Visitors race in to use new Gisburn Forest bike trails.

THE NUMBER of visitors to a Ribble Valley beauty spot has rocketed because of new mountain biking trails.

Staff say they have been ‘overwhelmed’ by the number of riders coming to Gisburn Forest, which is fast becoming one of the country’s top mountain biking centres.

The trails, which opened in September, have already attract-ed 20,000 visitors.

Andy Banks, from the Forestry Commission at Gisburn, said work was under way to improve the facilities, including expanding the car park, to cope with the influx.

He said: “To have such an over-whelming public response to the new trails at Gisburn is brilliant, and a great reward for all the hard work put in by staff and trail building volunteers.

“Because there are a range of trails we hope to make Gisburn a must visit outdoor destination for cycling families and experienced mountain bikers alike.”

There is an easy 8km ‘blue’ route for families and beginners and a 22km ‘red’ course for experien-ced and expert cyclists.

The trails were completed thanks to a £60,000 lottery grant from Sport England, and the same amount was contributed by various bodies includ-ing Ribble Valley Bor-ough Council, United Utilities and the For-estry Commission.

A group of volunteer riders called the Gisburn Forest Trail Builders have helped on volunteer trail building days and by hand-building over 1,000m of new trail.

Organisers say the number of annual visitors to the forest will increase from 30,000 to 70,000 because of the new development.

GET OUT AND RIDE!   (Photograph courtesy of Bikemagic)