A NEW “labour of love” mountain biking trail built entirely by local volunteers is now officially open at the Forest of Dean Cycle Centre.

Local group the Dean Trail Volunteers (DTV) have been working in partnership with Forestry England to develop the new red-graded trail called ‘Adit’ - a nod to the Forest’s “rich” mining history.

The trail opened to the public on September 24 at the FodFest event, which provided the perfect opportunity for bikers to try it out for the first time.

Alan Grist, XC Dig Officer for DTV, said of the project: “It’s been a labour of love, sweat and tears that has taken a long time to plan, working around sensitive areas and building new links and sections to join up the old XC Enduro Trail, originally scratched in by RDFCC (Royal Dean Forest Cycling Club).

“The final result is a 6 mile extension to Freeminers with a great mix of trail, with something a bit different towards the end; a Tight n Techy descent 500+ metre and ending in the flowy Bear Trap section.”

The DTV are a grass roots, community-led organisation responsible for the care and development of the many mountain biking trails in the Cannop area, together with Forestry England which manages the cycle centre.

Kate Thoday, Cycle Centre Manager for Forestry England said: “We are really pleased to see Adit opened and we are sure that it will be a great addition to the trail network here at the cycle centre.

“The successful partnership between Forestry England and the Dean Trail Volunteers is one of the reasons that we are able to continually improve and expand our cycling offer, it is fantastic to work with a group of local people who love the trails as much as we do.”

The name ‘Adit’ harks back to the Forest’s industrial heritage.

Alan Powell, DTV volunteer and regular digger, explained: “An Adit (also known as a ‘Level’) is a type of mine entrance that also functions as a drainage tunnel.

“It’s essentially a gently rising tunnel, dug into a hillside from below the coal seam.

“It needs to be steep enough to allow water to run out of the mine naturally, but shallow enough to allow the use of coal trucks, etc.

“Those old miners were really clever.

“I thought the name was amusing given that the trail’s an extension - and ‘Adit’ is also a play on words”.

The two-day FodFest event featured racing, bike demos and sales, supplier stalls, food and live music over the course of the two days.