The National Trust has said that it is ‘absolutely delighted’ that it has been given the green light by Cornwall Council to introduce approximately 10km of off road cycle trails with associated café and cycle hire outlet. The project will include important improvements to the site’s parking and traffic management and a plan to restore the original 18th century carriage drive to Lanhydrock house.
It has long been the ambition of the Trust to improve parking facilities and provide a café facility outside of Lanhydrock’s pay-zone. Visitors to Lanhydrock will have essential additional parking (including a new coach park), a café outside of the pay-zone and a cycle hire facility. The play area and plant sales area will be re-located adjacent to these new facilities.
The introduction of the cycling hub at Lanhydrock will provide additional facilities for visitors, give families a more varied day out, and provide a facility that local groups and schools can benefit from throughout the year. The off road cycle trails are aimed at families and people who are novices to woodland cycling, and will help to encourage more people to enjoy the wider countryside at Lanhydrock. The cycle trails will be sympathetic to natural and archaeological features and have been designed to minimise impact on other woodland users.
An example of the kind of single-track, low impact cycle trails such as will be built at Lanhydrock. Image copyright Bristol City Council.
The National Trust has regularly talked to local tenants, the wider community and interested parties during development of the proposals and has held a number of public consultation and information events. As a result of this consultation aspects of the plans have been amended and refined. Rebecca Brookes-Sullivan, General Manager at Lanhydrock explains “A key element that developed from the consultation is the proposal to re-instate the original 18th century Georgian carriage drive as the primary access to Lanhydrock. This will enhance the sense of arrival for visitors and improve the flow of cars into and leaving the site. We know that during peak periods the current car park does not always provide enough space and can cause congestion to the surrounding local road network. The proposals will help to ease these congestion problems, which we are sure will be welcome news to local people.”
With funding assistance from the Rural Development Programme for England through , the project at Lanhydrock is part of the Trust’s ‘Getting Outdoors and Closer to Nature’ programme – enabling the Trust to improve and diversify people’s access and enjoyment of its land through more opportunities for walking, cycling, kayaking, camping and other recreational activities.
Following the decision on Thursday 17 January, Nick Lawrence, the Assistant Director for the National Trust said “We are thrilled that we have been given the green light by Cornwall Council to improve our range of facilities and improve access at Lanhydrock, one of our flagship properties in the South West. This project is an absolute priority for the region; we believe it will offer significant local public benefit and the introduction of off road cycle trails will play a key part in our aim to get visitors outdoors and closer to nature.”
The Lanhydrock Cycle Hub has its own Facebook site where you’ll find all the latest information on the project.
