Future Networks

Although we'd love to get a Bridle Rides network within an hour or so's drive of most people in England and Wales, this may be an impossible task because there are parts of the country which either have very few bridleways, or they have lots of main roads which don't have any direct crossing points. We also have to consider the business case for each network, bearing in mind that the majority of bridle riders don't want to box their horses for more than 2 hours to the start of a ride, and that mountain and moorland networks don't get as many bookings because the terrain is more challenging and requires a fitter horse.

Although researching new rides is the best bit of our job, it has to be fitted around running the office - and it can also be very frustrating! When we researched the Welsh Borders network in 2003 and 2004, we found a lot of bridleways that hadn't been used in years or which weren't visible on the ground, as well as one or two that had been illegally fenced across, so we wasted time trying to ride (and in some cases even find) tracks we couldn't include in our routes.

Route development and checking is usually easer in more intensively farmed areas because the bridleways get more use from local riders and are generally well waymarked. For example, we were able to complete the research riding in Norfolk and the Yorkshire Wolds in half the time it took for the Welsh Borders.
The picture above is of an Unclassified County Road or UCR in Brechfa Forest that we chose not to include in our routes because it is a narrow, steep "ski slope" with low, overhanging branches.
The photo below left is of Bobbie and Herbie from Bridle Rides at Withypool in Exmoor in the rain in May 2002. Herbie clocked up over 500 miles checking and researching routes that year, including 7 consecutive 7 to 8 hour days in the North York Moors. We think he deserves a medal! Herbie is now 18, so it takes a bit more effort to keep him fit - but he's doing fine as you can see from the photo below, taken on Chastleton Hill in the North Cotswolds in April 2007.
Our most recent network is Brechfa Forest near Carmarthen in South Wales (shown in the photo below), which is accessible from the end of the M4. Although the network is still under development, Phase 1, which comprises of a one-centre holiday and a 2-day place to place ride in the southern half of the Forest, is available for a limited number of bookings this year. Depending on the feedback we get from the first few riders and our ability to locate suitable hosts in the northern half, we may extend it in 2008.
We're also having a look at the western part of our home county of Worcestershire, with a view to opening another small network there in 2008. After that, our thoughts will turn to either North Wales or South East England (possibly Surrey, rural Hertfordshire or Kent). If you ride in any of these areas or can suggest any others we might look at, please let us know!