Welcome To Wales

Better land access for mountain bikers could be just around the trail

Mountain bikers are one step closer to improved access in Wales, after the Welsh government agreed with Trails 4 Wales’s call for a fairer rights-of-way system. 

Back in 2015, the government put out a green paper asking people what they wanted to change about access to the outdoors for recreation.

With the help of Trails 4 Wales, formed by MTB advocacy group OpenMTB and Cycling UK, thousands of mountain bikers responded to the call, and now it seems like we’ve actually been listened to.

“Wales needs a better and fairer approach to public access for outdoor recreation,” the Welsh government said in a statement. “There is unnecessary inconsistency in the way paths and places open to the public are currently recorded, changed, and restricted.” Most excitingly though, the government hinted at potential legislation to do something about it: “The law needs to reflect current recreational needs.”

Improved access really could be close, and our best guess is that paths in ‘open country’ areas, defined in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, could be opened up to bikes and horses too. But what can we do as riders to promote the cause?

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