England’s largest trail centre is gearing up ready for the Kielder Big Bike Weekend on the 18 and 19 October. The Forestry Commission’s Kielder Castle Visitor Centre, within Kielder Water and Forest Park, will be the hub for a weekend celebrating the vast network of trails that cross the forest.

The weekend will see the opening of new sections on the red and black graded Deadwater Trail including the downhill section, known as Forrest Dive. The already spectacular trail climbs to the 1,900 foot summit of Deadwater Fell which straddles the English/Scottish border and gives 360 degree views from coast to coast.

The trail work was funded by the Northern Lands project and the trail building has been supported by the Kielder Trail Reavers and Northern Downhill as well as volunteers from Natural England who have worked with the Forestry Commission on the trail construction through a series of trail building days from April this year.