|
|
Gawton - UK riding just got even better!
by justride85
Posted: Dec 10, 2008
Over the last year I have been working on a new DH site in the South West of England with Rowan Sorrell and a select few others. It has had a lot of hype and could well be one of the best downhill locations in the UK. Its opening has been long anticipated and has remained fairly secret amongst locals until now...
"England? The South West?" I hear you say, "there's no decent hills there for a downhill track!"
Well you're wrong, there are indeed a few hidden gems in the Devon valleys, one of which has been snapped up and some big things have been going on...
You may have heard of Rowan Sorrell, a World Class downhiller and track designer, responsible for DH tracks such as Cwm Carn, and trail centers such as Afan. I, and a couple of others were lucky enough to be part of the team designing and building 3 new tracks in the South West. After almost a year of very very hard work, lots of paper work, unforeseen problems and various other delays we are just about ready to open the location to the public.
Gawton, the name of the place, will feature 3 downhill tracks. One will be a super fun, fast, smooth and flowy track graded blue or red (intermediate). The 2 others will be black/double black - one will be super technical, the other will be flat out and knarly!
Each of these tracks have been built to a very high standard and will be regularly maintained and managed by a dedicated team.
It has had a lot of hype and its opening has been long anticipated. It has remained fairly secret amongst locals until now. It will be officially open in the new year (2009) and will hopefully feature a regular uplift service (currently being tested out to iron out any faults). We are trying to publicize the new site as much as possible as we honestly feel it could be one of the best riding locations in the country. The organizers of the national downhill races have already shown a great interest in using it as a future venue...
Keep your ears open for further news...
-AJ
Helmet cam of fast knarly track:
Footage of tech track:
Helmet cam of fun track:
Well you're wrong, there are indeed a few hidden gems in the Devon valleys, one of which has been snapped up and some big things have been going on...
You may have heard of Rowan Sorrell, a World Class downhiller and track designer, responsible for DH tracks such as Cwm Carn, and trail centers such as Afan. I, and a couple of others were lucky enough to be part of the team designing and building 3 new tracks in the South West. After almost a year of very very hard work, lots of paper work, unforeseen problems and various other delays we are just about ready to open the location to the public.
Gawton, the name of the place, will feature 3 downhill tracks. One will be a super fun, fast, smooth and flowy track graded blue or red (intermediate). The 2 others will be black/double black - one will be super technical, the other will be flat out and knarly!
Each of these tracks have been built to a very high standard and will be regularly maintained and managed by a dedicated team.
It has had a lot of hype and its opening has been long anticipated. It has remained fairly secret amongst locals until now. It will be officially open in the new year (2009) and will hopefully feature a regular uplift service (currently being tested out to iron out any faults). We are trying to publicize the new site as much as possible as we honestly feel it could be one of the best riding locations in the country. The organizers of the national downhill races have already shown a great interest in using it as a future venue...
Keep your ears open for further news...
-AJ
111 Comments
- + 7
northwestdhdad
(Dec 12, 2008 at 0:08)
Now that is awesome development in the race world........congrats. Looking forward to hearing about some more races.
does anyone know if they will be getting an uplift service on this hill like at cwmcarn? i hope so... that would be amazing!
At last, a decent track which is within an hour of me!
The Fast Gnarly track, still looked pretty tech to me!
The Fast Gnarly track, still looked pretty tech to me!
looks really fun nothing massivly challenging though, and once again another track built in the south! Yorkshire has plenty of hills come and build some more race worthy tracks up here
i agree with tim lake... at parts of the fast knarly track it looks more tech than the tech track!! hmm!!!
the 'fast knarly' track is hopefully going to be the NPS track, hense all the netting etc.
ill be up there tommorow digging!
ill be up there tommorow digging!
VERY cool! we might have to stop there for a few days after the student champs before goin all the way back up to edinburgh after watching those videos
looks very similar to cwm carn - very narrow, slow and with lots of up-hill bits; maybe a Rowan Sorrell trademark??? - Considerably closer than Cwm Carn to my place though, should be worth a trip!
you dont have a clue do you... it doesnt have uphill bits to make it boring or slow it is to make it flowy and less on the brakes! its narrow to make it more challenging! its only slow if you make it slow anyway!
I think you misinterpret my comment - slow as in compared to US courses e.t.c. - nearly all uk tracks are comparatively slow in that regard. I also like the little up hill parts, they allow to make the track longer due to the small hill sizes in England, and they allow you to get some air time
tracks in the US are much much longer than tracks in the UK because they have bigger mountains...so the tracks in the US are less technical...therefore faster, so that you dont get as tired because you have something like 9km to go!
and tracks in the UK are are more technical (or as you like to call them 'slow') so that you get a longer ride rather than one small blast...
and tracks in the UK are are more technical (or as you like to call them 'slow') so that you get a longer ride rather than one small blast...
do you guys think I'm too dumb to know this? I've been riding British dh terrain for years! Strange how you're both 15yrs old and think everyone else doesn't have a clue!
if you think i dont know about bikes.. heres some biking knowledge to school you...
maxxis minion DHF's and DHR's arent actually meant for front and rear... thats just a name. actually, the reason that dhf's are better in britain is because they are designed for mor rocky terrain than rooty terrain.. and in most cases in the uk we have lots of rocks... these tires are also best in america for the same reasons... so to realte back to what you were saying... U.S tracks are more similar to UK ones than you think... the US tracks are actually "faster" because they are straighter... it has nothing to with the building quality.. we face the same problems they face... they just have more room to do it!
maxxis minion DHF's and DHR's arent actually meant for front and rear... thats just a name. actually, the reason that dhf's are better in britain is because they are designed for mor rocky terrain than rooty terrain.. and in most cases in the uk we have lots of rocks... these tires are also best in america for the same reasons... so to realte back to what you were saying... U.S tracks are more similar to UK ones than you think... the US tracks are actually "faster" because they are straighter... it has nothing to with the building quality.. we face the same problems they face... they just have more room to do it!
welsh-kona-owner you have just proved that you know fekk all well done , your lil post made me giggle.A fine collection of useless and wrong facts.... soo many that it's not even worth pointing out the faults
that would be true if i still rode a kona... but because i now ride an orange shall we diss those bikes too!
We've got Gawston on the NPS radar for a possible future NPS round. One less trip up the M6 to Scotland!!
Good luck... The proposed last piece of track is on protected land therefore you can't get to the finish field :-(
It would be an amazing NPS track.
It would be an amazing NPS track.
[Reply]
Hell yeah! Looks sweet, all 3 tracks, anyone south of london just got an early Xmas present I think - good work!
[Reply]
[Reply]
Yea, cant really find the place on GMaps either... well, im not 100% that the placde I found is the right place - help us out! 
We can't share the location right now as it isn't open yet.
The article says "New Year 09" so keep your eyes peeled after xmas!
The article says "New Year 09" so keep your eyes peeled after xmas!
[Reply]
that fun track looks really fun! i would love to race those tracks, very flowy, great work they did!
i'd never thought that moby porcelain will be a good song for helmet cam..but fits very well..
good ride on uk buddyes
good ride on uk buddyes
[Reply]
I live in the most southernly point in the UK (Mullion/Lizard) and the only half decent riding I get is the coastal paths, which I know rock by rock now 
It's about time SW!!!
It's about time SW!!!
they all look beast,
many similarities to cwmcarn with plenty of line choice and lots of un-noticeable options/line choices and features,
will be worth a trip up.
many similarities to cwmcarn with plenty of line choice and lots of un-noticeable options/line choices and features,
will be worth a trip up.
[Reply]
i don't think aj mentioned that you'll have to pay to ride this place, either £25 yearly membership entiteling you to ride another nearby location or a £5 day pass. uplifts are also in the pipeline i think.
the site is only about a 20minute ride from the nearest train station, though its only a connecting service to the plymouth station.
the site is only about a 20minute ride from the nearest train station, though its only a connecting service to the plymouth station.
indeed, you can be on site in less than an hour from plymouth station, at a cost of about £2.50 on weekends!
to get a day-pass/membership, please visit www.woodlandriders.com
to get a day-pass/membership, please visit www.woodlandriders.com
[Reply]
[Reply]
Looking great and less than an hours drive for me!
Southwest is definately the place to be for DH, Trails, 4X and Freeride!
Little spots popping up all over, worth a weekend visit!
Southwest is definately the place to be for DH, Trails, 4X and Freeride!
Little spots popping up all over, worth a weekend visit!
[Reply]
[Reply]
nice review AJ, bit random seeing this on the main page, haha. can't wait to get back from Australia and tear up the tech track again.
Rowan your tracks are superb please please please please come and build in Derbyshire, we have a bunch of guys that will help.
i've been riding the fun track since the summer with my friends, it's f**king awesome, probably the best trail i've ever ridden. the knarly dh course is a bit much for me though, it's way steeper than it looks in that video. it's near tavistock for anyone that is trying to find it.
Please be aware that Gawton is built on private land. A lease is now held by the Woodland Riders Downhill Mountain Bike Club based in Tavistock, West Devon which allows members to ride there. Thus you must be a member of the club to ride at Gawton (and our other riding area, Woodlands). Non-members are trespassing and are liable to be prosecuted by the Landowner!! Annual membership is £25/£15 (Adult/Junior). Membership can be obtained via our web site (www.woodlandriders.com) or from Dartmoor Cycles in Tavistock (www.dartmoorcylces.co.uk)
That's friggin stupid, anyone should be able to ride. It's not a golf course. If you enforce that, you are pretty much a douche.
weve spent the money to get the place here, its private land, so its perfectly ok to ask for money. anyone can ride here, you just have to pay for the privaledge, like pretty much anything else in life...
Oh alright, I see. Well that's legit. It just makes me mad when I see that cause there are alot of clubs where I live that charge money just to ride with them. And that, I don't care what anyone says, makes you a douche.
Nice trail though. Sorry to be a dick.
Nice trail though. Sorry to be a dick.
I can totaly see where you're comin from SuperTramp, but the guys that operate the track need to pay to lease the land, for insurance, trail maintenance etc etc, so £25 a year is a total bargain really. 
Looks fantastic, the 1st track looks awesome fun! Shame i live all the way up in newcastle
Good job guys, its good to see the UK scene getting better!
Good job guys, its good to see the UK scene getting better!
[Reply]
The 2nd footage. is it the zebra not adjusted right or did it on purpose for special effect? I wish to hear some actual sound of tracking to feel what the rider felt at that moment. Sometimes the music totally kill the mood.
great job with the videos! and awesome blog! i wonder if people realise how much hard work and the long days you guys put in building these awesome tracks its exciting now its all being finished up..... the videos do the steepness no justice
its exciting now its all being finished up..... the videos do the steepness no justice
the three tracks look so good but miles from cumbria.
does anyone know whats happend to scrathmere tracks.
does anyone know whats happend to scrathmere tracks.
[Reply]
The guys down there have been working seriously hard for the last year or more, and what they've got done is hugely impressive. Riders all over Devon (The ones who've known about it) are itching to get down there and ride it.
Just up the road, about an hour and a bit, we at TTFreeriders, close friends of the Tavi lot (Woodland riders), have also been busy, and have a huge array of new lines and courses in the pipeline, also with a possible addition to the a certain 'Points Series' circuit (Watch this space!), so the Riding / Courses available in Devon is about to get really interesting, and will certainly be worth a trip down, with Tavi being an amazing new venue, good works chaps (And chappesses!)
We will hopefully be getting a press release sorted soon with all the details. Meanwhile, see you in Gawton!!
Just up the road, about an hour and a bit, we at TTFreeriders, close friends of the Tavi lot (Woodland riders), have also been busy, and have a huge array of new lines and courses in the pipeline, also with a possible addition to the a certain 'Points Series' circuit (Watch this space!), so the Riding / Courses available in Devon is about to get really interesting, and will certainly be worth a trip down, with Tavi being an amazing new venue, good works chaps (And chappesses!)
We will hopefully be getting a press release sorted soon with all the details. Meanwhile, see you in Gawton!!
now this is what i call a quality time, just freinds, bikes and our own stupid and good jokes that makes us alive and happy...
Peace!
Peace!
omg omg omg! those tracks look f@cK!ng Awesome!i feel like a lil chinese school girl on the way to a will young concert!
Oh...wow. I feel like never riding trails again. Everything I've ridden seems like an after thought compared to all the digging I saw on those tracks. That's a LOT of digging...more than I've ever seen in the woods ever.
Cool track, but com' on guys.. you use big bikes with 200 mm rear and front suspension, on trails that are so even and smooth, that even a rigid hardtail would have a easy time, going down that trail.
your funnny, let me no when you plan to go down it on a hard trail i would love to see u breck your back i mean bike
one track is smooth and yes you could do it on a hardtail but you need suspension for the other 2. come give it a go if you recon you dont...
Thats the problem with Video footage It dont give you the true feeling of the steepness, Also when you get a good rider filming the the trail it can look smooth when in fact its a Technical trail!
So perhaps its better to compliment the ridinng as it makes the trail look smooth!
So perhaps its better to compliment the ridinng as it makes the trail look smooth!
I was out there yesterday and the take off for the second road gap on Super-Tavi has been extended with a north-shore esque kicker off of that huge boulder before the fire road. The jump was big as it was, but now i'm wondering how many people will make it to the bottom of it in a race.
err… yes… I think we got a bit over enthusiastic with that. We’ll be doing a modification to lower it a bit in the next couple of weeks. As it stands you could probably jump all the way over the river and land in Cornwall if you tried really hard!!
The alteration to the rock drop now looks great on the video on FB. Nice work !
Saving up for membership then Im there!
Saving up for membership then Im there!
[Reply]
IM THERE! that looks sooo sweet...looks like a road trip this weekend! btw...there are looooooooads of downhills in the southwest, like i mean looooooads an loooooooooooads
x
x
Post A New Comment
Why was a comment deleted?
1. add additional on topic info to the article that other users will find useful
2. add props and support/encouragement for the video/photo/article/product/story
3. add and explain constructive criticism for the video/photo/article/product/story
1. add additional on topic info to the article that other users will find useful
2. add props and support/encouragement for the video/photo/article/product/story
3. add and explain constructive criticism for the video/photo/article/product/story
RSS
