The Old Bob's Trail at the Forest of Dean features different skills areas to build rider confidence and technique
The Forest of Dean has announced the addition of a brand new green level trail to its repertoire. It is called Old Bob’s Trail and is graded green, or easy. At around 2km in length, it is aimed at families, bike trailers, balance bikes and those riding adaptive bikes.
The new trail is around 2km long and is suitable for adaptive bikes, balance bikes and bike trailers
Accessibility and inclusion
The new 2km long green graded trail is set to be a stepping stone between the pre-existing Colliers Trail family trail and the blue Verderers. Forestry England says the trail is suitable not only for families, including children riding balance bikes or those towing bike trailers, but also for adaptive bikes.
Old Bob’s Trail aims to fill a gap that Forestry England says is “currently missing.” This is, that it’s more accessible than other trails at the site, but that doesn’t mean it’s just a flat fire road. The trail will include “sweeping berms, mini rock gardens and fun rollers.”
The site already features two accessible trails
The centre is already the site of two accessible trails, Countdown and Launchpad. These were the first purpose-built trails for 4-wheeled manually powered cycles. The centre also offers adaptive bike hire through the charity, Goals Beyond Grass, and has a Changing Places accessible toilet facility on-site. Dan Weston, the Recreation Manager for Forestry England commented on the trail opening.
“This trail has been a dream of ours for a long time and it is fantastic to see it open and riders already enjoying it.
“We think Old Bob’s is a great addition to our trail network and fills a gap that has been missing. It is the perfect stepping stone for those that have mastered the family-friendly Colliers Trail, and who are looking to progress on to the more challenging blue-graded Verderers trail.
“As well as being accessible for those using a range of different adaptive cycles, we hope that Old Bob’s trail will be exciting for riders of any level, on any kind of bike.”
Forestry England wants the new trail to be a stepping stone from the family-friendly Colliers Trail
Forest of Dean Old Bob’s Trail
So why is it called Old Bob’s Trail? According to Forestry England, Old Bob’s was a pumping engine for the Cannop Colliery, one of the coal miles in the Forest of Dean. Many other trails within the site have names related to mining due to the location of the old colliery, and some of the old buildings are even still in use today.
Forestry England isn’t sure why it’s called Old Bob’s, but there is a suggestion that it is due to the bobbing action of the pump whilst it moved up and down. And that’s your history lesson for today, folks.
The build has just finished, with the trail opening. If you want to check out some of the other trails while you’re there, make sure you read our guide to the Forest of Dean before you set off on your travels.
The trail is being built by contractors On Track and is being paid for by Forestry England’s ‘Access for All’ programme, supported by funding from Defra.