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Not sure if anybody has seen this but it is not good news.
It is bloody terrifying in the winter but one of my favourite summer riding spots.
An update from Forestry England on the continued closure of Aston Hill. If your a fan of Aston Hill make sure your sitting down with some tissues at the ready!
Aston Hill Bike Park | Temporary closure for tree felling and re-investment
Why is Aston Hill still closed?
Following a recent tree safety assessment at Aston Hill Bike Park, which has identified a large number of ash trees with Chalara ash dieback, we have decided to temporarily close the bike park until tree felling works have been completed to remove the worst affected trees.
Ash dieback is a highly destructive disease of ash trees which causes crown dieback and mortality and consequently, there is a heightened risk to users from falling dead branches and trees. Due to the large number of trees affected and the speed of deterioration observed over the past year, it is currently not safe to open the bike park. We plan to bring in specialist tree felling contractors in 2021 to fell the worst affected ash trees. The felling of the affected trees will be combined with the ‘thinning’ out of trees across the whole site which will benefit the woodland ecology and help maintain tree health for the future.
How long will the closure last?
Routine tree harvesting works had already been planned to take place this autumn but were delayed and we now hope to start works in the first quarter of 2021. Whilst we will progress the tree felling operations as quickly as possible, it may take 6 to 8 months to complete and re-open the bike park.
How will this affect my Membership?
We are working with Bike Park Chilterns, who have formed a CIC (Community Interest Company), to manage the situation and closure, with the objective of re-opening the park with new investment as soon as it is safe to do so. Due to the length of closure, we have decided to close the current Membership scheme and will refund members for the remaining months on their Membership.
Let's be honest no one was planning to ride it much through the wet months, but it still sucks!
2021 getting off to a bad start 🙁
Hopefully it opens back up when the works are completed, might be a good opportunity to refresh some of the tracks if they get damaged at all.
Less tree cover might mean it dries from being death icy clay faster
It is sad news. Saw the signs up on Tuesday but hadn't seen the update above which gives some more colour.
Hopefully back and better than ever in the new year.
Might start the work in Q1, maybe finish in 8 months. So closed till 2022 then. Yeah ok. I place bets on it never reopening seeing as how much the locals hate it existing.
Plus tidworth undergoing the same.
Ignore me, im just really down about everything today 🙁
That was my fear when reading it too @daveylad. I know locals have complained about parking and anti-social behaviour for a while now.
Let's hope that it does re-open, like I say, I really like the place.
That's a bugger. Let's hope it doesn't lead to permanent closure and that it does get some more investment; it's a great place to ride as it is, although I miss the burger van. I was hoping to get back there over Xmas, too, although with tier 3 looming in the next couple of days it would have been off the cards, anyway.
Covid permitting, I wonder where Ian at Firecrest is going to be doing his coaching?
Yeah ok. I place bets on it never reopening seeing as how much the locals hate it existing.
any worse than any other grumpy locals at any other venue in the country?
He has somewhere nearby lined up I saw on his facebook.
If the bloody forestry fixed the card machine they would have enough income to get a team of chainsawers in & get this fixed in a few weeks, but as I mentioned, I get the feeling this is a cover story to ultimate closure. Oh look, we have discovered a rare snail during the work & must now close to avoid anyone disturbing it.
I'm glad Ian's got somewhere sorted, he's a good bloke - always positive and helpful and he knows his stuff.
It would be a real shame if it did shut down; there's precious little riding of its ilk around here.
It seems there is an update at last -
"We can finally bring you the update we’ve all been waiting for! Work starts from Monday 8th November on the preparation work to remove the Ash Trees and complete the tree harvesting work with the machinery arriving on Tuesday @astonhillbikepark. 🎉🥳 This puts us on target to re-open in Spring 2022. We will of course bring you more news as we get it!"
Here's hoping everything is back up and running for next summer.
One of the scariest places I’ve ever ridden when wet. I’ll never forget doing a really rooty DH trail in the pouring rain and basically controlled falling all the down the hill, with absolutely no prospect of stopping even if I’d wanted to.
Loved it. Hope it sorts itself out!
Good news, I don't visit often but not being able to go for a while has really made me appreciate the place
+1 for Ian being a top bloke, the youth team he coaches are really missing out atm
Pretty much evey broken bone I've had has been there. Miss it, glad to hear there's progress.
Hadn't been since the early 2000's and Mike happened to be looking after the carpark at a Pedalhounds, was amazed he recognized me (I had hair then).