Category Archives: Trail News

Social Rides Week Commencing 29th February 2016

Hi All,

Well we’ve had good weather for this weekend, so lets hope it lasts for this weeks social rides.

A change of days again, due to a few of us having other commitments.

So how about,

Date : Monday 29th February
Time : 6:30 – 6.45pm
Venue : Station road car park ( behind IOM Bank ) Kirk Michael

And

Date : Thursday 3rd March
Time : 6.30 – 6.45pm
Venue : Crosby playing fields, near to Ellerslie, Crosby
Refreshments afterwards at Cafe Rachel, she’ll have the kettle on and cake ready.

If you require a lift, please get in touch, and we’ll see what we can sort out.

If the weather is very bad, a cancellation will be posted on Facebook.

Look forward to see you out on the trails.

Cheers
Coops

P.S.
A few of us are heading up to Conrhenny, this coming Saturday morning 5th March, from 09.00am to do a bit of trail maintenance.

If your available to give us a hand, please get in touch.

Social Rides Week Commencing 2nd March 2015

Hi All,

I’m away for the start of the week, so if anybody is wanting to post a ride, please get in touch.

Date : Thursday 5th March
Time : 6.30 – 6.45pm
Venue : Cat without a Tail, pub car park, Douglas

As from week commencing 9th March, social rides will be back to Tuesday & Thursday nights.

Look forward to see you out on the trails.
If the weather is very bad, heavy rain, blizzard conditions, a cancellation notice will be posted on FaceBook.

We’re doing some Trail Building up at Conrhenny Plantation, on Saturday 7th March.
If you fancy giving us a hand, meet up at car park for 09.00am.

Cheers
Coops

Latest Update from DEFA – Hills, Forests & Glens

Below is that latest update from DEFA – Hills, Forests & Glens

Tree felling work is set to commence at Axnfell Plantation on Wednesday 5th February. This will involve some localised access restrictions. Please do not cross any safety barriers and follow all safety signage. Thank you.

Tree Disease Control – Access to Forests

Tree Disease Control – Access to Forests and Firewood Supply
Friday, 25 October 2013

Despite significant efforts to control its spread, the disease, Phytophthora ramorum, is now unfortunately present in many larch trees across the Island.

The disease, caused by an airborne fungus-like pathogen, can result in lesions on the trunks of infected trees, dieback of foliage, wilting of stems and also stem lesions on infected shrubs and other plants, ultimately resulting in plant death.
Larch species represent our second most prominent conifer species, contributing to over 1,200 acres of the forest estate. Minister for the Department, Phil Gawne said:“2013 has seen a significant increase in the spread of the disease with approximately 50% of our larch now infected. As a consequence of this, our woodland and forest landscape will alter considerably over the next few years”.
“In an effort to contain the disease, the Department has been felling infected areas as soon as practical. To date, we have felled many thousands of trees amounting to an area of approximately 125 acres across the forest estate. Known infected areas continue to be felled whilst plans are drawn-up to deal with the most recently infected areas identified from our 2013 helicopter surveys.”
“In addition to larch, the disease has also been confirmed on sweet chestnut and beech trees along with the shrubs, rhododendron and viburnum. However, the real worry is that is has the potential to spread to other species of plants and threaten important natural habitats such as our heathland areas.”
If this destructive disease is suspected in gardens, woodland or on other private land, the members of the public are advised to contact the Forestry Directorate for guidance. They should not transport any plant material. As the disease can spread to other plant species, it is useful to monitor other susceptible shrubs/trees and to keep the Department aware of further suspected outbreaks of the disease.
In terms of public access, in general the forestry estate continues to be available for public use, although, for safety reasons, areas where timber harvesting operations are taking place will be signposted and must be avoided.
The public is requested to follow some basic bio-security precautions to avoid further spread of the disease. Visitors are asked to follow some simple steps when visiting forests affected by the disease. Signs at entrances will identify areas affected and the advice includes:
  • Keep to designated footpaths and tracks to ensure that footwear and/or bicycle wheels remain clean and free from soil and leaf litter.
  • Don’t remove any plant material (including wood).
  • Clean your footwear, wheels and animals before leaving forest areas to access adjacent heathland and before visiting other sites.
  • Respect and follow any safety signage or advice and instructions given by Forestry staff.
Unfortunately, the infected larch timber contains fungi spores in the bark and could transmit the disease if stored close to other vegetation, including some garden plants. However, the Department is currently finalising an extra process to ensure it can safely be used as domestic firewood and has now resumed sales of slightly reduced volumes of bagged firewood to our retail customers. We hope to increase the volume available over the next few weeks and have also diverted some harvesting activity to allow spruce to be felled, so that sufficient supply is now available to our wholesale firewood customers.
The Minister apologised to firewood customers for problems encountered in recent months regarding firewood sales.
“I am sorry that the problems we have been encountering this year have led to customers not getting the level of service they should rightfully expect. That said I hope people will recognise the huge pressures the Department is working under in trying to tackle this devastating tree disease.”
Queries on the disease, public recreation in forests and firewood should be directed to the Forestry, Amenity and Lands Directorate at Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale Road, St. John’s, telephone 801263 or email forestry@gov.im
Issued By
Environment, Food and Agriculture

Trail Building Evenings

With just 34 days until the event there is still plenty to do up at Conrhenny and the plan is to get up to the plantation on as many evening and weekends as possible to ensure we have a fighting chance of finishing the work to make the course more sustainable.  If you can spare an hour or two of an evening or weekend please get in touch with either myself (Gadge 453016) or Sinbad (435625) as the more people we get the quicker the work will be done.
Many thanks in advance.
Gadge

Trails Update

Looking down towards the last real turn on the new Phase 2 boardwalks.  For a short walked video of this section so far, check out the video on YouTube
A big thanks to;
Dave, Sinbad, Coops, Cam, Shaun, Dave Reilly and Dave Briggs for their help today.

Trails Update

After a week of snow which stopped play last weekend, Sinbad and Gadge were determined to get up to Conrhenny and continue with the trail work currently being done to extend Phase 2 boardwalks…

Trail Building Update

The Trail Faeries have been hard at it constructing more new trails in Conrhenny Plantation.

Over the past few weeks the Loaghtan Loaded members and the Manx Trail Faeries have been hard at work constructing new trails in and around Conrhenny Plantation.

More great work!

Well, despite the weather the weekend before, snow, the day turned out dry, bright and sunny which meant we could crack on with the trail building at Conrhenny.

The days work started early with Will (Nulty) collecting a tipping trailer from HSS and we met Andy ‘Sinbad’ Simpson at the old prison site where we had been given permission from JCK to collect some large stones for the rock garden sections we were in the process of constructing.  So the three of us loaded the trailer for the first of two loads and headed up to Conrhenny to drop it off ready for the afternoon build session.

We had arranged to meet in the main car park for 12 noon and had planned four hours work.  It was a good turn out with myself, Will Nulty, Simon ‘Coops’ Cooper, Stephen Honeybone, Bruce Nelson, Chris Steele, Emma Atkinson, Mike ‘Cakeman’ Kelly, Dave Reilly and not forgetting Ian ‘Spadgy Legs’ Lamberton.

It just goes to show that with many hands we really can get a lot done and managed to construct the best part of thirty meters of rock garden.

Thanks again to everyone involved with this project and your continued support and remember, if you do ride the trails we are constructing and like what we’re doing, please remember to drop an E-mail to;

graeme.watson@gov.im
defa@gov.im marked FAO Hon. Philip Gawne MHK
Thanks again
Gary ‘Gadge’