UKC

5.45 pm this evening (sun evening), 2 trail bikers - no reg, on the footpath above the crag. Burbage North Burbage North
Did anyone else see them? I got to the top of a route around the 20ft crack area just as they passed. Couldn't believe what I was seeing tbh. I got a bit of footage on my phone, but by the time I got into a position to get it, they were in the distance.
I'll contact Eastern Moors partnership I guess.

In reply to Dominic Green:

I don't know what the legality is of trail bikes on open land. I was amazed to see a big group of them all over the Black Mountain a couple of weeks ago. They were following a leader identified with a reflective bib and went right over the summit of Bannau Sir Gaer.

In reply to pasbury:

I don't know what the legality is of trail bikes on open land. I was amazed to see a big group of them all over the Black Mountain a couple of weeks ago. They were following a leader identified with a reflective bib and went right over the summit of Bannau Sir Gaer.

It's against the law to ride motorbikes on Open Land.
If it's been done commercially, then that too is against the law.

In reply to FactorXXX:




And if it is being done commercially with the landowners consent?

In reply to Dominic Green:

There's a green lane/ byway that runs slightly further east of the crag. The responsible and law abiding off road community never use this as a convenient access to go tearing off over the rest of the moor. nononono. Must be the tiny minority of irresponsible users who give everyone else a bad name.

FWIW, the police, DCC highways, the park, and everyone else are well aware of the problem here and elsewhere, but it's next to impossible to manage without a big input of resources

In reply to timjones:

And if it is being done commercially with the landowners consent?

Don't know, but imagine it's OK.

In reply to FactorXXX:

Section 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes it an offence to drive a motorised vehicle off the road:
(a) on to or upon any common land, moorland or land of any other description, not being land forming part of a road, or
(b) on any road being a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway.

There are various exceptions such as being allowed to go 15 yards to park or if you can show it was an emergency.

Obviously land owners such as farmers can do what they want and can give others permission to do what they want but if permission was given for someone to "lead" a group of motorbikes off road on a regular basis then I suspect that you might need planning permission for change of use which I doubt would be forthcoming in a National Park.

I have in the last couple of years observed off road bikes being ridden over the Silverflowe in the Galloway Hills which is a floating bog and SSSI, up High Pike in the Northern Fells, and more recently up Ennerdale towards Blacksail Youth Hostel. As mentioned above, these bikes tend not to have number plates on so there is not much the authorities can do with a report. The only thing that one can do is if one sees people loading or unloading trail bikes from a van, try and get a few photos and the van number plate and report them to the police. If they are riding them on the road they are breaking the law and if they are riding them off road, ditto, so the police should, at the very least be able to "have a word".

The one exception to all this are rough tracks that are officially roads (like the Walna Scar Track near Coniston), so you can ride this on a motorbike, but you need tax, insurance, number plates and a licence.

I'm a biker myself and love riding my bike but I don't think they have any place in our wild mountain areas.

In reply to Stephen Reid - Needle Sports:

Walna Scar has been closed to motorised vehicles for several years

In reply to Hat Dude:

I hadn't realised that, but a good thing!

In reply to Dominic Green:

In the White Peak the use of bridleways by motorbikes seems routine, typically Sunday mornings. Often without reg plates they seem quite happy to ride the back lanes (public highways) between bridleways, often gathering at the edge of the village. Some years ago the police declared they no longer had the resources to police this matter and it was declared 'License to ride on bridleways given' in the Peak Advertiser or similar (can't find a link). I'm more of a live-and-let-live type but in the last few months landowners have been blocking bridleways on the weekends (parking trailers behind gates so they can't open). Still passable by foot but a bit annoying by mountain bike.

In reply to Toccata:


Not to mention if you are on a horse!

In reply to FactorXXX:



Commercial use of open land for motorised recreation requires specific planning permission. It doesn't tend to be granted in National Parks or AONBs.