KATE THODAY & DAN WESTON, FORESTRY ENGLAND

The country’s biggest landowner is often scorned by mountain bikers but now two of its employees are helping turning diatribe to dialogue

- Sim Mainey

Every tale needs a villain and in mountain biking’s story so far that role has typically been played by The Landowner. Seemingly hell-bent on stopping riders having fun, they are the embodiment of a soul-crushing, spirit-sucking sector of society who don’t ‘get’ us and are out to spoil our fun. They are The Man. For a lot of riders The Man has a name, Forestry England. Forests are mountain bikers’ preferred playgrounds and, as the biggest owner of forested land in England, chances are if your trails are in the trees, the land belongs to Forestry England. So, when it comes to mountain bikers having beef with a landowner over trail building and trail access, it’s often Forestry England who is on the receiving end of our ire.

But, there are two sides to every story and there are those within Forestry England that are working to better explain what the organisation does for riders and why mountain bikers don’t always ‘get’ landowners.

The Forest of Dean butts up against the Welsh borders in the armpit of the Severn estuary. Easily accessible via the motorway, and with Gloucester and Bristol on its doorstep, it’s a riding hotspot. The Forest of Dean Cycle Centre is the focal point for most riders, a large block of the forest dedicated to mountain biking complete with a cafe, bike shop and car park.

Tucked away on the edge of the car park and picnic area is a small portacabin in Forestry England livery which, when they aren’t out on the trails, is Kate Thoday and Dan Weston’s office. Kate and Dan are the Forest of Dean’s cycle rangers, a role that sees the pair managing and maintaining trails, providing advice (and first aid) to visitors and being the face of Forestry England here at the Cycle Centre.