The kestrel was looking down in disapproval. It could have been at the state of the path below. One mountain biker is regularly using the footpath here instead of riding where he's allowed to - on the bridleway. Unfortunately this use of footpaths by MTB'ers is getting all too common and is almost certain to get worse as others follow the lead of the renegade.
The result is that numerous pleasant little paths get spoiled and some of them get to the stage of being almost unusable for those on foot. The problem is that almost all organisations speaking for mountain bikers have a stated position that all footpaths should be available for bikers to ride on. Many claim to be responsible and keep to bridleways themselves but inevitably others are persuaded by the argument and don't see why they should wait for official sanction. The bikers' argument for riding on footpaths is just plain wrong. They themselves would not want other vehicles like motor bikes competing with them for the tracks they already ride on. The path coming from the top of Bole Hill and down around the side of Wimble Holme Hill has been ruined by biking - though blaming the bikers themselves for that may not be fair: some years ago it was designated a bridleway, presumably by a bureaucrat who had never seen it.
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