Hadleigh Park Mountain Bike Trail Centre

Description

Hadleigh Park mountain bike trail centre is based in Hadleigh Country Park in Essex, England. Famed for being the home of the 2012 mountain bike Olympic Games, it has been converted as part of the Olympic Legacy and is open and can be ridden by the public (no need to book in advance). Since the games many of the trails are described in the reviews section as being in poor upkeep or closed, so please check the reviews and socials before visiting.

There is a red trail (with black options) which was the Olympic course as well as a blue, green and all-ability trail. There is also a pump track and a skills area.

Olympic Mountain Bike Course (Red with Black sections)

• Since the games they have retained and developed the 2012 Olympic mountain bike course. It's open to everyone and is 5km long made from crushed sandstone. There are both technical up-hills and descents. Some are quite steep, many rock gardens, a northshore section and tight berms.

• The majority of the Olympic mountain bike course is classified as red apart from 6 black features including the Triple Trouble, Deanes Drop, Leap of Faith, Oak Tree, North Shore Gap Jump and the Final Descent sections.

Blue Trail

• The Blue trail at Hadleigh Park is 4km long and for novices. The red and the blue trail share many of the same sections. The blue which is for novices is more flowing and features berms, switchbacks and a dual slalom section.

Multi-User trail (Green)

• The green trail is a multi-use trail. Pedestrians have priority so keep aware. It surrounds the northern perimeter of the park and bisects the marsh reaching as far as Benfleet station to the west and Hadleigh castle to the east. It is approximately 9km and is more accessible to families but does contain some steep climbs and decent.

All Ability Trail

• The All Ability trail is 1.3km long and has a gradient of less than 12:1 so it is more suitable for people with physical disabilities. The all-ability trail takes in views of the Olympic Mountain bike trail, Hadleigh Castle, the country park and the Thames Estuary.

Pump Track and Skills area

• There is a small pump track as well as a skills area with different progressively sized drops, rocky sections and rollers / jumps. 

Club and Groups

• As part of the Olympic Legacy project the Hadleigh MTB Club has been formed. You can also check out their Facebook Group.

The Hub

• The Hub is what the Visitors Centre is called. Core to the adaptation and as part of the community consultation was to make this more of a community hub to be a Gateway for all the outdoor activities on offer here at Hadleigh be it cycling or walking etc. It features a cafe, rangers offices, children's play area, toilets, changing rooms, community room, bike hire and shop.

Other Stuff

• Since London 2012, Essex County Council, along with Active Essex, have been developing Hadleigh Park into a sporting venue as part of the Olympic legacy.
• Architrail trail builders converted the Olympic track to make it a defined trail centre accessible to the general public. 

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