Volunteers blaze a bike trail

Volunteers and council workers get to work on the new bike trail

Volunteers are helping Oldham Council workers build a family-friendly mountain bike trail on Crompton Moor.

The group, which included cyclists and members of the Crompton Moor User Group, joined officers from the Council’s Parks and Countryside Service and contractors.

They helped construct parts of the trail and pump track on the spoils heap at Brushes Clough.

A pump track is a series of rollers and mounds of earth built in a loop that can be ridden continually without the need for pedalling. The one kilometre trail, graded green for families and beginners, is the result of a number of public meetings and workshops where local people said what they wanted to see on the Moor.

Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for citizens and neighbourhoods, said: “Local people have been involved from the very start and at every stage of our plans to help more people enjoy Crompton Moor.

“This latest collaboration joins the skills of council workers with the enthusiasm, energy and talent of locals and mountain bike riders, which can only have a positive impact on the whole project.”

The authority says the work is part of its plan to allow greater access to Crompton Moor while protecting its character and wildlife, and encouraging more people to enjoy the wider countryside.