Cumbria TRF History

History of Cumbria Trail Riders Fellowship

Cumbria has a long history of motor vehicle use. From the time an engine was mounted into a commercially available chassis in the late 1860’s, be it with two or four wheels, the steep roads of Lakeland have called to motorists.

Matchless and Royal Enfield began life in 1899 & 1901 respectively. Many of the early bike manufacturers sent their bikes to Lakeland to road test their latest designs. Due to the unique roads, landscape and weather, a thorough test was always to be had!

Hubert Egerton completed the first Lands End to John O’Groats ride in 1901. The route through Cumbria used the roads that later became the M6, with stops in Penrith and Carlisle shown on the route map. In 1913, the first International Six Days Trial, (ISDT) was held in Cumbria. Starting in Carlisle and riding a loop that included many of the Lakeland Passes. This continues today in Scotland every May.

The famous Abraham Brothers took some delightful images of vehicles in various places around the fells of Lakeland. Some of these can be found in their book, ‘Motor Ways in Lakeland’. Printed in 1913.

Alfred Wainwright was another keen road enthusiast. His book ‘Old Roads of Lakeland’ is a lovely read and chronicles the pre Turnpike Roads in the Eastern Lakes. This was eventually printed by the Westmorland Gazette in 1985, but started life in the 1970’s as a project with Molly Lefebure.

John Ebbrell wrote a lovely article in September 1964 entitled ‘Room at the Top’ for the Motor Cycle magazine. He rode a limited edition Ariel Arrow bike loaned from the factory. Accompanied by Tom Parker, a Lancashire based photographer, they rode around the Lakes for two days. Their route took in all the classic Passes and started by touring up through the Lyth Valley, into Windermere, then across to Coniston, over Walna Scar, Hard Knott Pass, Wrynose Pass, Tilberthwaite Ford, Kirkstone Pass, Honister Pass and finished up on the Old Coach Road and finished up at Keswick. 

The Trail Riders Fellowship, (TRF), was founded in 1970. The founding Officers were George Abbey Bradford, Ernest Wrigley, Colin Salmon, John Ebbrell & Mike Brown. TRF came into life to answer the call to protect the heritage and access to the unsealed road network that was for many years, the only road network. As technology changed, so did the road network to meet the new needs. Today, the TRF is made up of a central committee, with local groups around the country working with local authorities and more recently combatting aggressive pressure groups. Membership cost £1.

The first mention of TRF ride outs in the Lakes was in a 1971 ride out report by Brian Thompson, (who later became one of the most influential Rights of Way Officers for the TRF). In the TRF Bulletin No.9, (Nov/Dec 1971), there was a plan to run a group ride in May 1972. (The Bulletin was the first version of a magazine and included a round up of happenings and group reports). The Cumbria group was formally founded though in 1975. There are no records of group minutes to be found apparently, as none were taken at the time. The meetings took place out on the lanes or briefly in a pub somewhere. Nowadays, there is a set meeting once a month in a pub in South Lakes.

A number of the founding members of CTRF are still alive today and although they have now hung up their trail riding boots, they are still active in the preservation of our access to these beautiful parts of the British landscape. People like David & Kathy Howe. Later on, came some notable members such as Roger Harris, Pete Deeley, Geoff & Roger Wilson to mention a few.

At some unknown point in time, Cumbria became Cumbria and Craven TRF. This was in response to a gap in the coverage of the Craven district. In 2022, due to county council boundary changes again, the Craven District was absorbed into North Yorkshire and so Cumbria handed the management of that area over to the North Yorkshire TRF group. Although, on the ground, both groups still cover that area.

A great many things have changed over time. One negative is that access to legal unsealed lanes has been dramatically reduced. There are many reasons for this loss of access over time, but the over riding one was the implementation of the Natural and Rural Environment Act in 2006, (NERC Act), which effectively closed off any unsealed road unless it was listed on the County Council Highways List of Streets at 2006. There are currently just 92 miles of legal unsealed roads in the Lake District National Park area and a total of 232 miles across the whole county. There is very little publicly available information that shows the accurate number or length of unsealed road access pre 2006, but it would appear to be around 700+ miles across the county.

In 1997, discussions began with the Lake District National Park Authority, (LDNPA). Out of those discussions came a scheme to manage the green road network in 2001, The Hierarchy of Trails. (HoTR).
The Ramblers, Cumbria Bridleway Society, Friends of the Lake District, Country Landowners Association, Forestry Commission and the motor vehicle user groups all met regularly to discuss and agree the outline of the scheme. This went on to be one of the most successful green road management tools in England and Wales and is still operating today. In 2006, the HoTR was moved from the LDNPA to Cumbria County Council and the scheme then included every legal unsealed road in the county. Nowadays, the motor vehicle group does most of the day to day management, working in close partnership with all three of the management authorities.

Membership numbers for CTRF have varied between 30 & 100 members upto the mid 2000’s, peaking in 2024 with nearly 200 members of the local group. Membership continues strongly today, with a very vibrant and active local group. CTRF members can be found riding all over the county and often into the neighbouring counties of North Yorkshire, Lancashire and Northumberland. The group meet every second Tuesday of the month in South Lakes at the Gilpin Inn and official group ride outs around the county are planned here. Many members also arrange ride outs between themselves and the Facebook group is very active for this kind of thing.

Alongside this, CTRF has a very active green road management team. They work closely with all of the authorities and other user groups to promote and maintain positive management of the green lane network in the county. Part of this management process is to repair these roads and to try to be a positive part of the local community.

The TRF has grown as an organisation over the last 50+ years, but their management of access to the green road network continues with the same ethos, working in partnership, protecting and managing positively and promoting responsible use. Long may that continue!