Local Scene Info - (Pictures SOON!)

Trails (and Skateparks now!) seem to be popping up everywhere recently - with the notable exception of 'up north'... however, if you live in the Manchester / Liverpool Area, and want somewhere to ride, then you could check out some of these places: (For information and directions, email us!)

Skateparks

Derby ‘Storm’ Skatepark

The park itself is in a MASSIVE warehouse, easily the biggest indoor facility the UK has at the moment, probably at least twice the size of wakefield. However, at the moment only half of it is used, if that.

There is a fairly average selection of ramps - the usual jumpbox, street setup, mini / midi ramps, etc. The vert ramp was being resurfaced while we were there, so i can't really say too much about that (although - it is BIG, width wise, for sure!)

First of all - street course. This was a disappointment, as there wasn't much to do, and it was obviously skate-oriented. The ramps were small, and the grindboxes too low to be of any real fun.

The 'main' part of the park is the funbox / second 'street' area, and in here there is a jumpbox (crap - it has almost no clear runup (save for a dodgy roll in), and a lame metal lip that causes you to drag your back wheel when you take off. it would take some getting used to, for sure, but the locals did ok on it..), an enormous vert wall, and a bowled out vert ramp. Next to that it a sub box, and then a mini-hip. next to the box jump is a pyramid flat-bank set up. Now, this all sounds good, but it's just layed out all wrong - with conflicting lines, and no easy way of 'touring' the park. you have to dart this way and that, stop and start, and because the lines conflict, you have to keep a sharp eye out for other riders / bladers / skaters.

The mini ramp is cool though, except for two things - it's just a _little_ too tight, but you can get used to it. The second (and much worse thing), is the roughness of the coping!! It's like riding rhythm, but on your pegs!! Well dicey - they must have used a really thin piece of metal tube, because it was bumped and dented all the way across, and it kinda ruined the enjoyment of grinding too fast, because you never knew when / if your pegs were gonna lock up. The second mini-ramp is made for skaters only - it's about three feet high. Forget it.

So, you can probably tell that we were a little disppointed, especially after travelling quite a distance to get there. Unless you live no more than an hour away, i really don't think it's worth the trip, at least not in it's present state. But all that space certainly has potential...

Stockport Skatepark

This place hasn’t been open long at all, but it’s pretty busy as it is. It even has arcade machines, a cafe, and a shop where you can buy videos, parts, clothes, etc.  It’s a rad park, but with one or two problems that plague some of the ramps there.

There three ‘rooms’ if you like, as follows:

Street Room:  This consists of a really crap spine / mini combo, a small funbox / grindbox type setup, a wallride or two, and a bunch of quarters here and there of varying sized.  Good fun, but don’t expect to spend most of your time in there...

Vert / Mini / Jumpbox Room:  Now this is more like it - a BIG vert ramp (with loaaaads of flat bottom), a cool mini that sadly has really really small platforms, a funbox with a big vert wall for a runup, and even a wooden bowl, which BMXers aren’t allowed to ride :(  Like I said, this is by far the best room to ride, but each ramp has it’s own problems - with the vert, there is too much flat bottom, the mini ramp is a cool size, but the platforms are so small, and the jumpbox is simply not wide enough at all.  But, you will find that you can live with this...

Beginners Room:  Forget it!  Leave it to the fruitbooters...

Aintree Skatepark

This is a new(ish) skatepark, and is actually quite a good laugh. The layout and most of the ramps were the work of none other than Dave Arnold & Co., and as a result it is a good park for skaters and riders alike. Quite small, but there are loads to do, including mini-ramp, jump box, midi / vert ramp, rad street course, and numerous quarters and wallrides about the place. Well worth a visit!

Leeds Skatepark

** NOTE:  This place has been CLOSED for WINTER! **

This place has only just opened ‘I think’, but anyway, here’s the word from Will Law:

“OK, the skatepark is in Hyde Park, near the university. I went today and it was OK. The ramps were more rollerblade influenced really. Here's what there is-

A mini [with barely any flat bottom, that thing is tight]

4 sided fun box

Various grinding rails, bars and boxes.

A driveway (?)

2 flat banks one with sub box

1, 5ft [ish] quarter pipe [vert!]

1 4ft quarter

All of the above are pretty small. The one big ramp is the vert wall below -

1 7ft quarter.

The ramps could be positioned better, there are no ramps at either ends of the fun box etc. It's out door, the ramps were built by Snoz [who builds Re-Hab] and it's free! I also heard a rumour that it's only going to be open during the holidays so the ramps are being moved away at the end of the summer holidays.

It's OK, but don't go out of your way to go there...”

Trails

Southport Trails

The locals that built these trails are a dedicated bunch, and it changes from one week to the next. At the moment, there is a large tabletop leading into a six pack rhythm section, into a larger set of doubles. Dotted around are numerous jumps and stuff waiting to be built on... A rad place to ride, especially since all the locals are really cool, and for the simple fact that there is something new each time you go there. The rhythm section has been ‘upgraded’ recently - with about a foot extra of dirt being placed on each double. This has earned it the title ‘The Rhythm of Doom’ after myself and a couple of people had nasty accidents on them... you can be easily caught out!!

Changed alot quite recently, and has gotten a bit overgrown, but all that should be sorted out by next spring / summer!

Lilford Woods / Seven Hills

These set of jumps are different altogether to Southport - built by a bunch of squirrely freestylers and part-time dirt jumpers (i.e me and friends!), they are a collection of hips, doubles, step-ups, and dodgy rhythm sections... doesn't change much, due to the fact that all the local kids moan about their jumps being too big, and the fact that we are slack. Some good jumps, and plenty fun to be had - but bring a spade just in case. Wez loves this place, because there are not many 'holes' in between the jumps, if you see what i mean....

Oh yeah, and don’t even THINK about coming here in the Winter!

Wigan / Boar's Head

This place is racing superstar & poseur extraordinaire Dylan Clayton's local stomping grounds, and you can tell that they were build by a racer... At the moment there is one main section, which splits off towards the end into doubles of varying sizes and lengths. All doubles are low and long - perfect for racers, but a damn good laugh. The ground it is built on is dodgy as fuck though - it is rock hard, and guaranteed to hurt if you fall off. So harsh, I snapped a set of Prince Alberts there :( But it rules anyway, and Dylan has plenty of plans for the place, or at least he DID have, because it hasn’t changed in aaaaages!

Thats it for the moment.. if you have anywhere cool to ride, and would like it to be mentioned in here, then email me!!