UKC

This might be the wrong forum but ..

Walna Scar road is now permamently off-limits to motorised vehicles:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-16942068

ALC

In reply to a lakeland climber:
'Bout time!

In reply to Wiley Coyote:

Agreed, but when it was closed last time trail bikers didn't take much notice.

In reply to a lakeland climber:
strange, as when I went up it at new year it was being massively re-engineered, to what looked like motorised standards? Seemed excessive and mainly vandalism IMHO.

In reply to Jim at Work:
I suspect part of the engineering work is to put in wide drainage channels to put off the trail bikers. Sadly it's more likely to encourage them (while pissing off the MTBers).

In reply to a lakeland climber:

Yeah, when I was up there a few months ago there was a couple of JCBs and they seemed to be making a right mess. The sections that had already been re-engineered looked like you could drive a (insert car with very low ground clearance) up it. Surely this was uttery pointless and a total waste of money, if they have just closed it to all motorised vehicles anyway!

In reply to a lakeland climber:

So does anyone know where the restriction starts? Will you still be able to get up to the common land there for camping/parking etc?

In reply to Hephaestus:
I'm assuming that the asphalt section from Coniston village to the gated start of the rough track (& the parking there) isn't facing the ban, it is public road???

In reply to Jim at Work:
According to the grough report "Any motorist or motorbiker now using Walna Scar Road between Coniston and Seathwaite will be committing an offence."

In reply to Hephaestus:

My guess would be either at the car park just through the gate or by Boo Tarn where the quarry track turns right.

At the Seathwaite end it's probably just through the gate before the utility track to the reservoir turns left.

Just guesses though.

ALC

In reply to a lakeland climber: far cry from back in the 60,s and 70,s when we used to camp up there at bank holidays and leave the cars never ever had a car broken into ..

In reply to victorclimber:

One time climbing on Dow, couldn't find my car key at the end of the day. Spent the time walking back down to Boo Tarn wondering how we were going to get home.

Got to the car to find my key in the driver's door!

Nothing had been taken.

ALC

In reply to Ridge:

No they didn't, did they. I took a photo of one guy sitting next to his bike with the number clearly visible and sent it to National Park officer who deals with these issues. He said not worth pursuing as there was no evidence the guy had actually ridden his bike! Pushed it halfway up to the col, I s'pose. It is noticeable, though, what tiny number plates a lot of these bikes have, as if they didn't want to be identified! Isn't there a minimum legal size for the letters/numbers?

In reply to Rog Wilko:
There is, but if the bikes not on a public road the regs won't apply.

In reply to Ridge: They probably used a road to get there, though. Or maybe not.

In reply to Rog Wilko: I think the problem is in the name, Walna Scar 'Road', it's been called that since a long time before I first went along it over 50 years ago, but it is still an attractive name to trail bikers.

In reply to Al Evans:

Used to park up in the car park then walk down to the Sun for a few then walk back and kip in the motor and back out climbing on Dow the next day. Great times.

Spent my first wedding anniversary in the camper parked up there. Wok to a stunning sunrise, in a cloudless October sky.

It was saddening though to see that people had been driving further and further away from the dug out car park and the wider area was a mess of tyre tracks, litter and old bonfirese

In reply to John Rushby:

Well at least it wasn't those filth trail-bike riding scum then! God forbid that normal car drivers could have actually caused some damage to a legal road.

In reply to Toreador:
Hmmm.. that makes Dow a bit of a walk now (as if it wasn't already!)
and please no 'in my day's - I'm old enough to remember that in my day, we used to drive up (I can still remember the stink of burning clutches).

In reply to a lakeland climber:

I wonder if you will still get the summer night raves going on between the walna scar car park and the cheeky camping spots higher up. I remember coming down from Dow late one evening and it was in full swing, with a big winnibago (sp?) camper van stuck in the drainage gully. Was a bit surreal.

In reply to John Ww: Good point. People should be allowed to drive where they want and rip up whatever they want.

In reply to Jim at Work:
Had a bit of a dig around last night, and it appears like the order may just relate to the bridleway, ie starting from the car park. But this was far from clear, I couldn't see any categorical statements, and the documents of the recent decision don't seem to be online yet.

In reply to link: Bloody hope so! Get amongst it.

In reply to Toreador:

It could be easier to find but yes, just the bridleway:


http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/aboutus/committee-meetings-calendar/archive-...

http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/169093/2011_01_1...

In reply to Bulls Crack:
Thanks guys. The thought of lugging a full rack from the gate is daunting enough, given my tired old knees...