The effects of off-road vehicles on horse riding in the
Peak District National Park the need for Derbyshire County Council to act
Peak Horsepower October 2011
Summary
Peak Horsepower campaigns for safe off-road horse riding in the Peak District National
Park. We have over 100 members. To help prepare this paper, we asked our members
for their experiences of off-road vehicles. They told us:
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Surfaces have been damaged by off-road vehicles so they are no longer safe for
horses to use.
Off-roaders frighten riders because of the potential for accidents.
In many areas, the use of 4x4s and trail bikes has led to the exclusion of horse
riders from bridleways, restricted by-ways and byways open to all traffic (BOATS)
because surfaces are so damaged and the threat of accidents is so high.
They feel let down by Derbyshire County Council.
Our view as an organisation, based on the experience of our members, is that
Derbyshire County Council, as the legally responsible Highways Authority, is failing in its
statutory duty to ensure the surfaces of rights of way are suitable and safe for their
intended use. Peak Horsepower believes the DCC must use its powers to protect the
interests of horse riders, cyclists, and walkers by: putting an end to the use of
unsurfaced highways by off-road vehicles wherever such use causes rights of way to be
so damaged that they are rendered unusable or dangerous for other people; by taking
active steps to prevent illegal use by off-road vehicles; in particular by installing
horse/pedestrian/disabled scooter-friendly barriers to stop motor vehicles using and
damaging bridleways; by putting in place effective, vandal-proof signage; and by working
closely with the Police to achieve successful prosecution of illegal off-roaders
About Peak Horsepower
Peak Horsepower was formed in 2010 to campaign for safe and enjoyable off-road riding
in the Peak District National Park. The impetus for the formation of the group was the
realisation that the interests of horse riders were are poorly represented and not well
understood by the Derbyshire County Council, the Peak District National Park Authority
and the Police. (www.peakhorsepower.co.uk )
Our priorities are:
 Seeking improvements to bridleways and by-ways to make them safe and ensure
they are accessible to horse riders and free from obstructions.
 Campaigning to restrict the illegal, dangerous and damaging use of off-road
routes by 4x4 vehicles, trail bikes and quad bikes.
 Developing long circular rides and linking existing routes.
Peak Horsepower works with other bridleway groups in the area and within forums such
as the PDNPA Local Access Forum and the Peak District Green Lanes Alliance. It also
actively monitors the bridleway and by-way network in the Peak District, informing the
authorities where problems exist. Recently, members of Peak Horsepower helped make
repairs to the Taylor Lane bridleway on Longstone Moor which had been seriously
damaged and made dangerous to use by off-road vehicle use.
Recently, we consulted our members and asked them to tell us about their experiences
of the effects of off-road vehicles on their riding. We asked them for a few sentences, but
many sent a page or even two. Off-roading by 4x4s and trail bikes is having a big impact
on horse riders and we include quotes from them to give a real feel for what it is like for a
rider having to deal on horseback with 4x4s and motorbikes coming at them and with the
damaged surfaces created by off-roading.
Surfaces damaged and unsafe for riders
Unsurfaced roads are soon damaged by off-road vehicles, especially if they have an
incline where water run off will then increase the problem. Wherever the ground is
slightly soft, deep ruts soon appear. When deep ruts are formed, boulders and rocks are
exposed making surfaces uneven, slippery and unsafe on a horse even at walking pace.
This is why tarmac and other road surfacing has been developed for main roads. A
natural surface simply cannot take the weight, wear and tear of motorised vehicles.
“Riding up past Callow Farm at the end of our farm track. Ever deepening ruts.
Lengths of our coping stone taken to fill in holes made by off roaders so that
other off roaders can get up”.
“Trying to ride up Bamford Clough, my native pony struggling to get a grip on the
steep smoothed stones and finally falling on her knees at which point I jumped off
and lead her back down the hill to give up and go home via the roads”.
“When my children were pony clubbers we used to ride over Long Causeway to
Redmires once a fortnight in the summer for rallies. It was a pleasant ride. Now
that route is totally impassible. The surface is so badly destroyed on the section
below the Edge that walking on two feet becomes really difficult. For a horse it is
just too dangerous. And the recent repairs have made no difference”.
“My horse was lame after riding along the Pennine bridleway, he hasn't ever
been lame before and I am sure it was caused by the awful conditions.”
“Wigley Lane is a restricted byway but you can no longer take a horse up it. The
surface is in terrible state.”
“Nearly all the places I used to be able to ride safely have been destroyed – there
are off-roader ruts everywhere now.
Dangerous encounters
Both motor cycles and 4x4 vehicles can be very dangerous to a horse rider when met
out on a ride. Horses are seldom afraid of ordinary road bikes, but most are very
frightened of trail bikes and many will panic when they hear them. Trail bikes are
especially dangerous to riders when they suddenly come around a blind corner for
example – which they often to at 20mps or more. And where there are ruts in the track, a
horse startled by off-road vehicles can easily fall and injure itself and/or its rider. There is
also often too little room to pass safely, again increasing the risk of an accident.
“I have been riding towards the bottom of long Causeway on the metalled road
when motorbikes have come screeching down there and flown through the
standing water with spray billowing out either side. My steady Teddy has nearly
turned and flown himself. I always wear a fluorescent top and in each case was
in plain view. This has happened three times, twice with motorbikes and once
with Quads”.
‘I have met convoys of motor bikes and 4x4s on narrow, rutted tracks, with high
banks and no passing places. I have also had motor bikes come at me fast
around blind bends. These are very frightening and dangerous situations on a
horse and there are now places I won’t go because of the risks’.
Illegal activity
Peak Horsepower members have seen plenty of illegal off-roading and vandalism of
signs. We know that DCC and the PDNP know about these problems too. Not only will
4x4 and trail bike users ignore signs. If they don’t like the fact that a right of way is not
open to them, they will simply tear down signs and plead ignorance.
Not surprisingly perhaps, voluntary schemes are also not being adhered to by offroaders. Our members have witnessed and reported trail bikes ignoring the one-way
system on the Roych, for example.
“I try and operate a 'live and let live' approach to other user groups, otherwise I
wouldn't enjoy riding out and would naturally become more stressed each time.
However, this all falls away when I see bikers and 4x4 deliberately using
bridleways or restricted byways, despite there being adequate signage in place
“The track at the end of our farm, which locals have got together and barricaded
against 4 wheel vehicles, has had the police notice cut off and one of the thick
posts sawn through with a chain saw at base level thus allowing access again …
but only as far as the next corner where there are two steel girders with concrete
inside them. Will be interesting to see how they tackle them; but they are
obviously on the war path”.
‘The Riley Woods bridleways at Eyam have been all but destroyed by illegal offroaders. The signs are repeatedly torn down and they just keep on using these
routes. It is now too dangerous to go there on your horse and Eyam is becoming
a horse riding free zone.’
The only way to prevent illegal use of bridleways by off-roaders is to use ‘horse hops’
barriers. These can be combined as necessary with pedestrian-, push chair- and
disabled scooter-friendly barriers which will keep out motor bikes and vehicles, and with
locked gates to keep stock in. The use of barriers would also mean Derbyshire County
Council did not have to uses scarce resources replacing signs which the off-roaders
keep tearing down. Other highway authorities use horse hops and other types of antivehicle barriers. DCC should do the same.
Horse riders excluded from using rights of way
Compared to other parts of the country, the Peak District has few bridleways. We
depend on byways and unclassified roads – the very routes which are being so
badly damaged by off-roading. It is important to understand that riders operate
within a radius of no more than about 5 miles from their base. Unlike off-roaders,
they cannot go somewhere else.
The overall effect of the damage to tracks being done by off-roading and the fear of
accidents caused by off-roaders is that, throughout the Peak District, horse riders are
now unable to use legal rights of way that have always been safe in the past. This is not
only on BOATs. It is equally true of bridleways and restricted by-ways because of illegal
use by off roaders. Our members report where they used to ride and how that has
changed:
"When I moved to the Peak District and rode the green lanes in 1994, I thought I
had died and gone to horse riding heaven. Now in 2011, I think I'm just going to
die".
'I have ridden on green lanes and byways in the Peak Park for over 20 years.
When I started it was safe and enjoyable everywhere. Over the last 10 years the
explosion in off-roading has destroyed most of the lanes I used to be able to ride
on. They are now so rutted that it is not safe to take a horse along them and the
noise of the motor bikes and the speed at which they come along is terrifying for
horses and very dangerous”
“We have lived in Bamford for 26 years and ridden two lovely old packhorse trails
there every week for all of this time to access the quiet lanes above the Hope
Valley - until recently. Now they have been taken over by noisy, fast motorbikes
and long convoys of 4 x 4 vehicles. Our lovely country rides have had to cease it simply isn't safe to ride there any more”.
Riders disregarded
Peak Horsepower has been forced to the sad conclusion that DCC places greater
emphasis on managing the needs and rights of off-road vehicle users than it does on the
safety and rights of way of other users. Horse riders, who make very little impact on the
natural environment and other users, are particularly badly affected. They simply cannot
use badly use rutted tracks and they risk accident and injury if their horse is frightened
by off-road vehicles.
“The council won't act and the off-roaders don't care. TROs are the only answer.”
“I was a volunteer repairing damage caused by off-roaders on Taylor Lane when
a group of trail bikes came by. Six turned back when they were told they
shouldn’t be there but one carried on. The Ranger reported him to the Police but
they wouldn’t prosecute him. What’s the point in volunteering to do repairs when
that is their attitude to the illegal activity that caused the damage in the first
place?”
What must be done
“As the roads become busier and busier, off road riding is more important than
ever ….”
It’s time for Derbyshire County Council to act. The County Council, as the Highway
Authority, is legally responsible for maintaining the surface of rights of way to a standard
suitable and safe for use. Off-road vehicles are being allowed to, literally, drive horse
riders off the tracks and bridleways. They are putting horse riders and their animals at
risk and they are causing quite shocking erosion which tens of thousands of pounds of
tax payers’ money and volunteers’ time is being used to repair. Off-roaders also rip down
signs paid for by tax payers.
Even when the County Council repairs a damaged route, the repairs do not always make
it possible for riders to use it. For instance, the recent repairs to Long Causeway took no
account of the needs of horse riders or the fact that Long Causeway carries a right of
way for horse riders. The result is that this important route remains unsafe and
impassable for horses, despite many thousands of pounds of Derbyshire tax payers’
money having been spent on it.
Peak Horsepower believes that Derbyshire County Council must:
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develop a new pro-active approach to preventing further damage from offroad vehicles, primarily by using its legal powers to introduce Traffic
Restriction Orders (TROs) on all routes which cannot sustain motor vehicle
traffic;
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carry out a safety review of all BOATS to identify those which present a risk
to the safety of walkers, horse riders and cyclists and use its TRO powers
to ban vehicles on all such routes on safety grounds
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invest in repairs to rights of way once they are no longer threatened by
damage from off-roaders;
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make careful use of barriers which prevent motorised vehicles going
illegally on bridleways and restricted byways but which allow legal use by
everyone else. This includes horse-hops, specially designed barriers and
gates;
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ensure that any repairs to routes damaged by off-roaders restore the
surface to a specification and standard which means that the route is
capable of being used by horses
Peak Horsepower, October 2011
Contact for any queries: p.stubbs@btinternet.com or 07837 546127