Futures Park is being abandoned as a development area as what must surely be a significant fraud occurred when the land was (or was not) remediated. Companies cannot build there,, it is either a flood plain, contaminated or full of sewers. RBC have worked out that it is a lemon and are just trying to use it for the resolution of a difficult issue.

I would say it makes it easier for them to look after the issues that it will bring but long experience of notifying them that an illegal encampment is 100m from the person I am phoning doesn't give much hope.

I liked Lee Quarry. Used to go up there with the girlfriend. She was just starting out and could session parts to build confidence and skill, there was a good amount of progression there, It helped her riding immensely. But we don’t bother any more due to the MX crew. She doesn’t feel safe with them blasting around going up trails that are ment to be ridden down.

Its a shame because we live in manchester and its only 20 minutes away.

What's the latest at Lee? Was thinking of going tomorrow. Is the futures park car park useable? It's where I usually park up but it's been a while since I've been.

Be sure to let us know as no one else seems to go there now judging by the lack of responses. I’m thinking of going up next week.

Lee/Cragg Quarry and the moor that divides them is a dystopian post industrial wasteland of the first order. I doubt damage by crossers will make much difference. I'd much rather they rip that place up than other areas which are much nicer. Of course it's a shame if the trails are damaged after the work that's gone into building them but lets not get overly romantic what is basically post-industrial scar on the wider landscape.

dazh its not the damage to either quarry that is the issue, as you say both are hard standing .Its the damage to the moors getting there and the risk to other legitimate users.

There was some Knob on a crosser riding the trails at Havoc bike park the other day as well :/

Just got back. The car park was clear (no caravans!) I was the only person up there. It was much the same as it's always been, didn't really notice any appreciable damage by crossers.

Rode the black descent that has the dodgy drop to one side for the first time today so pretty pleased with that!

Edit - was surprised to see the cafe opposite has shut down, always seems to be busy when I've been in.