PERSPECTIVES
Forest Fun A new facility at Fineshade Woods now attracts more than just naturalists, as Nik Ellis discovers
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s kids have grown up through the years, each generation has had its extreme sport to go along with it – skateboarding, rollerblading, BMXing. Now mountain biking has taken a lead as the sport that makes parents worry, and teenage adrenalin surge. Living in Lincolnshire has always been tough for the youth, due to the lack of specialised facilities. Stamford used to be lucky enough to have a skate park, but this fell into disrepair and had to be taken down. This created a void for young people in the area, left with nowhere to go, and nothing to do. Not all youngsters can pester their parents enough to force lifts to skate parks located in large towns and cities (Leicester, Corby), so a need for something closer became clear. Out of this void a new enthusiasm in mountain biking has arisen. There is no need for ramps, rails, or skate parks; just a mound of mud, and a forest trail is more than enough to satisfy the urge for an adrenalin rush for hours on end. Very luckily a new series of ‘blue skill sections’ have been build at Fineshade Woods, located just off the A43. So what’s a blue skill section? It’s a separate part of the current cycle trail, added to the route around Fineshade. They vary from downhill single tracks, with small jumps and berms (raised corners created to help gain speed around the sections), to a small rock garden (boulders and rocks laid out to be ridden over). All of these are not very tricky for an experienced rider, but do offer a relief from cycling around Rutland Water every weekend. Also just over the road from Fineshade is the Red Route in Wakerley Woods. This is an unsurfaced single track route – only 6km in length – but lots of fun if ridden fast and hard. Couple this with a new cycle centre just opened at Top Lodge, selling bikes, clothing, parts and accessories as well as a tea room, and you have a great day out. Fineshade is a great place not just for teenagers, but families as a whole.
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Fineshade Cycle centre FactFile: Fineshade Woods, Northamptonshire, Nr. Corby, NN17 3BB 01780 440 899 Mon - Fri : 09.00 -17.30 Sat/Sun : 09.00 - 18.30
RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING September 2011
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