Friday 31 May saw South West Lakes Trust celebrating three new cycle trails at Exmoor’s Wimbleball Lake, joined by partners, funders and the local community, with distinguished environmentalist and author Stanley Johnson performing the launch ceremony on a beautiful sunny afternoon.
The three trails, developed with the Project, are ideal for cyclists of all abilities. The Trust worked closely with the Exmoor National Park Authority during the planning phase to ensure they fit well with the landscape in this special location. The two woodland ‘kids’ trails’, ‘Mr Twisty’ and ‘Mr Twizzle’ wind their way through the trees providing a fun and safe environment where parents can sit back and relax whilst their children enjoy cycling around the track. The scenic ‘Wimbleball Wheeler’ is a 1.7km green grade trail which runs adjacent to the lake finishing at the dam.
In a relaxed official opening, many attendees brought their cycles with them and local families were encouraged to come along to enjoy the fun.
Keith Bungay, Chairman of South West Lakes Trust, hosting the event, said, “I have no doubt that people’s quality of life is improved by the sense of well being they get out of enjoying the countryside; South West Lakes Trust in partnership with South West Water is making these opportunities available on a daily basis. The new cycle path is a good example of working together with others to provide and promote the best facilities possible and to protect the countryside for future generations.”
Stanley Johnson, raised on Exmoor where he still farms, said “South West Lakes Trust has an important part to play in protecting and conserving some very special areas of land and water in Devon, Cornwall and West Somerset. Wimbleball Lake has settled neatly into the landscape since it was constructed 35 years ago. It has benefitted from a number of improvements for visitors over the last five years, with a new rowing and canoeing centre, indoor climbing wall, high ropes course, archery range, activity centre and undergrounding of electricity cables. Wimbleball has special environmental qualities, being part of the Exmoor Dark Skies Reserve.”
The cycle trails at South West Lakes Trust’s Outdoor + Active sites have been funded through the project of the Rural Development Programme for England and match funding has also been provided by South West Lakes Trust and South West Water. Paul Hawkins, Project Manager for , expressed his delight at the outcome at Wimbleball, reminding those gathered that the project is looking to develop the entire South West as a cycling destination through the creation of cycling hubs. These hubs will host a variety of trails of different grading to enable cyclists to build up to a more advance level in a safe environment, such as is provided at Haldon Forest Park near .
In addition to , the Rural Development Fund for England (RDPE) is also funding an ‘Outdoor + Active’ project to improve facilities at the lakes. A total of £2.5m is being invested in facilities owned by South West Water and managed by South West Lakes Trust in its sites across the three counties. DEFRA representatives at the launch were thanked for the major financial contribution which made these facilities possible.
