{"id":1442,"date":"2026-08-11T12:28:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T11:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/paul\/?p=1442"},"modified":"2026-08-12T12:54:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T11:54:45","slug":"the-trail-less-travelled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/paul\/the-trail-less-travelled\/","title":{"rendered":"Where England needs more MTB trails and why riders go off-track"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\"Three<\/p>

While the right to roam has opened up much of the English countryside to hikers, unfortunately, mountain bikers still don\u2019t enjoy the same freedom. A lack of access to technically challenging and interesting terrain across the country has led <\/span>as many as 98% of cyclists<\/span><\/a> to resort to \u2018illegal\u2019 options.<\/span><\/p>

This isn\u2019t a simple disregard for the rules, which can be difficult to enforce and, at times, unclear for cyclists to interpret. More often, it\u2019s because the alternatives fall short of what riders are actually looking for. With online interest in mountain biking generating more than 140,000 searches for information a month (1)<\/span>\u00a0in the UK, its popularity is clear, yet limited access to suitable trails remains a major barrier.<\/span><\/p>

In this article, we\u2019ll explore where access is the most limited, why people go off-piste and what the current rules actually say about where you can and cannot ride.<\/span><\/p>

The reality behind unofficial trails and \u2018cheeky riding\u2019<\/span><\/h2>
\u201cIllegal mountain biking isn\u2019t driven by bad behaviour, it\u2019s driven by a lack of suitable infrastructure. Riders aren\u2019t actively looking to break rules, they\u2019re looking for progression, challenge and flow. In many parts of the country, that simply doesn\u2019t exist within official trail networks.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/span>Tom Thornley, Paul\u2019s Cycles Managing Director<\/span><\/h5>

According to <\/span>The UK Trails Project,<\/span><\/a> riders want local, connected trails they can access straight from home. Their report found that convenience (19.7%), ride quality (15.8%), scope for progression (10.7%), and variation of trail grades (9.7%) are what riders value most in a good location. In reality, access doesn\u2019t always support this:<\/span><\/p>