It’s been nearly a year since we started North Cardiff Trails Collective.
Sometimes doing a lot of work doesn’t really look like much at all. So, for transparency, here are some of the things NCTC has done in the last year:
- We’ve set up a website and social media – give us a follow on Facebook or Instagram if you don’t already.
- Defined the goals we’re looking to achieve.
- Built up trust with local builders and landowners, including NRW, Cardiff Council, Breedons & Wildlife Trust, so we’re now acting as a link between the two.
- We’ve been on a trail inspection and maintenance course, so as soon as we can, we’ll be able to officially adopt the care of trails in North Cardiff.
- We’ve also got a much better understanding of what is involved from association/admin side of things.
- And we threw a Spring Social with mountain biking themed Pub Quiz (thanks to the Lewis Arms for hosting!)
It’s also worth mentioning that we’re involved with the North Cardiff Woodlands project too. This project aims to build a trail network in North Cardiff for all user groups, and NCTC’s founders have been working on this for the last 2 years.
Garth Woods
A.K.A Steetly Woods/ Quarry Woods/ Little Garth/ Hoel Goch Woods
This woods is classed as an environmentally sensitive area because of the Beech trees and the vegetation associated with these trees (fun fact: there’s a rare type of orchid that only grows on the roots of the trees here).
As a result, NRW have some concerns about trails running too close to the trees and have asked us to help.
- To do this, we’re asking everyone to ride existing trails and avoid adding more trails to our footprint.
- We’re in talks with Breedons (who own the woods) and the local builders who’ve put in the hours to build these awesome trails.
- We’ve put forward a proposal for which trails we’ll look to adopt, and which we’ll give back to the wild.
- We’re planning to adopt mix of singletrack and steep jump lines, to reflect the wide range of trails in this wood.
The trails we’re looking to keep are in purple and the proposed climb is in yellow. We’ve made these decisions based on which trails are visibly ridden or maintained, as well as usage data from TrailForks and Strava heatmaps. The trails we’re proposing are:
We’re currently talking with Breedons about weather-proofing the climb with material from quarry, as well as putting up signs to designate MTB and walking trails which will hopefully minimise conflict.
We’ll go out for public consultation before making decisions on trails.
Can you lend a hand?
We’re making great progress, and we now have a Treasurer so that we can start fundraising to raise money for ongoing costs, signage, tools, and training courses etc.
We’re looking for people to help with:
Project Management: Position Filled!
Non-profit experience: If you’ve got experience being in a non-profit organsiation and engaging community, then we’d love your help!
Social media: Position Filled!
Trail leads: Do you have a particular woodland that you are invested in? As trail lead you’ll be able to get involved in meeting land owners, put proposals for trails forward, and help inspect and maintain the trails in that area.
If you’re interested in any of these roles, send an email to hello@northcardifftrails.org.
We meet in-person or online roughly once per month, and any help you can offer is really appreciated!