Kielder mountain bike route damaged by record floods, but volunteers repair trail in record time

BT workers divert from a team building day in Kielder to repair a badly damaged stretch of the iconic Deadwater Trail – one of the highest and most popular mountain bike routes in England

Record rainfall in the North of England damaged one of the most popular mountain bike routes in Kielder Water & Forest Park, Northumberland. However, thanks to swift action repairs have been completed very quickly. Flood water cascaded more than 2,000 feet down Deadwater Fell last week and badly damaged 100 metres of the black-rated Deadwater Trail. The surging water carved craters up to three feet deep.

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But in record time rangers linked up with north east staff from telecoms company, BT, who were on a corporate team building day. They transported 15 tonnes of stone and rock to the near summit to fill in the pot-marked route allowing it to re-open after just six days off-limits.

A mountain bike rider on the exhilarating, black rated Deadwater trail at Kielder. It is one of the highest and most popular routes in the North of England, and was opened by Steve Cram in 2007.

Alex MacLennan, Forestry Commission Public Affairs Manager for the North East, said: “Staff who have worked in Kielder for 30 years say they have never seen flood water like this on Deadwater. Overall the forest drainage system has worked remarkably well, but the damage to a forest road which over spilled onto the Deadwater Trail was very serious. Fortunately everyone pulled together, including BT volunteers, who were already slated to help us build a new trail section in Kielder, but who switched tasks to provide crucial help in reinstating the damaged route.”

Amazingly, all biking trails in Kielder Water & Forest Park are currently useable – a tribute to their all-weather design and construction.  Details on bike routes at Kielder can be found at www.visitkielder.com.