Mountain bikers near Clitheroe are being blamed for causing damage to wildflower grassland at Cross Hill Quarry nature reserve, which has apparently been damaged due to people building “bike jumps.” The nature reserve, situated just outside of Clitheroe and near Brungerly Park, is a former quarry site and now a wildlife reserve run by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT).

According to Kim Coverdale, an East Lancashire reserves officer at The Wildlife Trust, public access to the site is now under threat as the land needs to recover.

“The quarry floor at Cross Hill Quarry is a rare surviving example of a species rich limestone grassland, but over the past few months areas of it have twice been dug up to create bike jumps.

“This causes substantial damage to this important habitat, and we may now even have to restrict public access to the area to allow it to recover. Our staff and volunteers work extremely hard to care for and preserve the nature reserve, and both the damage and potentially having to stop people from being able to enjoy it up close is really disappointing.”

Cross Hill Quarry grasslands damage

The reserve is home to meadows, woodland and the particular area that has been damaged contains wildflowers, which have seen a 97% decrease nationally since the 1930s – we should point out that’s not because of bike jumps. Wildflower levels have dropped in such an amount because of things like urbanisation, mechanisation and pesticides – not because some people with spades have tried to build a 2ft jump.

The imagery provided by the LWT shows some mess to the wildflower meadow and a primitive jump – not quite what we’d envisaged given the description of ‘substantial damage’. It also points to kids on bikes looking for somewhere to have fun, rather than serious mountain bikers. Which also raises the question of sufficient provision for recreation for local kids – something that’s often woefully inadequate.

That being said, while it may be tempting to go and dig at a local spot, unfortunately there are rules around where you can and cannot build your own trails. Things like the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 mean that without permission from the landowner or occupier, it is unlawful to uproot a wild plant – which applies to this local nature reserve.

So, if you do want to grab a spade and get involved in a local dig day, there are plenty across the country to get stuck into. Look online for your local trail association to see where they’re digging and when – bike shops are often a good source of local info on trail stewardship. Every little helps when it comes to community-led trail maintenance.