Hosted in the Northumberland national park’s Upper Coquet Valley, the relatively remote location makes for a terrifically authentic event. This year, the Naughty Northumbrian enduro (Aug 27-30) will feature six stages. Riders will have Saturday to practice and Sunday to race, with the route ranging over 40km and totalling 1700m of liaison pedalling elevation.

If you like your enduro riding steep and technical, the Naughty Northumbrian has been one of the best mountain bike must-do events since 2017. The Naughty Northumbrian also gets approval from Thrash Free Trails and Brendog.

Proper enduro riding

Proper enduro riding

The Naughty Northumbrian (official website) trails rate as true black graded descents by EWS standards. This is not an enduro-lite event by any stretch.

Riders can expect steep chutes and a challenging day’s racing if they make the journey up to Northumbria, this weekend.

To sample enduro offering, one rider who has taken to the trails ahead of the event, is British downhill and free ride phenom Brendan Fairclough.

TFT meets NN

Brendan showed just how rewarding the Naughty Northumbrian’s trails can be to ride on the limit. for a rider who personifies the foot-out-flat-out style. Part of the event’s appeal is the race-only nature of these enduro stages, with trails built by hand.

Keeping it tidy – outside the tape

Organisers of the Naughty Northumbrian are deeply aware of how privileged they are to host a six-stage enduro event in such pristine wilderness.

The Naughty Northumbrian will adhere to the best Thrash Free Trails (TFT) protocols to show the appropriate respect and commitment to sustainability.

Following from Red Bull Hardline, the Naughty Northumbrian becomes the second event to pilot accreditation from TFT.

A noteworthy course detail that helps to reduce the event’s environmental impact is using hemp tape for 40% of the course marking, instead of traditional plastic hazard tape.