The trail building fairies have been out and about developing even more fabulous routes across the UK this winter. And for the first time in Cumbria, mountain biking addicts will have the pleasure of a purpose-built black graded downhill run to try out. Launched at Grizedale Forest, in the heart of the Lake District National Park, at the weekend the black route promises more than 1km of fun and skills testing for adrenaline junkies.

Mountain bike trails are graded by colour in a similar way to ski runs, with green being the easiest, going through blue and red to black, which is the toughest and suitable for  experienced riders.

The black trail adds to the existing mountain biking and cycling trail network at Grizedale, which includes the 16km red grade North Face Trail, a wide network of exciting bridleways, several way-marked family bike trails on the forest road system and the Grizedale Mountain Bikes’ bike hire and shop.

Katie Jarvis, Forestry Commission recreation ranger at Grizedale Forest, said: “It is great to be able to launch a new mountain biking trail at Grizedale. We already have a strong reputation within the sport as being a great destination for mountain biking and this trail offers something different to the trails already in the forest.

“We are now able to offer great trails to suit all levels of riders, from families with children on our forest road routes, the cross-country mountain bikers with the North Face Trail and bridleways, and now the more experienced riders and downhill adrenaline-junkies with the new black route.

“We would like to say a huge thanks to all the volunteers who have given up their free time to create this trail and I hope they and other bikers have great fun riding it now and over many years into the future.”

As a way of thanking for the  trail-building volunteers, each was presented with an annual car-parking pass for Grizedale .

Lee Rayton, of Grizedale Mountain Bikes, led the volunteer trail building. He said: “Everyone has put a tremendous amount of work in over many months into creating the new trail. It is great to see it finally finished and it adds a new dimension to the riding available here at Grizedale Forest and the Lake District.”

For more information about Grizedale visit www.visitlakelandforests.co.uk. For more information about Grizedale Mountain Bikes visit www.grizedalemountainbikes.co.uk.