Bristol is one of the few cities in Britain with a purpose-built mountain bike trail within riding distance of the city centre. Unfortunately it's also notorious for the state the trails get into in winter. A new trailbuilding group has been set up to repair and revamp the mountain bike trails within riding distance of Bristol city centre, including the Forest of Avon Timberland Trail.

The Bristol Trails Group is a non-profit organisation that aims to supply volunteers with tools and materials, liaise with land managers and other user groups, and put the structures in place for mountain bikers of all disciplines to repair and rebuild the trails they ride. After forming in October 2004 we have started repairing the cross country trail in Ashton Court, with the aim of making this rideable as a complete loop in all but the very worst conditions. For the future we would like to refurbish the existing trails into a durable network and build new trails with the permission of land managers.

As a non-profit organisation we are dependent on volunteer labour and donations from interested parties. We would urge all local mountain bikers to help maintain and repair the trails they ride. If time constraints do not permit this we would ask that they consider making a financial donation to the group so we can equip our volunteers with tools and materials.

For further information contact Antony de Heveningham by email or go to www.bristoltrailsgroup.com.