Great news today regarding the Hadleigh Farm mountain bike track – it will be open to the public.
Essex County Council and The Salvation Army, who own Hadleigh Farm, have secured planning permission to maintain the Olympic track as a public venue.
The new venue will have a visitor centre, a cafe and bike hire shop so that visitors do not need to bring their own bikes.
The Olympic track is a very challenging course so it is possible that there will be modifications to provide a more family friendly track, but hopefully some of the challenging routes will remain.
As soon as the venue is open to the public there will be announcements on the Hadleigh Farm website.
Where is Hadleigh Farm?
Hadleigh Farm is between South Benfleet and Leigh-on-Sea just off the A13 (London Road).
Hadleigh Farm, Castle Lane, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 2AP. Web: http://www.hadleighfarm.org.uk/
News from Nov 14, 2011
The Olympic mountain bike course that has been built at Hadleigh Farm in Essex has the potential to become a great outdoor activity site after the Olympic Games in 2012. Locals are campaigning to keep the track.
Cycle tracks are a popular and enjoyable way for people to get fit. Many parks around the county are often deserted, but the addition of a cycle track, even a small one such as the one built in Great Baddow, can bring many new visitors to a part and breathe new life into an area.
The mountain biking track at Hadleigh is close to Hadleigh Castle. It is 3 miles long and winds around wooded areas and over hills. It is a great addition to the local parkland.
40,000 locals were consulted over the future use of the site after the London Olympic Games and around 90% of those who responded were in favour of keeping the cycle track, with 13% saying that it was quite important and 77% saying it is very important to keep it.
Cycling is a great way to get fit and stay in shape. It is one of the few free healthy activities that you can do outdoors. Research has shown that outdoor exercise, especially exercising in parkland, provides many health benefits and is better than exercising indoors. Apart from running and jogging there are not many activities that are as free as cycling.
For more on getting fit in Essex, see our page on Health And Fitness In Essex.
