PMBA

Mary Towneley Loop Repairs

Bill Brady's (Pennine Bridleway Ranger) been busy up on the Mary Towneley Loop carrying out repairs on some of the sections that have been
suffering as a result of the popularity of the route. He's been working on the section above Gorple reservoir and has had contractors in repairing the horrendous boggy section across Deerplay Moor bufore the road crossing. Anyone who's ridden the later section in the winter will know what it can be like, axle deep ruts and serious bog either side to catch the unwary. The section has now been reinforced and resurfaced properly with suitable drainage added to the sides. Although currently looking rather new and shiny the trail should quickly blend back into the moorland (judging form the way the section running parallel to the road has narrowed down to a ribbon of singletrack), but this time not disappear into it.

Bill's got further plans for improvements including carrying out work on the descent at Summit (a fun section in the rain with a rather high price for failure). Bill's always in need of additional help, especially during the week. If you're able to lend a few hours it would be much appreciated. It's always a lot easier to get funding for big shiny new projects, a lot more difficult to get financial support for maintaining what we've already got. If you want to give Bill a hand drop us an email to contactus@pmba.org.uk and we'll pass your details onto Bill.

If you're not familiar with the Mary Towneley Loop you can download a leaflet with the whole 47 mile loop on it here. It's a fairly major undertaking but is rideable in a day. If you don't fancy tackling it without back up then the Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue Team put on an organised event each year providing welcome support and food on the way around with proceeds from the day swelling their coffers (which considering how often they're up at Lee Quarry is a good thing). The top guys do it in a little over 4 hours whilst the rest of us get round in around eight. This year's event is scheduled for the 2nd of September. Check out our events calendar for more details.